Hello!
I apologize for this long thread...but I'd really appreciate some advice, and I figure the more information I can give, the better.
Last year I bought a ten gallon tank. I started off with 3 male guppies. About eight months later I purchased a Bristlenose Pleco and 2 Balloon Mollies. Within a month or so, everything except the Pleco died.
I recently moved, and the Pleco is still doing great. After re-setting up and maintaining for two weeks, I purchased two flame tetras (1 M 1 F).
Here are my questions:
1) I currently have gravel, some rocks, 2 plastic plants and a piece of driftwood. Would real plants be better? Are they difficult to maintain? Can I keep them with gravel, or would I need to switch to sand?
2) Can someone please explain how to 'cycle' a tank properly? I'm fairly sure I know how, however checking for ammonia levels, nitrates, nitrites and how often I do that is still fairly confusing to me.
3) There seems to be a great debate about having salt in freshwater tanks - the woman at the Aquarium shop today told me it isn't necessary to have in the tank, but it's good to have on hand for 'repairs' or isolations. Thoughts?
THANK YOU!:-D
I apologize for this long thread...but I'd really appreciate some advice, and I figure the more information I can give, the better.
Last year I bought a ten gallon tank. I started off with 3 male guppies. About eight months later I purchased a Bristlenose Pleco and 2 Balloon Mollies. Within a month or so, everything except the Pleco died.
I recently moved, and the Pleco is still doing great. After re-setting up and maintaining for two weeks, I purchased two flame tetras (1 M 1 F).
Here are my questions:
1) I currently have gravel, some rocks, 2 plastic plants and a piece of driftwood. Would real plants be better? Are they difficult to maintain? Can I keep them with gravel, or would I need to switch to sand?
2) Can someone please explain how to 'cycle' a tank properly? I'm fairly sure I know how, however checking for ammonia levels, nitrates, nitrites and how often I do that is still fairly confusing to me.
3) There seems to be a great debate about having salt in freshwater tanks - the woman at the Aquarium shop today told me it isn't necessary to have in the tank, but it's good to have on hand for 'repairs' or isolations. Thoughts?
THANK YOU!:-D