What Cleaning Fish Should I Get?

[tamara]

Well i have i'd say around 10-15 in my 10 gallon tank, some are fry..and there's only 3large adult ones..
I let the stronger ones survive, give extra back to the pet store
i have a bristlenose pleco [i think that's what it's called]
and also one albino cory catfish who keeps lying on his side and slowly floats to the top
but when i tap the glass he gets up [he's been doing that for two days]
i am quite VERY certain he's going to die..maybe within the week..
i've had him for 2½-3 years, and he was probably at the pet store for around a year aswell

 

[MikeD67]

Well i have i'd say around 10-15 in my 10 gallon tank, some are fry..and there's only 3large adult ones..
I let the stronger ones survive, give extra back to the pet store
i have a bristlenose pleco [i think that's what it's called]
and also one albino cory catfish who keeps lying on his side and slowly floats to the top
but when i tap the glass he gets up [he's been doing that for two days]
i am quite VERY certain he's going to die..maybe within the week..
i've had him for 2½-3 years, and he was probably at the pet store for around a year aswell

For one yoour tank is definetly over stocked!! I wouldnt recomend getting anymore fish for it and its a 10 Gal will prob be just as easy for you to clean it ur self in a 10 gal tank I wouldnt suggest even buying a pleco for or cory cats I would use snails if the tank was used for breeding.. what kind of fry do you have and you said you had 3 large adult fish? what kind of fish we talking and how large are they? The general rule is 1 inch of fish for every 10 gal.<<< Not 10 gal lol 1 inch for every 1 gal>>>>

 

[stang1]

It does sound overstocked but it also depends what fish you have in there.
Sorry Mike but it's 1" of fish per gallon (adult size) for smaller fish. The Pleco will be producing a lot of waste so I'd make sure your filter is up to scratch.
Can you let us know what fish you have?

 

[MikeD67]

It does sound overstocked but it also depends what fish you have in there.
Sorry Mike but it's 1" of fish per gallon (adult size) for smaller fish. The Pleco will be producing a lot of waste so I'd make sure your filter is up to scratch.
Can you let us know what fish you have?

Thats what i figured I wasnt talking about the fry when i said that. He/she said they had 3 (large adult fish) not including the pleco I would guess so thats 4 adult there and unless there all 2 inch as adults than the tank would be to small but yes we do really need to know the type of fish you are dealing with to give accurate advice on the matter.

lol i just read what i posted prior sorry i didnt mean to put 1 inch every 10 gal lol wow i need to type better i meant to put 1 gal now i know why you were correcting me lol.

 

[tamara]

whoops sorry, forgot to mention that...they're just guppies,,,the largest one is i'd say an inch ..maybe an inch and a half... and i've had them for about half a year to a year the guppies, and the pleco i've had for 2 years and he's still the same size...2 inches and hasn't grown since when i bought him.

and to add to the snails..i definetly will not get them, i hear they reproduce like crazy...and i don't have gravel in my tank
it's just like larger rocks, as well as fake plants and little random things. i'll see if i can take a picture.

 

[tamara]

There's a photo, i'm only keeping one of the yellow guppies, the orange one and a black one [not including pleco] for variety and the rest i'm giving back to the fish store when i go to buy a new tank cleaning guy
so i'll just be having the 3guppies and the pleco plus whatever you guys recommend me to get.

 

[ennbee]

In a tank that size i'd get rid of the pleco and get a coupla otto's instead. Good algae eaters and less of a load on ur filter.

 

[stang1]

I agree with ennbee, take the Pleco back. Ottos would be a lot better for that tank size. They like to be kept in a group so get about 4-5 and they should clean your algae.

 

[tamara]

they said they don't take back fish unless if they're reproducing...and the pleco is well...i'd say now 3ish years old so they won't take him back.
and my filter works wonders...i've had it for 6 months and never changed the cartridge thing [not sure if that's what they're called] until yesterday because the water was getting foggyish
and now it's great, it's just the algea on one plants, and on a few rocks and a pot

 

[channing]

What's an Otto? Thinking of getting a cleaner for my tank, but don't know what that fish is...

 

[MikeD67]

they said they don't take back fish unless if they're reproducing...and the pleco is well...i'd say now 3ish years old so they won't take him back.
and my filter works wonders...i've had it for 6 months and never changed the cartridge thing [not sure if that's what they're called] until yesterday because the water was getting foggyish
and now it's great, it's just the algea on one plants, and on a few rocks and a pot

you should really be changing that more often the charcoal in the catridges lose there effectivenes every 3 weeks i believe it is.

 

[Crayola105]

Unless you're taking out meds, Carbon is totally useless IMO.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Excuse my saying it, but that tank doesn't look overrun with algae to me, looks quite nice in fact. I'd still try to sell the bristlie though, try our sell and swap page, as he could probably do with more room. I'm a little concerned that he's not growing, are you sure he's got enough to eat in there?

 

[iairj84]

I agree with crayola about the carbon. I rarely ever change carts in my HOB's I guess I could always add new carbon if I ever needed to, but I dose with E.I so it would probably do more harm than good for me. I wouldn't worry about changing the cartridges either unless the water gets cloudy or you need to quickly remove meds.

I second the suggestion on the Otto's, they've always done well in the tanks I've seen them in and I'll be getting 3 or 4 for my planted tank pretty soon.

 

[Jozlyn]

You know if you're really worried about the algae on your ornaments, take them out and clean them with a nail brush in a bucket of used tank water. Part of owning a tank is keeping it clean!