Getting discouraged

I'm sure this happens a lot to people. But I have a 10 gal tank. 1 plecko. Use to be 1 black Moore. Well did a standard water change just like I always done it. Clean the gravel didn't agitate the gravel, added stress coat, filled with water, and a bit of aquarium salt. Woke up
Today the black Moore had died. I tested the water and everything was off the charts ammonia, nitrate nitrites. Not sure what the cause is.

 

It's probably that the tank is very overstocked. If the pleco is a common, it will get over a foot long and plecs in general are notorious poopers. Fancy goldfish (the black moor) need a 30 gallon minimum (for one) for the same reason as the plec, they get big and have a huuuge bioload. Your filter and bacteria colony couldn't keep up.

 

A 10 gal is small for a plecko and a moore. There stocking suggestions for 10 gal tanks on this site. Also is your tank cycled?

 

We've all been there at some point, its just important to learn and make changes in order to improve things. We can't learn to play the piano in one day, the same day that we can't "learn fishkeeping" in one day either. Don't get discouraged! That's why we're here, and we all get to learn from each other and then help others that are having the same or similar issues.

Can you rehome your pleco? Honestly, he'll grow the tank out and will just suffer in there with little space to swim and water parameters that are not adequate either. A lot of stores take fish in for store credit, you can just look them up and start making some phone calls to see who can take him in!

Sometimes we like to push the limits, but at the end of the day, proper stocking is essential to successfully keeping our fish happy and healthy. Perhaps we can help you with some stocking ideas?

Also, like jpm995 suggested, cycling your tank is very important. Is there any more info you can provide so we have a bigger picture of your setup? Filter? Is it heated? Substrate or plants? All these things are important too and will influence the type of fish you can keep in there. Remember there's fish that come from all over the world and live in very different conditions, ranging from different Ph, temperatures, and hardscape. It is our job to do a little research and then cater to our fishy's needs.

Keep going, it's worth it!

 

Sorry for the vague description. 10 gal tank. My dilemma is I'm going to be upgrading my the end of the year to a 120. But I have to redo my floors. As of now I only have one plecco and just added two tiny tiger barbs. Hang in the back filter with carbon and ammonia cartridge. I added today was a heater for the barbs

 

Still need to clean and set it up. I'm also going to read up on what cycled means

 

You can click on this: nitrogen cycle
Your barbs will need to be in a school much larger than two to avoid nipping each other until one of them dies. Six would be minimum, ten to twelve would be optimal. A ten gallon isn't really adequate for them either.

 

As others have stated, they pooped themselves to death, over polluting the water.

Definitely read up on the nitrogen cycle and fish's requirements before putting them in there. Also, it's usually wise not to take any advice you get from the person at the pet store. Go home, do research, check out the forums on here and ask questions if you need to, then decide what you'll do. You can never do enough research!

Here's a handy list showing possible fish to stock the 10 gallon with. https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/stocking-list-for-10-gallons.207629/ and when you do stock it, you'll probably only wanna go with a few fish at a time.

I myself have a 10 gallon stocked with a single Betta and 3 Amano shrimp.

Also don't get discouraged, mistakes happen to everyone starting out. (I am a beginner as well. ^o^) Welcome to the forums and much luck in future fish keeping. c:

 

Update update

Well since the last post I actually upgraded. I got tired of the issues with my 10 so I went with a 30. Also the big 120 is going to be up for sale. Eventually. I been with my 30 probably from a week after the last post on here. I did do a cycle but I added turbo start from my local aquarium place to help with the cycle. As of now I have 9 tiger barbs , one albino frog and still my pleco

 

As stated above, pleco's are known for having a massive bio-load (I.e. they eat a lot and what comes in must go out) so cycling a tank with anything more than just him is going to put a lot of toxins into the water. The reason why people suggest stocking very lightly when cycling a tank is because it gives the bacteria ammonia and nitrites to feed off of, without adding so much it becomes unmanageable. I've never heard of turbo start, but using the contents of a wrung out sponge filter from a trusted LFS is not a bad idea, assuming you have no used media or substrate yourself. Tetra Safe Start has been praised by many people on this forum as well as Seachem's Stability. Stability has more mixed reviews than TSS, but if you really want to use a bacteria starter those would be the two to use (not in conjunction, use one OR the other). I overstocked my first tank when it was cycling and I got it cycled using a combination of TSS and a bag of "miracle water" (sponge filter contents) as myself and the LFS guy call it. I had 5 cherry barbs and 3 corys, however both of them are species with a low bio-load, and this was in a 13 gallon tank. Anyways It looks terrible and does contain some dirt but also contains beneficial bacteria. That fact that you have nitrates is a good sign, as that indicates you have a little of each type of colony of bacteria forming. Now someone correct me if I'm wrong, but make sure your ammonia and nitrites don't max out and if they do, do water changes to keep them at 2ppm or below and use Seachem prime as your water conditioner. Theres two reasons for this, one is the prime not only dechlorinates the water, but also locks ammonia and the nitrites into a far less toxic form that can still be used as food for the bacteria. The second reason is ammonia and nitrites can still be toxic to the bacteria themselves when in high concentration. Daily water changes with prime will help significantly but I still believe you're stocked a little too much to have a successful fish-in cycle without losing any fish. I'm glad you decided to upgrade to a larger tank, although it may not seem like it, larger tanks are much much easier to maintain than smaller tanks. The fish will also greatly appreciate it, unfortunately there aren't a great deal of stocking options for 10 gallon tanks. There is definitely some, but if you're like me you'll find that a lot of the fish suggested for a 10 gallon are not available locally and my fish stores haven't been too much help with obtaining fish. For example, I requested 5 peppered corys to go with my one whos being moved to a 45 gallon. That was a month ago, and they've gotten 3 shipments of fish in since then and peppered corys are not uncommon. Welcome to the forum and absolutely feel free to ask away!

NOTE: The large bottle of Prime (500mL I believe) is only $20, give or take a buck. Tetra Safe Start was only available at one of the local walmarts, nowhere else in town not even the fish stores, but was very cheap. Please make sure you take note of the size of the bottle. On the front of the bottle of Tetra Safe Start, it says it treats up to 100 gallons, assuming its the 3.38mL size bottle, but this is not true. If you read the fine print on the back, it says one bottle is good for 20 gallons when starting a new tank. The 100 gallons figure is for maintenance only. Use two full bottles and shake them vigorously beforehand.

 

Lots of good advice here
Don't give up my dude, fishkeeping is very enjoyable once you get the hang of it!
Just remember to always research your fish before putting them into a tank

Have fun

 

Update update

Well since the last post I actually upgraded. I got tired of the issues with my 10 so I went with a 30. Also the big 120 is going to be up for sale. Eventually. I been with my 30 probably from a week after the last post on here. I did do a cycle but I added turbo start from my local aquarium place to help with the cycle. As of now I have 9 tiger barbs , one albino frog and still my pleco

Rehome all fish and properly cycle your tank. Stop buying fish until the tank is safe for fish.
Fishkeeping is about meeting the needs of the fish, not yours.

 

Welcome to fishlore

Update update

Well since the last post I actually upgraded. I got tired of the issues with my 10 so I went with a 30. Also the big 120 is going to be up for sale. Eventually. I been with my 30 probably from a week after the last post on here. I did do a cycle but I added turbo start from my local aquarium place to help with the cycle. As of now I have 9 tiger barbs , one albino frog and still my pleco

Do you have a liquid test kit? Would you test both your tap and tank for ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and post them back here.

I haven't heard of the product you mentioned but see it's made by Fritz Aquatics. When you say that you did a cycle, what does that mean? What was your ammonia source? Was that before you had fish or are you cycling with fish right now?

You're stocked very heavily for cycling a tank I'm sorry to say, no frog and half the tiger barbs would be better for cycling to start out with. Do you have Seachem Prime? I would pick some up as it will protect your fish from ammonia and nitrites up to 1.0ppm.

You can cycle with fish and keep them safe but it takes more work.

Let me know your current parameters and we can go from there.