Complete Novice just bought a tropical set up

You might wish to read the book on freshwater aquariums that Fish Lore gives away, it is very well done (see top right of your screen).
If you are doing a fishless cycle, you might use the Fish Lore search engine and search (just above where you will see the book I mentioned) "Checking for soap in store bought ammonia" A bit of utterly shameless self promotion, that.
I just searched google using "fish suitable for a 10 gallon aquarium" which you might consider doing to get an idea of what you like--it is your tank, so the fish must appeal to you, not us. Having found some that you like, you can bounce those of the people here for opinions on ease of maintenance, etc.
Congrats on asking before doing, btw,, such is not always the case. Best to you, and best of luck
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Neon tetras are not hardy fish and will not survive the cycle, they also are not suitable for a 10g, imo, they need more space.

 

Neon tetras are not a good fish to cycle with. They're incredibly sensitive to swings in parameters, and they're also too big for a 10 gallon tank.

In a ten gallon, you're going to want a HOB filter that rotates the water in your tank about 10x per hour. You'll need an adjustable thermostat heater of about 50 watts (5 wpg).

The rest of your equipment will depend on what fish you decide to get. You'll also need to know how to acclimate your new fish. The proper way to do this is to hang their bag in the tank with something securing it to the side so it doesn't slip underwater. Give it 20 minutes to adjust to your tank's temp. Then add a little water from the tank to the bag, and remove some of the bag water and dump it out (you won't want any store water added to your tank). Repeat this every 20 minutes until you have no store water left in the bag. Total time varies based on how much water you're moving each time and how much water was in the bag to start with, but generally it takes at least an hour to ensure the fish don't die from the shock of water parameter changes.

When you're feeling confident that all of the store water is gone from the bag, you can dump the fish in and add the TSS. You'll want to do this no sooner than 24 hours after setting up your tank and equipment and filling it with dechlorinated water, as dechlorinators will interfere with TSS and potentially kill off the bacteria.

Basically how TSS works is that you add it 24 hours after dechlorinator, when you add the fish, and then do no water changes, water testing, or adding/removing of anything to the tank. Just feed the fish a little bit, once a day, and test your parameters no sooner than 14 days after you first added the medication. The only exception to this is if the fish start acting strangely - occasionally a bottle of TSS will go bad, so if you see odd behavior, you'd want to test your water to make sure ammonia poisoning isn't about to occur.

As for fish selection, you've got some good ideas on this thread. Another option is to go to the fish store and look at all of the small fish, write down which ones you like, and then go home and look them up for care requirements and minimum tank size.

 

Thank you this definitely helped

 

No problem.

I'll just put in a vote for Anders' idea of sparkling gouramis. They're one of the most interesting little fish I've ever seen by a long shot. Unlike most gouramis, they require a group, as they're loose shoalers and extremely social. I would also add that if you get them, you should consider a herd of low-mid grade red cherry shrimp and a bunch of live plants to go in there with them. Watching the sparkler's natural hunting behavior is the best part of keeping them, so as long as you don't mind losing some shrimp here and there, it's well worth it just to watch them hunt.

 

how easy to find and easy to care for are the sparkling gouramis and the red cherry shrimp

 

RCS are easy to care for and should be very easy to find. Sparkling may or may not be less common than them.

 

How hard is the maintenance for the sparkling gouramis

 

Eh they're both common enough. Just make sure to get low grade RCS, since they're going to be feeders. You don't want to spend a fortune on fire red shrimp only to have them get murdered by fish half their size (yes, it will happen. The redder the shrimp, the more the sparklers want to eat them).

You may find that ordering the fish online is the best option, if you don't have a good fish store near you that carries the gouramis. Rest assured that if it comes down to that, both the fish and shrimp will ship very well, and they'll probably arrive healthier than any fish you can find in a local shop

 

And any ideas for what plants, substrate, decor for the shrimp and gouramis

also what's your advice on the little sucker fish I always had one in my tank before I took a break from fish keeping

 

also what's your advice on the little sucker fish I always had one in my tank before I took a break from fish keeping

Almost all "sucker fish" are too big for a 10g. Any that are small enough are going to be very rare.

 

The only option for cleaning in a 10 gallon is either snails or shrimp.

 

And any ideas for what plants, substrate, decor for the shrimp and gouramis

A few big clumps of java moss tied to rocks and wood would be great for both the shrimp and fish. You can then add some nice, easy beginner plants like Java fern and anubias, which you'd also tie to the decor. A few patches of floating Riccia Fluitans would be nice as well and provide cover for the gouramis at the top of the tank.

Avoid "sucker" fish. Very few catfish are suitable to this tank and the ones that are, aren't going to benefit it in any way. Your shrimp will be the cleaning crew. If you see gunge accumulating on the walls, as sometimes can happen, a mystery snail would be a great addition.

 

ok what kind of plants and substrate do u think would be good for sparkling gouramis and RCS. I was reading that sparkling gouramis like floating plants that cover the surface

 

Or better yet, just get an algae scrubber such as a Mag Float.

 

Ok no sucker fish. so just buy some rocks and wood from my LFS and tie the plants to it

 

I am a personal fan of anacharis. It soaks up ammonia better than most. Also very low maintenance other than pulling off the baby anacharis that shoot off and starting new plants. You can start with just one plant and within a few weeks will have several.

Also moss balls are great for shrimp and they love them. Pretty much a no maintenance plant. Java moss is great for shrimp. I just bought a bronze crypt off of a user on this forum that looks awesome. All very low maintenance.

 

I am a personal fan of anacharis. It soaks up ammonia better than most. Also very low maintenance other than pulling off the baby anacharis that shoot off and starting new plants. You can start with just one plant and within a few weeks will have several.

Also moss balls are great for shrimp and they love them. Pretty much a no maintenance plant. Java moss is great for shrimp. I just bought a bronze crypt off of a user on this forum that looks awesome. All very low maintenance.

The shrimp are going to need cover for the colony to survive. Marimo balls won't quite do it unfortunately. They're pretty, though, and a neat little plant, so adding them can't be a bad thing

Anacharis and rotala are both easy stem plants, but both will need at least 6500k lights which may or may not be on this particular tank's kit already.

And to the OP, as for floating plants, that's why I suggested Riccia fluitans. It's nice looking, won't take over the top of your tank, and will give the gouramis a place to feel secure near the surface. However you'll also want to tie some of the anubias and java fern where it's near the top as well, to provide depth and more hides for the fish.

 

what cover do you recommend for the RCS

 

As I said before, Java moss will be ample cover for the shrimp. You can cover most of the bottom of the tank with it.

 

Ok thanks for your help

 

I am a complete noob, unless you count keeping a betta I won at a fair for 2 years, and the goldfish I had when I was 5 and sadly died a month later.

I have room for a 10 gallon tank now. Could go up to a 20 gallon if you guys reccomend it, will just have to relocate some books. I know the bigger the tank, usually the better for beginners.

I know I need a tank(obviously) a filter, substrate of some kind, and a heater. I'll need to let the tank cycle, I was thinking fishless. just don't want risk losing too many lives if I muff it up. but I am willing to do it with fish you guys suggest it.

I am thinking fancy guppies. because they come in a wide range of colors, there docile, there lively(or the ones ive seen are) and Ive heard there pretty easy to take care of so I want get in over my head.

I was also thinking of adding some type of bottomfeeder. helps the tank stay clean, and extra bonus is it will add some contrast.

Theres what Ive gotten from research. what do you guys think, and what do I need to know?

 

First, let's check what sort of water you have! It's important to know what"s in your tap water. Is it high pH? Low KH? High GH? You'll always need a water conditioner!

 

I would get the 20long if you got the room and cash! Bigger is always better with tanks. Guppies are great and very active they also are live breeders so be prepared to have lots of fry in your tank!! . For a bottom dweller I would suggest Cory cat fish they are so fun to watch and have great personalities. They are a schooling fish so I would add no less then 6 of the Cory's. Do you plan to add plants? With a 20 gallon you have options with what fish you want to keep. I'm sure someone will charm in about stock #!

Good luck keep us updated

 

HI welcome to FishLore!
Here's a good place to begin your research
FishLore's Free E-Book

 

Welcome aboard. What size tank were you thinking of getting?

 

First, let's check what sort of water you have! It's important to know what"s in your tap water. Is it high pH? Low KH? High GH? You'll always need a water conditioner!

heres the water company's quality report. Never tested the water myself https://www.amwater.com/twq/montrose_twq.pdf
will my water determine what I can put in my tank, or just how I will treat it?

I will definitely be using a water conditioner. which do you recommend?

I would get the 20long if you got the room and cash! Bigger is always better with tanks. Guppies are great and very active they also are live breeders so be prepared to have lots of fry in your tank!! . For a bottom dweller I would suggest Cory cat fish they are so fun to watch and have great personalities. They are a schooling fish so I would add no less then 6 of the Cory's. Do you plan to add plants? With a 20 gallon you have options with what fish you want to keep. I'm sure someone will charm in about stock #!

Good luck keep us updated

Maybe I will go with 20gal then.
Another question, how do I control breeding? I don't want to end up with more guppies then my tank can handle. I can obviously only have males or females in my tank. but any other way to take care of population? don't know anyone who would want feeder guppies.

will have to look into those. they sound perfect.

Thought about it, but don't want to complicate things too much. but I might still add some real plants into the mix.

have room for a 10gal. but I can make room for a 20gal if you guys think it would best.

 

All males are best. There the pretty ones any way.if you do want some Corey's or something like that for the bottom a 20 long would be better. Believe it or not a larger tank is easier to maintain a cycle.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

I would also get the 20 gal long instead of the 10 as it would open up more stocking options. I noticed the water report has some ranges but you'll want your own test kit for specific numbers out of your tap as well as to test and monitor your parameters of your tank water. Many recommend the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. This kit will test your pH, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The KH/GH test kit is sold separately by API. It might be good to know esp if you're planning on having guppies which need harder water to thrive.

As for a water conditioner, many of us use Seachem Prime which also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite up to 1ppm for 24 hours. Cycling can take up to 12 weeks but you can speed it up to 2-3 weeks with the use of a bacteria supplement like Tetra SafeStart Plus or Seachem Stability. Both can be used with fishless and fish-in cycles so once you decide which method you'll go with, we can guide you step by step.

You can prevent breeding by just getting male guppies. I'm a big fan of corys and I think they are an excellent choice but they prefer sand.

Here are some other threads of interest as you start your adventure into fish keeping.

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/ammonia-instructions-for-a-fishless-cycle.19627/

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/q-a-with-tetra-about-tetra-safestart.58116/

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...-set-up-a-low-light-low-tech-planted-tank.24/

 

Maybe I will go with 20gal then.
Another question, how do I control breeding? I don't want to end up with more guppies then my tank can handle. I can obviously only have males or females in my tank. but any other way to take care of population? don't know anyone who would want feeder guppies.

will have to look into those. they sound perfect.

Thought about it, but don't want to complicate things too much. but I might still add some real plants into the mix.

If you don't fry go with all males, they are usually more colorful and absolutely no chance of babies. Females can have a number of pregnancies from one insemination. So you could get them pregnant from the store and she'll have fry 2 or three or four different times lol.

Sent from my BLU STUDIO 6.0 HD using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

WELCOME to Fishlore!

When you get a 20 gallon make sure you get the 20 gallon long instead of the 20 gallon high! As for equipment wise I suggest you get and AquaClear 50 and either a Eheim jager 100 watt or a Aqueon Pro 100 watt. Are you growing plants? If you do I suggest the Finnex Stingray!

Do you know how to cycle? I suggest getting the API Master test kit. It is one of the most reliable. Don't get test strips since they can be inaccurate. Many people here have already given you good suggestions for cycling the tank.

As for stocking get only male guppies! If you get all females usually some will be already pregnant! For male guppies you can have about 12! As for stocking do you want anything else beside guppies? You could in a 20 gallon long have either 6 cories or 8 kuhlI loaches for the bottom. Make sure when you get any fish to properly acclimate them. As for actually stocking your tank do not add all the fish in at once. For the guppies I suggest you add 3 every week, also make sure that every time you add fish to test the water since you can have a spike.

 

I want some cories in there too if possible. So if I went with a 10gal tank what can I put into it quantity wise. Ive decided on guppies, and cories. or should I leave out the cories in a 10gal tank cause I probably can't fit 6 of them in, and they like company?

 

Yea no Corey's in a 10 not much of a footprint for them. Stocking options are quite limited in a 10. Guppies, a betta or shrimp. Mabee a snail or 2

 

Here is the list for the only fish that can live in a 10 gallon: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/stocking-list-for-10-gallons.207629/ . There is actually a lot of things you can do with a 10 gallon!

As mentioned cories are unsuitable for a 10 gallon, since they are shoaling fish thy need to be in a group of 6 or more.

 

Yea no Corey's in a 10 not much of a footprint for them. Stocking options are quite limited in a 10. Guppies, a betta or shrimp. Mabee a snail or 2

Okay, so I need the 20gal definitely if I want more then a couple guppies, and a snail.

 

you recommended the eheim 100watt. Will that be enough? Where the fish tank will be can get down to 50F on a really bad winter day. As I human I just wrap up in blankets, but you can't wrap a fish in a blanket.

 

What size tank is this? If its a 20 gallon I'd go with a 100w.

 

Okay, so I need the 20gal definitely if I want more then a couple guppies, and a snail.

Yes a 20long gives you plenty of stocking options.

 

yea. decided on the 20gal. thanks!

 

Awesome.