jarrod

hmm,, the smaller one seems to be the one picking on the bigger ones, well atleast for the bit that i watched them.. now hes just chillin by himself in about the middle of the tank, while the other 2 fatty's are hangin out behind the no fishing sign..

dumb question, but..i was reading around the site, and is there supposed to be a peice of foam in the bottom of my filter under the carbon sack??(aquaclear filter) its been so long since ive had this tank setup(like 4 years) so i cant remember if there was before or not..

thanks again all for aswerin all my rookie questions..

iloveengl

Ooooooooooh, well, I see. That one may be a boy and he's a littly too, um, spunky for their taste. They may be avoiding him. It may be the aggression thing, too. I can't say for certain. Just keep an eye on him in case he needs to be separated.

Hmmm, I'm not sure what you may be referring to in regards to foam thingys, so I'll wait and see what the other members have to say.

BTW There's no such thing as a dumb question. I was the exact same way when I first joined - it had been years since I'd had a tank and I hadn't done it right (didn't know about cycles and all that), and everyone here was (and still is) super helpful and nice. It's just our thing Soon enough you'll be helping answer questions, too.

jarrod

although i am noticein that a 10gal is just to small.. cant put many fish in it.. so i am thinkin about upgrading to a bigger tank..i really wan to get atleast one angel fish..a small shark would becool, but id have to find out if their are capatable..

but i am unshure how do do this now that i have fish in this one..(i only have the one tank)

aquarist48

Hello Jarrod. If you do decide to upgrade to a larger tank, Angel fish are best kept in taller tanks compared to long ones.
How is the cycle coming along in the 10g tank?
Too,to Fish Lore!
Ken

jarrod

well so far so good, water is clearing and the fish seem to be fairly happy, although there definately seems to be the "in" group, and the outsider..

im goin to try and pickup a test kit tomarrow and see what the waters like..

theres a guy locally sellin a 55gal tank with fish, complete. sounds like great deal..

http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/9770422

but how would you transport it, and set it up and re introduce the fish fast enough to keep them alive?? do you just drain 3/4 of the water out, leave the fish in it and then transport home, and refill?? it bassically has all the fish i want already in it..lol

aquarist48

It sounds like a great find. If you decide to get it, and the tank is still up and running with the fish in it, "keep the filter media wet" at all times. You can transport the fish in a cooler. Add some Nova Aqua or whatever stress reliever/slime coat additive you have on hand. The cooler will help to maintain the temperature as well. Too, it would be a good idea to keep just enough water in the tank so that the gravel/substrate stays wet as well. The gravel and your filter media houses most of your good bacteria.

I think the Bala Sharks are going to out grow a 55g tank rather quickly. I would consider rehousing them, to the fish store or to a friend with a larger tank.

There is no need to keep the old tank water. The good bacteria needed to sustain the tank is not free swimming but attached to all surface areas in the tank (mainly the filter media and gravel/substrate as mentioned).
Best of luck and keep us updated!
Ken

jarrod

hey, can i put a one of those simese betta's in with the 10g with e black fin tetras?? or will the be to aggressive together..

Time

You could but I wouldn't really recommend it. My betta had stressed once. Bettas don't usually do good in community tanks but you could do it with no problem, you should post a thread and betta lovers will help you who keep them in community tanks.

jarrod

well i gota tape measure out and started sizing out the 55gal.. man thats gettin pretty big..would a tall 33 gal be good for a pair of angels and some other bettas / tetras

i think a taller 33 with some live plants and what not would be good enough for me..

iloveengl

Tall tanks are nice for a few angels because it gives the height they need for their pretty fins, but it decreases stocking ability because it takes away surface area. Just take it slow and think about what you really want. Are you most interested in Angels? Are you looking for a variety of fish? What does your space/finance allow you? It's so tough, but keep us updated as you decide what you want to do!

aquarist48

Good morning. Here is a link concerning Betta Care. Betta's really need a tank of their own. Welcome and Betta Care Guide - Please Read First!!!
They do not do well for very long in community tanks period.
Ken

jarrod

well just did my first water tests..here are the results..cycled with fish in tank..

ammonia-- .6
pH------ 6.5
nitrite--- .3
nitrate-- 5

good/bad/ugly?? ph is a bit lower than id like.. i think..

what should the readings be??

abc123d30

ammonia should be 0, nitrite should be 0, nitrate should be around 5 or 10, and pH depends on what fish you have. The ammonia and nitrites are very toxic to your fish, and could very well kill them. Trust me, I've been learning the hard way, my tank is going through a mini cycle and only 1 of my tiger barbs is survivng.

You should be doing about 50% water changes daily and add prime or amquel with each change until you have ammonia-0, and nitrites-0.

Time

nitrate should be at 0 in my tank. Lol but yes 5 or 10 youll be fine. Some have 20 and are fine. ammonia and nitrite should be at 0 for advanced organisms(like fish) to survive.

Lucy

Nitrate shouldn't be at 0 in a cycled tank unless it's heavily planted.

10gallonmadness

Your pH is fine. Most fish will adapt without problems to your pH, mine is 6.4 and I'm doing well. I don't think a pH of 6.5 would really limit you to what fish you could keep pH wise. But if you really wanted to raise your pH you could try crushed shells.

Time

Let me rephrase my post: Nitrate should be at zero in my tank. I wouldn't call my tank heavily planted but nitrate was at 0 last time I checked.

jarrod

well im thinkin of adding some fish to my 10 gal pretty soon, i was thinkin about gettin some guppies, and some neon tetras..i would like to get a small school of each, maybe 4?

then somekind of bottom feder/cleaner.

would that be to many fish?? obviously im not goin to get them all at once. how long should i leave between introductions?? ive herd people adding fish then it ruining their cycle??

thanks, what do you guys recomend?