My LFS told me today that....

[BettaMomma]

I should put 6 white clouds in with my 4 betta girls.
???

I went into a new lfs today to find out why my plants aren't doing that well, and to see if I should be getting more, etc.
Turns out that I didn't have my tank going long enough before I put the plants in. Apparently, you're supposed to wait until the tank is well established before putting the plants in???
I was then told to get 6 white clouds in there.
Isn't that too many fish for a 10G tank?
Would they even get along?
How long should I wait to get them, IF i should get them at all?

Why in the heck do they call them white clouds anyway? They look like they should be called "tiny minnows with black and orange stuff on them".
lol

 

[tank212]

I wouldn't put them in a 10gal but you can I don't see why not, it might be crowded tho. White clouds can be succesfully put with bettas. I think white clouds are actually not bad looking for their price.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yeah, I think they're really actually cute.
I just know how haggy and how much pestering my girls can do, and I can just imagine that these poor little things would be swimming for their lives in that tank!
Eek!

 

[newfishies]

the tank might be a little overcrowded... what i am wondering about is temperature... i thought that the WCMM's needed a cooler temp? i could be wrong.

as far as the plants...i think they are full of it! i am just starting to plant my tanks, and the reseasrch that i have seen says that you can put the plants in immediately and do your aquascaping while the tank cycles. what type of substrate and how much lighting do you have? for a 10 gal tank they say you need more watts per gallon than for larger tanks. what type of bulbs does it take? a flourescent tube or incandescent bulbs? i just got those twisty energy-saver flourescent bulbs (they are 14 watts each) for one 10 gal, and the java moss is going nuts!!!

 

[Kiarra]

Their full name is White Cloud Mountain Minnows...and they come from White Cloud Mountain. That's where the name "White Clouds" comes from. They're actually a very nice little fish. I have 7 of them living with some Zebra/Leopard Danios, feeder Guppies, and Dwarf Platies.

They are actually really good with Bettas. The larger ones, anyway. My smaller ones got...well...eaten, by the Bettas. So, as long as they aren't able to fit in their mouths, it's a pretty happy tank. I moved ALL of the Clouds when the smaller ones got eaten because they are a schooling fish, and I didn't want to separate them. I'd recommend them, overall, as a fish. They're quite cute, and very sociable with other fish.

As for whether or not you think that'd overcrowd your tank...it's up to you. In my experience, they don't produce much waste, and they never leave ANY food to waste.

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, the girls are kept at a steady 79 degrees. I'm not sure what the clouds need to be kept at, but at the store they had them in with hmm.... I don't know what those were, but they looked like buenos aires tetras (but white in color) and some black tetras.

I have gravel bottom - not too thick, about 1 1/2" deep.
I have compact flurescents - (2) 10Watt bulbs in there, and I keep them on about 8 hours a day. I have mondo grass, hair grass and moneywort. The moneywort is doing great, the hairgrass all died and I had to toss it out (Which ticks me off cuz it was 5$ a plant!) and the mondo grass is sort of starting to turn brown here and there.

I wanted to get some java moss for the tank, too, but no one around here has any that doesn't look like a$$!

UUUugh
my girls are such a pain in the butt.
heeh!!

 

[BettaMomma]

Could I put in less than six?
What would be the minimum to put in so they're comfortable?

My girls are so happy the way they are I hate to add anything yet....

 

[Kiarra]

I think the highest they'd be happy at 75 degrees. That seems to be the general consensus from a quick google. Mine are kept at room temperature, which I'm guessing is probably 70. They are typically a cooler water fish. If you wanted them, you could lower the temp to 75.

 

[BettaMomma]

Hmm...
I might skip them for now, just cuz the only reason I was thinking about getting them was to produce more waste for the good of the plants, BUT...

I don't really care about losing some plants - I'm more concerned with the safety and health of the fish - the ones I already have and the ones I'd be getting.

Thanks for the info

 

[Kiarra]

No problem.

If you ever have conditions set up for them, though, I'd recommend them. They're very cute. Mine were raised from pretty small juvies with Danios and Guppies, so sometimes they seem to think they are either of the other species, and school with them, and behave like them. Very cute little fish.

 

[BettaMomma]

Yeah, I was pretty surprised when I saw them today.
I've heard people talk about them and always assumed they were some ugly white transparenty type of thing. I was surprised

What's the minimum size tank and school size these guys could do with? I'm interested in them now! (NOT that I have any room for any more fish, but just want to build up my fishy knowledge some!)

 

[tank212]

10gal is probably the minimum cause they are schooling.

 

[Kiarra]

Probably a minimum of 5-6 fish since they are a schooling fish. I have a group of 7...they seem happy. They're only about an inch long, for the most part, and a slim fish, so 6 gallons would probably do it, reasonably, for a small school of 5-6, but I'd go with a 10 to be safe. They aren't incredibly active like the Danios, so they don't need the LONG tanks that Danios typically need. They eat, well, everything. Mine have subsisted on a mixture of freeze-dried bloodworms, freeze-dried brine shrimp, freeze-dried tubifex worms, and flakes for a while now. I've had them for MONTHS. They've more than doubled in size (they were TINY when I got them as feeder fish), so now they're ABOUT an inch. Sexing is quite easy. The males are slimmer. The females have large bellies, like they've been eating a lot. The funny thing about them is that, if you provide enough ground cover, they'll lay eggs and frequently won't eat the babies if you keep them well fed and enough ground cover. They're mild by nature, get along with everything. I really like 'em. I'm thinking of getting some more.

 

[3fsh]

You definitely do NOT need to add any more fish for your plants to grow well. They just sold you plants that were terrible for your tank... mondo grass is not a true aquatic plant and will eventually die if it is left submerged in water. Take it out before it rots and polutes the tank! The hair grass is veeeeeerrry slow growing and it needs compact flourescents, a good substrate (such as flourite), AND plenty of CO2. (Injected by a CO2 cannister.) The moneywort is a good plant, though, and should do well in your tank. Some other favorite plants of mine that I have gotten to grow well in my tanks are: Tiger Lotus http/plantgeek.net/plant-104.htm , Anubias barteri (http/plantgeek.net/plant-15.htm), Cryptocoryne walkeri http/plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=79 , and Java Moss to name a few.


BTW- I have a VERY LARGE hunk of green and healthy java moss. Just PM me if you would like some!

 

[Kiarra]

...does that offer extend to anyone else...?