halibut_nods1

Ok,

Found a 10g tank and stand, been wanting one for a while. Rinsed it out(no cleaners) and filled after using a water conditioner(Aquasafe water conditioner), got a Tetra Power Filter, heater, digital thermometer, timer, running 40w florescent with two bulbs in the hood and am now almost 2 weeks into fishless nitrogen cycle(after researching on this site, thanks to all involved for the info).

readings so far:

72 - 76 deg. f
7.5ph
3.5ppm ammonia(used pure ammonia to get there)
haven't done nitrite reading figuring ammonia has to come down first, correct?

Just ordered moonlight blue LED bubbler, small silica bubbler, and eco complete substrate(planted tank, 1 rubin sword, 1 red wentii so far on gravel that I'm gonna switch out with the eco), python cleaner, extra filter for QT, plus other supplies I can't recall at the moment.

So, my plan is 5 or 6 cherry barbs for the tank and maybe some ghost shrimp to help clean the substrate. Is this an acceptable bio-load? Might be at the limit I think but I would appreciate more input. Also the second filter for qt I was thinking would be in the main as well so the bacteria are already developed when I switch it to a qt(rubbermaid container).

Also, I'm wanting to build a moss(christmas) wall for background and add a java fern and maybe another larger plant. I'm still researching wood and stone deco protocols and haven't decided what I'd prefer. Boiling regimen of the wood seems awfully time consuming although it does look great in the pix I've seen.

Sorry fer the long post but was hoping to cover everything ya might need for some advice as I'm a total noob to fish.

So comments, ?'s. Is the cherry barb school gonna be too much fer the 10g? Thanks in advance for any help.

Btw, hello everybody. My first post here.

agabr123

Welcome to fishlore!

Thank you so much for doing the research prior to adding fish! Most advice given to new members is how to get through their cycle having already added fish, and they have an uphill battle, but you're nearly there!

Now, cherry barbs can get anywhere from about 1.5 to 2 inches, so I would just get five and leave out the ghost shrimp, and you'll be stocked. (IF you keep up with water changes regularly, one or two ghost shrimp may not be a problem).

I would test your nitrite anyways, you could be getting some nitrite without all of the ammonia being gone, as a result of some but not ALL of the bacteria building up on your filter. By the end of the cycle, you'll get readings of 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and 5-20ppm of nitrate.

I'd turn your heater up a little, to around 78, cherry barbs do best anywhere between 74-79F.

Good idea keeping the filter media for QT in the main tank, however you're going to be needing that QT! I wouldn't recommend getting all of your fish at once, add them two at a time over the course of a few weeks, so you can give your filter time to catch up with the bioload. Before adding new fish to a tank that already has fish in it, you should QT them for at least 2 weeks to prevent any diseases from infecting your other fish.

I would also advise you to buy Prime to use as your water conditioner for when you do water changes (25-40% once a week), it detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours, so its safe for your fish, but it doesnt "lock" the ammonia (as products such as AmmoLock do), and leaves it accessible to your biological filter.

Dozey

Welcome to FishLore!

Sounds like you are off to a great start.

You should be monitoring nitrates as well. When you see nitrate levels starting to rise it's time to cut back the amount of ammonia you are adding to bring the ammonia level to 2ppm. When you have nitrate readings and are able to raise the ammonia level to 2ppm and have that drop to 0ppm in 12 hours that is when you are fully cycled.

Cherry barbs grow to about 2” so 6 would put you at 12” of fish in a 10 gallon. Likely manageable but 5 might be better.

agabr123

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-CherryBarbs.htm

here's more info on the barb, however (and correct me if i'm wrong), but i think that cherry barbs are shoaling fish, not schooling fish (meaning that they make a hierarchy), that doesn't make a terrible amount of difference, but if you notice them being slightly aggressive towards one another at the beginning, i wouldn't worry about it as they are probably just establishing the hierarchy.

also, consider your male to female ratio, i'm not 100% sure about barbs specifically, but most would advise 2-3 females per male to cut down on aggression and prevent one female from being chased to death by one male. i'd say one male for four females, or all females (not sure how that would work). anyone who has kept cherry barbs feel free to correct me if i'm wrong about that.

Nick G

I may be wrong about this but I'm sure I read somewhere that Ghost Shrimps have a negative Bio-load. So you might be able to keep a couple as well. Anyone confirm this?

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!

I agree with nick...the 5 barbs and some ghost shrimp would be an awesome tank...and the plants will make a great place for the shrimp....make sure you get pics!!!

halibut_nods1

Thanks fer all the input, everybody!

Gotta get that API test you guys recommend, it has the nitrate test that the Tetratest Laborett doesn't.

Sounds like 5 cherry barbs is the way to go. Always wondered if shoal was a typo of school so thanks fer the info, aga! I'll look out fer the m to f ratio and be sure to not get all 5 at once.

Ghost Shrimp possibly a negative bio-load? That would be cool. From what I read here I hafta wait til the tank matures a bit before introducing them so I got time to find out about that.

thanks again, everybody!

agabr123

once you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-20 nitrate, you can begin to add fish, i'm not entirely sure how to advise you to add fish, since the barbs need to shoal and adding them at different times would disrupt that IMO, but if you add them all at once keep an eye out for a "mini-cycle", you'll see a small rise in ammonia and nitrite so that your biological filter can catch up with the added bio-load in the tank.

Jess

I would add the ghost shrimp. The amount of work they do is so beneficial in keeping algae down.