Tasha

Hello Everyone. I'm new to owning fish, so I thought I'd learn from the Intellects..

We gave our 3 yr old son a 10-gallon tank for Christmas. It was set up for 2 days, then on New Years, we bought 2 Irredescent Sharks, 1 White( or Silver) Molly, 1 Betta, and 2 babies(caught in the net during transfer at the Pet Store). They all seemed fine, but then both Babies dissappeared(we were told they were big enough to be in the tank, but obviously that was wrong! ) One of the Sharks is looking a little fatter now tho... I'm worried about the size of his/her? belly. My hubby doesn't think it's any bigger, but it looks at least bloated. The other shark used to always stay near the 1st one,but now seems to hide behind a plant.

The temp of the Tank is steady at 75 degrees, and we feed them Flake food 4 times a day, in small amounts of course. All the fish have been eating the food without any problems. I'm not sure what 'Cycling' is, but we let the tank run for 48 hours like the instructions said. We have a couple of fake plants in there, but we want to replace them with real ones. The whole system has been running for 16 days, and the water is starting to cloud a little.

I'm now hearing that you shouldn't have sharks unless your tank is at least 50 gallons?! I've also read that Bettas don't get along with other fish, but he/she? seems really passive. It's the Molly that has 'head-butted' the sharks 2 or 3 times. Brave little bugger!

Anyway, from all that I've read today, I would think our tank is doomed! Any thoughts?

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

i am NO fish expert but i can tell you a few things:

1. your tank is too cold for the betta - they prefer the temp around 80 degrees
2. does you betta have long fins or shot fins?
3.i would DEFINITLY get a larger tank - iredecient sharks grow to 4 feet!!!!* *look here - http://www.fishlore.com/profile-iridescentshark.htm* - they need a HUGE tank!* they need a 300 gallon tank minimum.
4. what were the babies?*
5.* if i were you i - i know it would be hard but - i would take the sharks back.*
6. is this your first fish tank and fish?

like i said i am no expert but those sharks will be enormous - but* chickadee or cherryrose or someone would have better advice.* Miley

Butterfly

Welcome to FishLore We have people of all ages and experience levels from all over the world so come on in and be welcome!
At the top of the begginers section there is an article called (strangely enough ) "Fishlore articles for beginners" It will explain all you need to know about cycling. If you still have questions please ask.
Your tank is a little small for the fish you have. I would recommend the sharks go back. The molly will most likely make your bettas life miserable if he's picking on him.
A ten gallon is ideal for the Betta ans several bottom fish like Corys, bristlenose or ottos.You can get some more suggestions in the Betta forum. As for plants - live ones are very beneficial for your tank but you can have artificial ones if you like.
Carol