Freshwater 10 gallon

nickmusic12

So i got this ten gallon tank and the guy at the store has been helping me out with all the basic stuff. i cycled the tank with little tiger barbs for about 30 days and today i added 4 fish...a Bala Shark RTBS and 2 platties. i want to know if this sounds too full for the fish. i want them to be happy and have plenty of room to swim. so if it makes any difference i just wanted to add that i might get liek a 29 gallon tank around Christmas. thanks for lookign at my post. my name is Nick Hebert and i thought this would be a good way to introduce myself. Thanks...

onefish2fish

bala sharks do look cool, however your tank and even a 29gallon tank are to small. balas can grow to about 12 inches.
for freshwater a rough guide rule of thumb is 1 gallon per 1 inch of fish

you might be "ok" with him in there temporary but i wouldnt keep him in there for any period of time.

rtbs's can grow to about 4-5 inches and get pretty aggresive even in larger tanks.

for a bigger tank, if your located in the united states, check your area on craigslist.com ..take your time looking for that deal, because you can get a larger tank for a good deal and alot of times you get peoples complete setups.

athlete3344

Youll need something bigger then a 55g for that Bala Shark, I wanted them for a while with clown loaches but my 55g is way too small for them.

nickmusic12

thanks a bunch guys. my friend owns a 75 gallon and i think ill be giving hm my Bala Shark to start off with. i think that your right in saying its too small now that i have read around the forums. Is it normal to have a really strong odor coming from your tank. I cant really find a reason why its happening. maybe overfeeding?!

onefish2fish

theres a chance of overfeeding, because that means increased amonia levels which could create a "mini cycle" or it could be the cycle itself causing an odor..how long has this tank been up and running for? and im glad you gave the Bala Shark to a better sized tank but out of curiousity, what happened to the tiger barbs?

nickmusic12

The tiger barbs are doing great and i love watching them. I have four and i think 10 gallons was a good size for them.my red tail Black Shark died last night though. Im not sure why mayeb it was from and overcrowded tank or something but i didnt seem like he had an intrest in eating when i would put food in. That is another question that i have. how much is too much when it comes to eating and feeding and stuff. the guy im working with says that every other day is good enough but it seems like they are always eager to eat when i put food in

SheyFirestar

how often you feed is really up to you. how you do it is more important. when feeding you should only feed enough that all of the food is eaten in a minute or two. once daily is plenty. the lfs was not wrong in telling you every other day would be fine, he probably recommended this as a way to keep you from over feeding. i feed once in the morning a very very small pinch of food. and once at night again only a small amount.

also as for the smell. its a pretty common thing for a tank to have an odor. if your tank isnt planted with live plants a little activated carbon can help reduce the oder. on the + side it will keep you water clear. on the bad side you have to replace it i think monthly or it can have bad effects.