Starting Over...Need recommendations and help

[BigChiefSmokem]

Well, I am moving in a week, and have decided that the most humane thing to do would be to take my tiger barbs back to my local pet store and sell them back. Hopefully, they will go to a better home than i can give them. I dont want to take them with me on the move, as i wont be able to set back up the tank immediately when i get to my new home, and the risk of killing them is too high for me. With that said, i am excited about starting over.

I have a 10 gallon tank with a penguin mini biowheel rated at 100 GPH and an "Eclipse Natural Daylight" 15W flourescent bulb. I know its a small tank but i got it for free, and right now, i cant afford a bigger one. After dabbling with fish keeping and a lot of research, i want to set up a beautiful PLANTED tank with a VARIETY of beautiful fish. Variety, being the key word here.

So, on with the questions:

What kind of plants do you recommend? How many? ANy Rocks/Driftwood?
What more is required of keeping a planted tank healthy with fish?
What color/type/amount of gravel is needed? I've hard darker gravel is better to show off a fish's color.

What kind of fish do you recommend and how many of each species? I want a variety of colorful active fish. I really want an active tank with different species, and maybe a spotlight fish.

What about snails? or frogs?

ALso, any other recommendations? I understand I am limited by the tank size.

I still want the fish to be the focus, but want a 2-4 live plants to make the aquarium more natural and to provide shelter and a homey feel for the fish.

Sorry for all the questions, but i am excited about fish keeping, but am still a newbie...

 

[Alien Anna]

It's a little difficult to get a variety in a 10 gal tank, however it is possible to fit three species in.

For example, I have a 12 gal with a male betta, 8 black neon tetras and a pair of cherry barbs. It works well.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

It's a little difficult to get a variety in a 10 gal tank, however it is possible to fit three species in.

For example, I have a 12 gal with a male betta, 8 black neon tetras and a pair of cherry barbs. It works well.

Well, thats exactly what I mean. i should clarify a bit what i mean by "variety." I simply mean more than one species of fish, which would probably rule out any kind of schooling fish. Fish that work well singularly, or with a partner, thus allowing me to fit a couple more species in without overstocking the tank.

 

[Alien Anna]

Schooling fish are fine in a 10 gal, provided you go for small schooling fish such as the smaller tetras, white cloud mountain minnows, otos or pygmy cories. It's just that with a small tank you have to be much cleverer about the mix and really think not just about size but swimming space, tank conditions, territorial behaviour etc.

Other ideas include guppies - not true schooling fish, so you could have a 2-3 males. Unfortunately guppies aren't good with bettas, so it would have to be either guppies or a betta.

I've seen some "recipes" for very small cichlid tanks that look interesting - you'd have to check it out with the African Cichlid section of the forum. However, they'd be species tanks rather than the variety you were aiming for - still, very interesting just the same. Amateur Cichlids - Small Tank suggestions.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

Schooling fish are fine in a 10 gal, provided you go for small schooling fish such as the smaller tetras, white cloud mountain minnows, otos or pygmy cories. It's just that with a small tank you have to be much cleverer about the mix and really think not just about size but swimming space, tank conditions, territorial behaviour etc.

Other ideas include guppies - not true schooling fish, so you could have a 2-3 males. Unfortunately guppies aren't good with bettas, so it would have to be either guppies or a betta.

I've seen some "recipes" for very small cichlid tanks that look interesting - you'd have to check it out with the African Cichlid section of the forum. However, they'd be species tanks rather than the variety you were aiming for - still, very interesting just the same. Amateur Cichlids - Small Tank suggestions.

THank you for your help Anna

 

[juliethegr8t]

I can't help ya with the planted thing since I haven't yet delved into that area , but I can tell you what I have in my 10 gallon. I have a school of 6 Zebra Danios, a Green Tiger Barb, 2 Panda Corys, a Dwarf Gourami, and an African Dwarf Frog. If you were interested in anything at all similiar, you could have some variety by getting a couple of corys, a school of something, a Dwarf Gourami, and some snails or frogs. I tend to overstock, obviously, but you can work out what you are willing to do. You can have fun picking out a school - you'll need to have a fish though that doesn't need a huge school (like neons), since you could probably fit 6 max. You could also do Alien Anna's guppy idea, though you have to be careful with compatiblity and probably couldn't have a dwarf gourami then. Overall my main advice is to have fun starting your new tank, but be careful with compatibility between fishies!

 

[BettaBoyz]

might be a l'il late, but i'd like to post up my ideas =) my dad thinks i'ma natural interior designer, i'm wondering if i can figure out how to aquascape nicely, sooooooooooo... i'm babbling, and will now go on to give you a few ideas that will probably be incredibley stupid as compared to Anna's =D

Q1.1:What kind of plants do you recommend? How many?
Sagittaria Subulata Var. Pusilla makes a nice, fast-growing plant. it looks like an underwater grass and grows quite well, it's very tall so makes a nice backdrop. Samolus Parviflorus is a foreground plant. short and close to the 'ground', the leaves grow out in a rosette and are short-stemmed with broad leaves. Lobelia Cardinalis is an upright stem with alternating short leaves. all three of these plants are north american or eastern north american plants.

Q1.2:Any Rocks/Driftwood?
a nice hardy chunk of driftwood with moss growing over it may make a nice effect, or a few big round river stones arranged in a 'mountain' would definately add a cool tone to compared to all the green!

Q2:What more is required of keeping a planted tank healthy with fish?
find a happy medium for all your fish and plants, and try to avoid plant-eaters! it would look a bit odd to have a beautiful planted aquarium chewed to bits by some hungry fishies.

Q3:What color/type/amount of gravel is needed?
color is really a personal preference, i have light grey/white gravel in my ten gallon (which badly needs to be aquascaped xX) and it shows off my speedy, flashy tetras and light-bodied betta nicely, and black gravel in my one gallon with really constrasts with my other betta's flashing green. ammount i believe is one pound of gravel per gallon, so ten pounds of gravel in that tank of yours would be good.

Q4:What kind of fish do you recommend and how many of each species?
bettas make brilliant spotlight fish, if you pick a calmer boy that can get along with other species. as for the rest of the fish, with a 2.5" betta in the tank it leaves you with about 8 one inch fish left. you might want to get pairs of schooling tetras; such as glowlight, head-and-tail light, black neons, pretty, flag and natural neon tetras. most tetras grow to be an inch to two inches long and i'm pretty sure that a majority of tetras aren't picky and will school with other tetras; my blacks, neons and silver-tippeds do.

Q5: What about snails? or frogs?
snails make a lot of poop. and they breed fast, and die fast once algae and plant matter has been devoured. i've had my snails in there two weeks, they hithchiked as eggs on some duckweed, and grew to be about half the size of a marble. already i've got snail poop everywhere and baby and teenage snails galore, and my betta won't touch them. frogs i've never kept, so i can't recommend anything. but, ghost shrimp are good. they have such a low bio-load many can be kept as a cleaning crew in a ten gallon, they're very delicate looking things to. my dad kept a bunch in a heavily planted tank with only neons, bleeding hearts and black widows. never saw them, but they bred like mad.

Q6: Also, any other recommendations?
for the tank, no. but try lots of food. i find unless a fish is first fed that array of food they won't touch it. my betta, kuhliis and tetras only eat flakes since i only introduced betta-bites/ground brine shrimp into their diet two weeks ago, and they won't touch the damn things. my other betta won't eat anything but the shrimp. maybe i just have picky fish though...

=D wheeeeee, i consulted my monster fishie book (Aquarium Atlas; Dr. Rudiger riehl Hans A. Baensch) about ten zillion times xD

 

[juliethegr8t]

Q5: What about snails? or frogs?
snails make a lot of poop. and they breed fast, and die fast once algae and plant matter has been devoured. i've had my snails in there two weeks, they hithchiked as eggs on some duckweed, and grew to be about half the size of a marble. already i've got snail poop everywhere and baby and teenage snails galore, and my betta won't touch them. frogs i've never kept, so i can't recommend anything. but, ghost shrimp are good. they have such a low bio-load many can be kept as a cleaning crew in a ten gallon, they're very delicate looking things to. my dad kept a bunch in a heavily planted tank with only neons, bleeding hearts and black widows. never saw them, but they bred like mad.

Sounds to me like you got a few pond snails - since those are the type that hitchhike in on live plants. They're known as a nuisance and can completely overrun tanks. However, I don't think these are the kind that BigChiefSmokem wants. BigChief - you probably want to get a type of Apple Snail - Mystery Snails, or maybe an Inca Snail. These type won't be breeding like mad, and they get large and gorgeous. I had a Gold Mystery Snail for awhile and loved it. They're a lot of fun to watch and great tank cleaners. However, you'll want to beware because snails will eat your live plants! Depends on the type of snail and plant of course, but the effect could be terrible.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

Q1.1:What kind of plants do you recommend? How many?
Sagittaria Subulata Var. Pusilla makes a nice, fast-growing plant. it looks like an underwater grass and grows quite well, it's very tall so makes a nice backdrop. Samolus Parviflorus is a foreground plant. short and close to the 'ground', the leaves grow out in a rosette and are short-stemmed with broad leaves. Lobelia Cardinalis is an upright stem with alternating short leaves. all three of these plants are north american or eastern north american plants.

You wouldnt happen to know the common names of these plants would ya?

 

[Moe]

The easiest plant to keep is java fern. You can attach it to a rock or small piece of driftwood. I love guppies for active colorful small tank fish. They are cheap, come in all colors and are active all the time. They usually hang out at the top of the tank so they are always visible. In a 10G I have 4 guppies 3 cory cats one bristlenose and one card tetra (he used to have friends but the died.) I used to have tiger barbs but had a lot of problems with them they were in my 20G but actually I like the guppies better. They 'play' all day and are a lot of fun at feeding time. Good luck with the move.

 

[BettaBoyz]

sorry BCS, i haven't got common names for the plants xX

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

So, i'm thinking of going with a betta, a corydora, a dwarf gourami or two and a school of tetras. Are tetras hardy fish? Hardy enough to be used for cycling the tank? What about a betta? i've heard they are hardy adn can live through a nuclear fallout Would they survive cycling? (I know about the fishless cycling, i'd rather do it this way though)

Any compatibility issues with what i've got here?

 

[Starfish]

I wouldnt put a betta with a dwarf gourami, Ive heared of this happening before and the betta would keep flaring at the dwarf gourami.
Corys like to be in groups, 3 would be a good number
Most tetras are not hardy and not usually used for cycling tanks. What do you think of danios? They come in various types - zebra, leopard, blue, pearl and are great for cycling tanks, as well as been very active.

How does this sound - 1 dwarf gourami, 3 corys, 5 danios (once the cycle is done you could trade them for tetras ) That gives you action at all water levels.

If you like bettas you could set up a little 2 gal. and keep one perfectly happy in there

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

I wouldnt put a betta with a dwarf gourami, Ive heared of this happening before and the betta would keep flaring at the dwarf gourami.
Corys like to be in groups, 3 would be a good number
Most tetras are not hardy and not usually used for cycling tanks. What do you think of danios? They come in various types - zebra, leopard, blue, pearl and are great for cycling tanks, as well as been very active.

How does this sound - 1 dwarf gourami, 3 corys, 5 danios (once the cycle is done you could trade them for tetras ) That gives you action at all water levels.

If you like bettas you could set up a little 2 gal. and keep one perfectly happy in there

So its either the dward gourami or the betta hmm? I've cycled with danios before. They're tough little buggers to catch if you want to get them out of the tank, which is why i asked if i could cycle with something else, since i dont want to keep danios. Is there anything else i could substitute for the cory, so as I could have maybe one bottom feeder and more active middle/upper tank dwellers? I think the betta would be a good spotlight fish, though i have never seen a dwarf gourami in person. What about cycling with a betta?

 

[joshua]

i just got some dwarf neon rainbows and they wouldnt exceed 2" and are quite pretty