Would Love Feedback on My Setup

[marcia5050]

I've been surfing this site for a long time and finally decided to participate. I'm really taking interest in my fish lately and would appreciate any feedback on the info I've provided here.

I've had a standard 10 gal freshwater tank for several years so naturally have had some resident turnover - (especially during the 4-day power outage in -6 degree temps last December and the ich outbreak after that event!) Current residents are:

3 neon tetra
1 clown (dwarf) pleco
3 mollies (one was born in the tank and actually grew up!)
1 female dwarf gourami
1 golden claw crab
1 bronz cory cat

They seem to be doing fine at the moment but I do have a question. Is it ok to add aquarium salt to this tank since my tetras are scaless? I've heard conflicting advice on this. The tank currently has salt and the tetras seem listless and just hang around this one spot in the tank together and don't swim around much.

Last week I broke down and set up a 12 gal Nanno Cube and have stocked it with 5 young cichlids for something different. I have NO experience with this species but find them very interesting. Tank has gravel substrate, lace rocks and a couple fake plants. I've established the PH at 8.2. and water temp is around 79F degrees. Salt added. My beginning stock is:

2 yellow labs
2 electric blue
1 Hap Venustus (I've been surfing for info on this one but can't find anything on it so I would appreciate any info)

They've all settled in nicely but I think this probably is about all the tank can handle, and maybe even more than it should have (?)

I welcome comments on my 2 small tanks. And I'll definitely come back to continue learning about my hobby. Thanks!

 

[fish_keeper2]

for starters the12 gal wont be suitable for cichlids. those ones get somewhere around 6inches and these guys can be pretty aggressive....i would ask in the african cichlids section for more info as i dont know much about them.


as far as the 10 gal i would add 2 more bronze cories as they like to be in groups and a few more neons once you are sure the tank is healthy and all. this is porbly the most you will be able to have in the tank.......how big does that plec get as i have no idea what it is....im guessing it might get two big for a 10 gal. as for the salt i have never used so i cant help you there.

 

[rdd1952]

A couple things come to mind. First off, you are definitely overstocked in the 10 gallon. Not counting the crab, I count about 24" of fish. Unless you are very over filtered, you will probably fight keeping the water quality good, expecially as the fish mature. Second, I'm not familiar with the crab but they generally aren't a good idea with smaller fish like neons. Crabs generally will lay in wait after the lights go out for any small fish that happens to come close enough for them to grab. Suddenly they have dinner. Also, with the cory (you really need at least 3 corys as they are schooling fish but you don't have room to add more) you can't add salt as they are scaleless. It will kill him.

As for the other tank, I have never kept cichlids but just based on size alone (not counting that they are very aggressive) that is way too many for the tank. Yellow labs grow to about 5", electrics to about 8" and the hap (this is the only thing I could find on them) to 8" to 10" so you have over 30" of VERY aggressive fish in a 12 gallon tank. I suspect they will definitely end up killing each other.

 

[Scott MacAdam]

hey your tank sounds cool. may become a bit crouded as time goes on though. yeah about the crab..... i'd love to have one!!! can you give me some info on them. where to get them , what they eat and so on... thanks

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Um, exactly how long have you been surfing this site for?

 

[freddyk]

I think your 10 sounds nice, though I agree that a couple more neons and cories would really be good for those you already have. The tank will be a little overstocked as the fish grow, but none of those fish are overly messy and you can always remove something later on so it's not too much of a concern.

The old salt debate is endless, but really - these are freshwater fish and why add to the water if you don't need to? I can assure you the secret to fishkeeping does not lie in any type of additive, it relies on research and dedication. Keep it simple.


You've unfortunately doomed those cichlids to a bloody and violent future if you keep them in that tank, not to mention they'll have no room to grow properly or do anything at all other then fight. Cichlids require a lot of research before diving into and you really need to get those fish back to the store.

 

[marcia5050]

for starters the12 gal wont be suitable for cichlids. those ones get somewhere around 6inches and these guys can be pretty aggressive....i would ask in the african cichlids section for more info as i dont know much about them.


as far as the 10 gal i would add 2 more bronze cories as they like to be in groups and a few more neons once you are sure the tank is healthy and all. this is porbly the most you will be able to have in the tank.......how big does that plec get as i have no idea what it is....im guessing it might get two big for a 10 gal. as for the salt i have never used so i cant help you there.

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Thanks! The pleco will stay very small - about 2.5 inches at maturity

 

[fish_keeper2]

wow a 2.5 inch plec. i want one now

is this what you have? it says it gets 5 inches though thatss not very big either


http/images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...hl%3Den%26lr%3D

 

[marcia5050]

Fishkeeper - Yes, that's my pleco. I've had a couple of these in the past and they've never reached anywhere near 5 inches. He's one of my favs. Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading about him.

 

[GSD]

3 neon tetra-need to be gorups of 5 plus

3 mollies -need salt to live a long life


1 golden claw crab-will eat your fish take it out!

1 bronze cory cat- NEED to be in groups of 4plus!!!!!!!!!

you cant add salt because helf the fish you have cant be put in a tank with salt in the water.

 

[playfulalliecat]

The 10 gallon isn't really too bad at this time. As long as you keep up on water changes and have adequate filtration, it should be fine for a while, IMO. As for the salt, any particular reason you are wanting to add it? I have had salt with tetras and plecos which were said to be insensitive to it and they thrived but it was a small amount of salt. I have never run a tank for an extended period (longer than a couple of months) of time with salt as I didn't really see any advantage to it.

Do you have lots of hiding places in the tank? Maybe the tetras are a bit afraid...neons are notorious for being eaten by other fish as they are so small. Fish will eat pretty much any fish that will fit in their mouth...some even try to eat those that really don't fit. I have never had neons last more than a day or two so really can't say a lot about them with salt or the other fish you mentioned.

As for the 12, you really need to get a larger tank. For the inhabitants you mentioned, I would recommend at least a 29 or 30 gallon. I have kept 5 Electric Blues (assuming you mean Scianochromis Fryeri, my previous breeding stock) in a 29 with no real problems. Provide lots of rocks, flowerpots, etc as hiding places. These fish like a rocky environment with lots of caves. They do get very aggressive. I had one male out of seven Electric Blues who ended up killing two other males and a female until he got the grouping he wanted.....himself and 4 females. It won't take long for them to start maturing and turning aggressive, these are fast growing cichlids!

I hope this helps you out some.

 

[marcia5050]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. My electric blues are melanchromis johanni. I know I have a problem in my ciclid tank and will probably take most back to the LFS until I get a REAL cichlid tank and do more research on them! The 12 gallon is ok for now as the fish aren't bigger than 2 inches at the moment. I need to do some serious work with that arrangement!

As for the 10 gallon, I've not had problems with the cycle at all except trying to keep the PH up. Luckily, waste has not been an issue. The gold claw crab hasn't bothered the neons at all and the neons aren't afraid of it. My new female dwarf gourami is a mystery. She hangs along the back wall of the tank (even at feeding time) and moves back and forth from behind the heater to behind the filter stem. I will research getting some more pals for the cory.

Thanks again.