RBA

Finally my nitrogen cycle is over, after 2 months. I had 2 zebra danios and i went to LFS to get some Neon Tetras. I found out that zebras might get nipped by danios so i thought i ll just give those danios to someone. Anyways, when i went to store they did not have Neon Tetras, so i ended up getting some other fish. 3 Bard Tigers, 1 red velvet swordtail and 1 dalmation molly. So i have total of 7 fish in my 10 Gallon Tank. Can someone let me know if this is a good combination or not. And if i give my danio away, what should i get. And also is it ok to have 3 bard tigers or should i get more of them. Please let me know. Thank You

Stradius011

I don't think it's the greatest combo. You have 3 types of fish that like to school; tiger barbs, zebra danios, and neon tetras. I would return neon tetras (they aren't very hardy) and the tiger barbs (aggressive) and get more zebra danios. I don't know a lot about mollies and swordtails so I don't know on that 1.

RBA

actually i dont have any neon tetras. And i might end up giving danios away. I thought tiger barbs are community?

Stradius011

Oh...I misread it. Tiger barbs are community tropical fish but are semi-aggressive.

COBettaCouple

well danios like to be in a group of 6 or they can be nippy. swordtails and mollies also like to have at least a group of 2 or 3. You'll probably want to find a new home for someone as the tank's gotten overstocked.

Neville

Hi RBA,how r u?

mixing too many species in a 10 gallon is not a good idea. i think 6 barbs and 6 danios will be great. but if u want to return the danios and keep the swordtails, keep 1 male and 3 females because male swordtails may become aggressive if kept alone.
so my suggestion is 6 barbs and 4 swordtails; return the danios and the molly. u can give them to your friends or try to return them to any LFS, or u can buy another tank (it would be great).

RBA

I have another question, now that cycle is done and i have not changed the filter in a month and havent vaccumed the gravels in a month. Whats the best way to change the filter and can i vaccuum now? Does Bard Tiger and Neon Tetras get along well?

vin

Tiger barbs and tetras should be fine...Barbs and Swords could be a problem as barbs like to nip.....If not kept in a large enough group they may feel the need to nip that pretty tail on the male swords. Swords also get large....upwards of 4" and may not be the best thing for a 10g...Even the molly will get to be large and the barbs up to 3"....You'd actually be better off with 2-3 platies or fancy guppies and maybe a dwarf gourami or a betta.

Barbs are the issue here.....They are semi-agressive fish and there aren't too many small or fancy tailed fish that wouldn't be bullied by them. Even larger, slower moving fish like gouramis or bettas would be pestered. You could put some tetras with them, but for both species to feel comfortable you'd really need 5 of each and your tank is too small for that to handle.

cress10

This is right about male sword tails. They are peaceful fish when kept with a number of females, and become very aggressive when are kept alone with other fish, or even with one other female swordtail. My male killed a female because they were the only 2 in the tank. I am sure that he just really stressed her out. But now I have 2 to 1 and he is as happy as can be. And it does sound like the tank is a little crowed. If you want to keep them healty move some out as soon as possible.

C~

capekate

I know that tiger barbs get a bad rap sometimes but I have to say my tiger barbs have been very well behaved. I had four with long fin black skirt tetras and they never bothered them and never saw a problem of fin nipping. Though they were in a 29g and not a 10, so its hard to say how they would be in that small a space with other species.
They never bothered the tiny otos.. or the angels when they were together. Dont give up on the tiger barbs and actually they are such a kewl shape fish with great markings. The dalmation molly will get large and may not be happy in a 10g. they also like to have at least one other molly with them as was the case with my own dalmation mollies. They hung around together and were so playful. Maybe you should try the three tiger barbs, which are fine, I had three for a long time and it worked out well with no problems, and two dalmation mollies and bring the swordtail back. that swordtail is the only one in my opinion that you may have problems with in this combination of fish.
Good luck with your fish and your choices.... ~ kate

Big Al Fishkeeper

If you keep the danios, get more to make a school. I have 5 zebra danios and just 1 dalmation molly (had 2 but lost one). The dalmation molly I have gets along well with the school of danios. I did have a red tailed shark (bought before I realized he is semi-aggresive), but he died as well and I will not replace him (they died before I found this website and my tank wasn't completely cycled). Good luck!

COBettaCouple

we clean our tanks once a week and do 25% water changes with the cleaning. the filters we either change every 4 weeks or clean them in clean treated tap water and put them back in. If you use activated carbon, change it weekly unless you use the Marineland Black Diamond carbon, then every 4 weeks should suffice. when we do the weekly cleaning, we also swish the filter sponge in a clean bowl of treated tap water, just to get any gunk off it.. that's about as much cleaning as we do to the sponge because of all the good bacteria on it.

capekate

Did I read this right! You are rinsing your sponge from the filter in treated tap water? omg... that will kill off beneficial bacteria dave! Ive read that its a good idea to rinse the sponge out in your tank water that you removed during a water change.

RBA

Its been 2 days since i had my new combination of fish and i ve been watching them very closely. There seems to be no problem at all with any of the fish. They all get along just fine. Only thing I notice different is that molly is always following swordtail, but not nipping or fighting. Is it possible that molly is trying to mate with swordtail? I dont know if they are male or female or what, anyways, everything is fine.

vin

Kate, they barbs and the other fish may get along great....but they will get too big for the 10g....They need to be in a 30g....same for the swords...They will get to be about 3" & 4" respectively.....There's no room for them to swim which will no doubt lead to aggression.

COBettaCouple

it's treated tap water, so no chlorine, etc to kill the bacteria.

RBA

Ok, i went to my LFS and returned Molly and Swordtail and got 3 more tiger barb. I thought they will be peacefull if baught in group of six. I also baught 3 red wagtail platy. Soon as i put them all in the tank, tiger barb started nipping on Platies, so i took Tiger Barbs out of the tank and put them in a small tank, so i can return them. Now i need some help. I want to keep platy but i also want to know which fish will be peaceful and also look good with platy. Please help me out... Thank You

COBettaCouple

rasboras or tetras or other livebearers like different types of guppies (the lyretails are really cool) would work with platys.

RBA

Is rasbora a species? How come i cant find it in species?

COBettaCouple

they're in the Cyprinids section at http://www.fishlore.com/TropicalFishProfiles.htm

RBA

Ok, now i have 3 platies, 6 neon tetras and one algae eater in my tank. Everything seems fine, they all get along fine. They are happy and I am happy.

COBettaCouple

sounds like a great tank. have you posted pics of it?

Neville

So r your platies male or female? if u have mixed male and females u will have fries very soon....and if the algae eater is a common pleco then u may have to return it very soon because plecos grow up to 10-12" within 6 months!!!!!!!!!

RBA

I havent posted pics yet because my cam is not working, i have to replace the battery. How do i know which ones are male or female? I didnt know that Plecostomus grow that big, i just read about them and it said that it could grow up to 18 inches. I guess i ll wait for couple of months to see how large it gets and if it gets too big then i ll have to give it back to my LFS. But other than that, everything in the aquarium is just fine, everyone is getting along just fine.

COBettaCouple

http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/index.php?topic=2834.0 has pics to help you sex your platys. Plecos will grow to that size so the sooner the better for getting them into bigger tanks, otherwise you end up with stunted growth.

RBA

Ok, i see, so female has 3 fins down there and male has only 2 right? I ll go home today and check it out.

COBettaCouple

they both have 3, but the anal fin on the female is fan shaped and the male's is more tube shaped.. males also tend to be smaller than females in platys.

RBA

ok these are all female

COBettaCouple

cool.

Neville

Bad luck dude; u can't have fries!!!!!