I have a 10-gallon tank from Wal-Mart so I'm using the Aqua-Tech 5-15 gallon filter it came with. I also have a Marineland Stealth Pro 50 watt heater in there.
Anyway, in the tank I have:
- 2 male bettas (divided of course.. Roscoe, the original inhabitant, has about 6.5 gallons and Toothless has the remaining 3.5.
- 2 Otocinclus
- Countless Ramshorns and Pond snails
- 2 Assassin snails to control above
- 10 Ghost shrimp
The tank is heavily planted. I had to trim a bunch because the fish had problems swimming through them.
- 2 very large Amazon Swords
- Duckweed
- Moneywort
- Scarlet Temple
- 2 Moss balls which have spread and entangled the Moneywort.
- 3 Java ferns
These are being fertilized 1-2x weekly with Seachem Fluorish liquid ferts, and once a month I add a root tablet for the sword.
Once a week I do a 40% water change and attempt to gravel vacuum when doing so, but the Swords' roots are very large. I add Prime to the new water.
Bones- I have some very old pictures.. I'll try to snag my sister's camera to take more soon! Mine has since broken :/
Konstar- Actually, I can't upgrade. I live at home and my dad is incredibly strict. It was quite a fight to get the 10 gallon in the first place. I'll see if I can drop off some Ramshorns at my work. How much of a bioload do they add anyway? It seems like quite a lot but does anyone know how many I should take out? I have at least 6 large (10cm) and dozens of smalls (2-9cm)
Do the shrimps add a lot? I can say for sure I'm keeping the bettas, otos and assassins. I'm willing to part with plenty of the snails and possibly a few shrimp, if they really would make a difference.
What can I do you improve my routine? Would more live plants help?
I have no clue about Ramshorns. Perhaps someone can help you with that.
Well try taking them back to the petstore. My mom can be a bit cruel when it comes to some of my fish and my sister well she gets all mean when it comes to them too. I said to myslef, "this is not your tank. I'm responsible on hats best for them and whats best for me as a fishkeeper. They are not toys."
If you have an overpopulation of ramshorns, basically you're feeding too much. They don't have too much of a bioload- since they only overpopulate in the presence of too much food, it's better to have their bioload than the rotting food that they would be eating otherwise.
If you fead a bit less, then the ramshorn problem will 'go away'.
Amazon swords get big. Eh, Not sure what to do about it though. You don't need root tabs though- if you insist on using them, every few months is plenty.
As for the shrimp, I wouldn't worry about them either. (although I'm suprised the Betta hasn't eaten them...)
Sounds like a nice setup.
If you do your water changes regularly, I don't see any problems... Of course, don't add anymore fish.
You can also experiment with the ferts... For a couple weeks use a slightly smaller dose, and see if there's a difference.
In your kind of setup, you want the plants to absorb all of the fish waste before they get to the ferts.
I think I'll take a bunch of the smaller ones back to work today. I work at a pet store so I can give them to a customer for free for their pond or tank
My bettas really don't care about the shrimps, surprisingly. They've definitely noticed them too, but then just turn away like it's nothing.
And the Amazon needs constant trimming, but I like how much it's grown and it gives Roscoe stuff to swim through and the shrimp are all over it!
I don't really think it's overstocked. The small snails and shrimp hardly add anything to your bioload, and like redchigh said cutting back on excess food will help control the ramshorn population.
Thank you, imntbatman!
That's good I took about 15 of the larger snails to work and gave 'em to a guy who wanted them for his pond.
I saw some really nice plants at work too, so I took out the driftwood on the bigger side and added two unknown potted plants and 4 Corkscrews. I would love to have a bigger tank, I think I've hit my plant limit
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