10 Gal Unique Fish

[shortymet55]

As of now, it seems Dwarf Cories are my only choice. However, im going to keep looking. I have time. Really, I have as long as I want to keep my Cardinals in the tank to keep it cycled. Ill just leave them there until I find the fish I want.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Why dont you move your ottos into your 29g? They are much better in larger groups and then you could have shellies.

 

[shortymet55]

Well, I have a few fears.

A.) I wont be able to catch them
B.) Algae growing in 10 gallon tank
C.) 29g way overstocked (Thats where the Cardinals are going and while I can manage a bit overstocked, im afraid to overstock more)

Shellies would be nice, but I would need to redo the tank. Remove Gravel, plants, add sand, get shells. Its a real hassle and I really dont want to mess with it, because the tnka has only been crystal clear for few months and I dont want to mess this up.

 

[n3ont3tra]

If your stocking in your sig is correct, I don't think your tank will be horribly overstocked with the addition on the cardinals and otos.

OTos are fairly easy to catch in my experience. Wait until they're on the glass and then put the net right up against them. They swim right in.

If your 10g is a new setup, the algae is probably inevitable. After a few weeks the algae should slow down, you could speed it up a little by scraping it off the glass. Also make sure your not overfeeding.

For removing the gravel, I've done it twice, once with a 10 gallon and once with a 29g. I didn't think it was too hard, especially for the 10g, and the sand looks so much better. I'm pretty sure that the shellies wont eat the plants like other cichlids do.

I have a 29g heavily planted and very mcuh overstocked community that i've been wanting to switch to shellies for a while now.

 

[shortymet55]

ok, thanks for the info. Very helpful (Especially the Ottos catching technique. Brilliant) The tank is over a year old, so maybe algae wont be an issue. I just know I got bad algae and added the Ottos in within days it was gone.


Where do you buy snail shells?

 

[jourdy288]

Escargot. Tasty, and should make an excellent home for shellies. Just be sure to clean them out before putting them in your aquarium.

 

[shortymet55]

Welp, my dad says I cant change the gravel out. He says too much of a hassle considering im leaving for college next year. I told him that doesnt make sense because i can change to sand and its no harder to maintenance than gravel, but he doesnt listen.

Thats Idea #2 hes shot down. Back to the Drawing Board.
My dad is basically saying I need fish that require nothing more than putting them in the tank and going about same maintenance as I would with the Tetras in there now. Any Ideas?

 

[n3ont3tra]

lol, put sand on top of the gravel.

.. sand (IME) is easier to clean than gravel.

other fish suggestions..

hatchetfish - interesting but they stay on top.
african butterfly fish - interesting, but stay on top, and would eat smaller fish
dwarf puffers
kuhlie loaches - interesting, active (at least mine are)
upside down catfish - interesting, but mostly nocturnal.

 

[LauraFrog]

Small Australian natives (ie Pseudomugilidae) Active, colourful midwater shoalers. They can be hard to get, but if you find them they're delightful. Continuous spawners, a fine plant (or fake plant) or spawning mop and you'll get a few eggs each day. The fry are miniscule, you will need liquifry.

http/members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Gertrud.htm

Go to rainbowfish species on the side and view the pseudomugils. P. gertrudae, P. signifer, P. furcatus and P. paskai are the only ones that have been exported to my knowledge. You might be interested in some of the other small rainbows as well, ie madagascar rainbows and Iriatherina werneri.

 

[shortymet55]

Well, I never really found the perfect fish, so im going to settle for something completely different than Ive been looking for. There not really unique like I wanted, nor can they have fry like I wanted. Anyways, im going with................... a female betta tank. 6 of them. At least there colorful like I wanted...

 

[jourdy288]

Don't give up on livebearers, you could prob get a couple kinds of livebearers.

 

[shortymet55]

Thats true. Endlers would be nice. Fry can be live food for the big tank.

 

[lilfishie]

or just get an all male group, they look good in bigger numbers