Beginner in fish keeping

[Platinumpete]

Hi, I am new here!

I am a beginner in fish keeping, I started my 10 gallon cycle six weeks ago. Everything was going great in till I brought 2 platy and a Mollie from my LFS. They looked great for the first couple of days. I currently live in a dorm and I go home every weekend. I came back this week to find one of my Mollie’s fin is missing (one of the two fins on the side, closes to her head, don’t know what to call them. I think it could had been my 5 zebra danios that did it. They are the most capable, but I never saw them attack any our fish, except themselves. I had no where else to put him so all his fins were ripped out, she didn’t make it. That was couple of days ago, now one of my platy is acting up. His fins are closed and he sits in the bottom of the tank, yet he stills swims around rapidly only when I come by the tank and he is eating well for a “sick fish”. My ammonia was 0.25 when my Mollie died, now my ammonia =0, Nitrite= 0 PH=70,( not the best PH for them, but I did my research am that seems ok ( any thing below is bad). I do my research and I think I know what I am doing, but I still need some help. I just hate seeing my pets die especially when I put a lot of time and research into rising them! I welcome any ideas!

Currently in the 10 gallon tank!

Small Pleco ( about 2 inches) ( babysitting it for my roommate) Don’t worry he’ll be gone soon.
5 zebra danios (thinking about giving them away)
2 albino corys
2 platy
3 African dwarf frogs
Apple snail
Tadpole snail
6 Malaysian snails

Is my tank overstock for a six week tank

Thanks for your help!

 

[DeaDRingeR]

I'm just a beginner too, but I do know that that's a lot of fish for a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Tolak]

That is a pretty heavily stocked tank for starting out. It depends if you did a fishless cycle, and what type of filter you have. If you did a fishless cycle, have plenty of filtration, and do regular water changes, you should be ok if you keep an eye on water parameters.

It may be a good idea to rehome the danios. They need a little more room to zip around than a 10 gallon has to offer. If you were to do this, the tank should be fine.

Tolak

 

[pnyklr3]

Yep, that tank is overstocked. As a rule of thumb, about 1 inch on adult fish per gallon of water.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Rehome your 5 danios and frogs although im not sure on the snails.
I test your tank for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites again and do a 40%water change; with the danios and frogs in your tank they are making it very overstocked even if it were a mature tank.

Oh, and the plec'll need to be rehomed too as its only a baby at this size and will outgrow and overtstock your tank in no time and they grow an inch a month; they also need their diet substituted with algae wafers/tablets.

 

[Platinumpete]

Ok the danios and pleco are going away to better place!
I personal think that my tank looks empty without them.

Can I add more fishes when the tank is more aged?

What type of fish should I replaced them with suggestions?

The tank should be cycle or close to been cycled right?

Thanks

 

[Tolak]

The 1" per gallon thing is something that applies to smaller, torpedo shaped fish, that usually will not get larger than an inch or 2. You have to consider the bio-load a fish puts on your filtration system.

Don't start thinking you can keep a 10" plec, or even a 5" plec in a 10 gallon. Temp housing for a small plec is fine, but don't get fooled into keeping it. The bigger they are, the more mess thet make.

Tolak

 

[Zathura]

Ok the danios and pleco are going away to better place!
I personal think that my tank looks empty without them.

Can I add more fishes when the tank is more aged?

What type of fish should I replaced them with suggestions?

The tank should be cycle or close to been cycled right?

Thanks

I wouldn't add anymore to the ten gallon. Even the snails and the frogs take up space, create waste, and build nitrate. So unless you want to get a bigger tank, which you probably will as what you have start growing bigger.

I wouldn't worry much about the cycling of your tank now. At 6 weeks, and you have had fish in there, for 10 gallons it should be okay now. Is your tank planted? Do you have a test kit for ammonia and nitrite levels?

 

[Platinumpete]

I just tested the water any hour ago everything is 0!

I'll keep the frogs......
Maybe get rid of one of the corys......

A 10 gallon doesn't fit much huh?

I really thought the tank was doing ok, every was 0 (A,N and N) before I added the platy and the tank is heavily planted. I change 10% of the water every week.

more comments are welcomed!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

No leave the corys as they realy need to be in groups of at least 4 and one will not survive long all on its own.

 

[Zathura]

I just tested the water any hour ago everything is 0!

I'll keep the frogs......
Maybe get rid of one of the corys......

A 10 gallon doesn't fit much huh?

I really thought the tank was doing ok, every was 0 (A,N and N) before I added the platy and the tank is heavily planted. I change 10% of the water every week.

more comments are welcomed!

For that much life in a tank I would suggest doing larger % of water changes.

10 gallon tanks are deceptionally large, and it can be surprising how large such a small fish can grow, and how much space even the smallest fish needs.

Personally I keep my frogs separate from any fish in a 10 gallon, and the only other thing I keep in a 10 gallon are bettas, but I've been come a little spazzy about fish space, since I keep mostly schooling types

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I'm not being picky, but why so many snails?

 

[Platinumpete]

Malaysian snails are good for cleaning gravel right?

They don't produce that much waste do they?

So it's better to have them around right?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

your tank will look better if you have some more non-bottom dwellers. try getting some dwarf platies. they're very colorful and active little fish, but stay quite small (~1.5 inches!) they should be fine with your regular platies, but don't save any fry they produce--they'd be unwelcome hybrids containing genes undesirable to both varieties.

i think you'll be much happier with just some more platies scurrying around.

nothing wrong with snails so long as you like them. i personally think its really neat watching them in the gravel, on the glass, cleaning filter debris...

 

[GSD]

firstly i think the plec has to go asap(i know hes going soon but the sooner the better!)
secondly get ridof the danios!
next get rid of the frogs
cories need to be in a tank in groups of 3 or more
platys like to be in 3s(its not necessary)
but you are overstocked at the moment
bad water will affect fish by this hapening to the fins and them sitting on the bottom (clamped)