What Fish First And Tank Setup

[CoreUnitX]

I just got my sisters old 10 gal. fish tank. She got a 20 gal. for her gold fish.

I am trying to cycle the tank but can’t find the ammonia so it will be awhile before I get fish. My sister says the fish will be fine because she has had her goldfish for 8 years and just uses our tap water to clean the tank. I said that I needed bacteria in my filter to process the fish waste and. . . a different story. Had to get a new filter and heater. She took the old ones with her.

But I have researched and decided to get a beta and some cories. Also maybe some ghost and cherry shrimp.

Now would it be better to put the cories and shrimp in the tank first let it cycle with them for a few months. And then add the beta.

Or can I get a beta and then add the others.

Or can I just put them all in there at once. 1 beta, 3-4 cories, 3 ghost shrimp and 3 cherry shrimp. Or is that to much and the tank will go crazy.

Would the tank be over stocked?

I was thinking of just getting either 3 cherry or 3 ghost. Both are cheap at my LPS at $0.20. a ghost shrimp. $0.30. for the cherry.

I was just thinking that if I put the beta first he would claim the whole tank as his territory and then be aggressive to the other fish and shrimp. I know that all betas have different personalities and some can’t have tank mates. But I would love some cories and shrimp just to keep it more interesting.

The tank is planted heavily with fake plants. I have 5 of them. 3 of which stretch to the top of the water. I have the tank semi divided. So that 3 plants are in the middle to better slow the water from the filter. I got an aqua clear 30 filter 10-30 gal. So it kind of waterfalls into the water. Also had to get a bubblier because I always wanted one. Its on a very low setting where skeleton drinks the rum every 10-15 seconds. Its on the side with the filter.

Also will the tank filter all the water with there being almost no current in the tank?
If I put the filter on high the plants in the middle start to sway a little. But the plant on the side without the filter doesnt moves at all. They are the fake leafed plants that are really soft.

I know it’s a long post but I just cannot seem to find the answers with the search function.

I will also post a pic of my tank with no fish. How lame. When I find my camera so you get a better idea of how its set up.

 

[tom_os]

i am in the same position. i have a tank for a betta and havnt cycled it yet, but i dont want to get into a fish in cycle.

 

[tom_os]

anyone?

 

[lilfishie]

id cycle first as cories can be sensitive

 

[Neon.Tetra]

It's not practical but in the worst case scenario you could put the betta in the set up tank and do a fish in cycle. Its quite a large amount of water for just the one betta and his wasteload won't overpower the tank suddenly, but it will if you dont keep up with water changes. If I'm honest, as well as the aesthetic value, real plants will benefit the aquarium more. They can oxygenate the water and get rid of some of the waste products given off by your betta. Ask your LFS if they could give you small sachets of the Stress Zyme to speed up benefical bacteria growth, if not you could buy them from them for pennies. My lfs gave me 2 sachets (Stress Zyme & Slime Coat) for free which I thought was quite nice of them =]
If your sister doesn't mind you could ask to borrow and use her heater, she's got goldfish and unless the water gets rediculously cold she doesn't really need it, if anything, it would cause her more work cleaning out the tank because it speeds up the metabolism of her goldfish.

If you choose to do this, you could probably add the other shrimp the same day as the betta, Just make sure he doesn't mistake them for food! They should do some cleaning around the tank and wont add to the bioload too much.

I'd wait for a minimum of a month before you add the corys just to make sure the tank has settled.

If you can get the filter stuff you need, then even better.

Good luck, and hope all goes well.

 

[CoreUnitX]

I would have loved live plants but my room is in the basement and no natural light.

And I don't want the fishlight on all the time. I would get a timer but my outlet just doesn't have the room. I also am not always home. There to just change and shower. I will spend a few hours there on some days but I sleep at my girlfriends most of the week. My brother plays in the other side so it gets minimal light during the day.

I was thinking of buying a moss ball but haven't researced it enough.

 

[7755matt]

if you arent there very often is it wise to get fish? maybe take the tank to your girlfriends house if you are there more often

 

[CoreUnitX]

Because I get alone.

And its not like I am never home. Im not there for long periods of time. Like say 1-4 hours twice a day. But then there are days when I am home all day.

I mean live plants would be cool but thats just 1 more thing to take care of. My dad also had algae problems with live plants when he had the 20 gal. going. Could have been other things but he blamed the plants.

I already bought the fake ones and set the tank up with them. The only real reason I didnt opt for the live plants was the lack of sunshine. If I were upstairs I would have gotten them. I just didnt want the plants to not get light for hours during the week. Because someone told me that when the plants were not getting light they didnt give off oxygen or take the nitrates out of the water. But actually put more in.

Besides I can always buy a plant later right.