ahiggins

I added Safestart a week ago to my 10 gal tank with three cherry barbs in it along with some live plants. I have had my tank running for a little over a month and before Safestart, I was using Cycle. I did my last water change when I added the Safestart last Sunday.
My levels are:

Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 5 ppm

I know these are good levels but I am wondering,
Is my tank cycled?
When should I do a water change?
And, Can I add more fish now and if so, how many?
I want to get two more cherry barbs and three cory catfish, but I was going to just get the two barbs and go from there.

Thanks,

Amanda

04_si

tank is cycled, I think you can do a water change after a week with Safestart (never used it myself) and you should maybe give the tank a couple of days to build up some bacteria before adding a couple more fish. if you rush it, the bacteria wont be able to keep up and might cause a little mini-cycle.

its only a 10g so 5 cherry barbs and 3 cory's would be overstocked. what about a pair of oto's for algae?

ahiggins

Thanks for your reply. Everything I've read says that I should have cherry barbs in a school of at least 5. The three I have now seem happy but I have two males and 1 female, so I thought I should get two more females.

I also was under the impression that I could have corys as well, and I was thinking three because they should be in a small school too, right? Can I just get two?
What should I do? I want more variety in my tank.

Shawnie

your tank is cycled...whahoooo..a great feeling isnt it? but I agree with 04_si..give it some time and then add fish..and even tho you "should" have something, doesnt mean you have the space for it....maybe trade in one of your male cherrys for 2 more fems? and then get a couple corys or otto's....water changes are ok now depending on what you are going to do for maintenance...some do weekly changes, others do monthly, some just do them when parimeters are off...but its safe now that you are cycled

04_si

i like the cory's but at 2.5-3 inches a fish, and 3 of them, thats a fair size bioload for a 10g. something with a smaller bioload would be better such as a small group of oto's or kuhli loaches

the loaches i know need to be in groups, but im unsure of how well they would do in a 10g tank (Carol maybe? you're always following me around, hopefully you are now too! hahaha)

Shawnie

those all are small buggers...an inch or so over wont hurt

pepetj

10 gal with good filtration (e.g. extra sponge) + regular maintenance would allow you to extend a bit the 1" fish per gallon rule.

4 Cherrybarbs (3F+1M) + 4 Kuhli Loaches or 4 Panda Corydoras. You could still add two Nerite Snails or a few (3 to 5) Ghost Shrimps...

Make sure your substrate is smooth for the Kuhlis or Pandas (e.g. sand or "rounded" small gravel), as well of avoiding decor with sharp edges.

Just keep monitoring your water parameters until your tank handles the bio-load steadily.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

04_si

how big do the barbs get? im thinking 2" no problem each, but i havent even looked into it haha

edit: research! 1.5 - 2 inches (MAX)

yeah 5 barbs, with even a trio of panda cory's would be fine with a little extra filtration and water changes!

we've all over stocked the odd tank before

ahiggins

Thanks for all of the great advice.
I am going to get two more female cherry barbs and consider loaches, I don't really know anything about them. I am going to start weekly water changes and see if that keeps the levels in check.
Just to make sure, after a tank is cycled, water changes are to keep the nitrates at the correct level, right?

Response to Pepe: I don't know what a sponge is for, I don't have one now, but if I need an extra one....what are they for?

Gilbert

A sponge (sponge filter)helps to with biological filtration, a colony of beneficial bacteria will grow inside the sponge. This bacteria helps to turn fish waste into relatively harmless nitrate, which is consumed by plants. The more beneficial bacteria (more filtration) will keep harmful bacteria levels lower thus allowing you to have more bioload(fish)

04_si

kuhli loaches right?

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pangio-kuhlii

this should be everything you'll need to know. Butterfly has kept probably every loach in existance, she knows her stuff. roaming the Loach forum on this website would help you learn about them too!

http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/kuhli-loach/

ahiggins

So could I get a sponge filter and set it up along with my power filter?

also, another question: after a tank is cycled, water changes are to keep the nitrates at the correct level, right?

Thanks again, this forum is so helpful!

JakeTeque

I love the color blue and yellow from the API test vials! Feels so good to know your fish have good water

jdhef

Correct, you need to do the partial water changes to keep your nitrates in the acceptable range.

Fishies-for-me

You CAN get a seperate sponge filter...or better yet if your power filter has room you just stick it in there...that is one of the reasons I love the aquaclear filters so much...there is so much room in them for extra sponges and stuff....another thing you can do if there is no room in the filter, is to make a prefilter by getting a sponge for a filter. ( no matter what brand as long as the size is what you want) and cutting a hole down the center...not all the way thru and sliding that up over the filter intake tube...it will also colonize with bacteria and will prefilter the water before it goes into the filter making filter cleaning easier as a lot of times you can just rinse the prefilter and be good to go again....good luck.