My first tank, ten gallon planted

Hi everyone, this is my first tank. I helped my kids set up their own five gallon tanks but this is mine. I set it up January of this year.

Some basic brownish aquarium gravel.
An old school adjustable heater and a thermometer (78F).
Topfin ten gallon tank hob filter stuffed with lava rock, sponge, filter floss, and some plants (lucky bamboo and gold stripe).
Marineland led light.

Lots of java ferns, couple amazon swords, temple compacta, some mondo grass, moss on some driftwood, morimo moss ball, some pothos dangling in, and some random lava rock.

It started off with danios, ten of them. Eventually when I got the 45 set up I took 6 out for that. One of the four remaining danios, a runt, finally died after a month or so. It now has a glodanio because it was getting picked on in the glotank. Four danios total now.

We've had a platinum betta in there for quite a while. Probably three months?

We had six otos and a Chinese algae eater (that was sold to me as an oto and I was ignorant in identification). All the otos died. They did well for a while, eating and swimming around. Then one after the other they just died off. The CAE is still in there. Knowing what it is now I know it's in too small of a tank. Eventually it'll go to the 45.

We have a mystery snail and three nerites. Two of the nerites are destined elsewhere.

We tried hard to keep ghost shrimp alive but they just died in droves. Frustrating cuz I liked them a lot. They were the thirty cent specials from petsmart.

The water parameters are pretty consistent and it's always crystal clear. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate are usually around 20-40. pH 6.6, gh 300, low alkalinity. I'm currently working on increasing pH and alkalinity slowly. Water changes are rare, I let the plants do their job unless it gets over 40 nitrate. We top off with treated tap or boiled rainwater. I've got algae on plants but I scrape that off and feed it to the brine shrimp tank I'm working on stabilizing. the marineland light is intense and has actinic light, plus we leave the light on from six am to eight pm and it gets afternoon Sun. If I mitigated these things I'm sure i could control the algae.

We used to have a castle in it but I couldn't see the fish. Went all natural instead. They all seem to be happy.

 

Your otos probably died from starvation. They need constant algae. And otos and Chinese algae eaters need a tank of at least 30 gallons

 

Looks great. Maybe try Amano shrimp instead of ghost shrimp. Ottos and Ghost are super delicate and not many have luck with them. Amanos seem pretty hardy. The CAE I would get rid of. When it gets big it will suck on the sides of the other fish for slime coat. I would do a water change every week even if the nitrates are good. It replenishes all of the other minerals the plants and fish need.

 

An old school adjustable heater - how old is your heater? It could be that it's time to replace.

Four danios total now.- If you could get a few more healthy ones, danios really prefer to be in larger numbers.

We've had a platinum betta in there for quite a while. Probably two months?

We had six otos and a Chinese algae eater (that was sold to me as an oto and I was ignorant in identification). All the otos died. They did well for a while, eating and swimming around. Then one after the other they just died off. The CAE is still in there. Have you tried any of the gel foods? Repashy makes a great one and you can just smear it on wood or rocks for the CAE.

We have a mystery snail and three nerites. Two of the nerites are destined elsewhere.

We tried hard to keep ghost shrimp alive but they just died in droves. - Most likely due to low PH and fluctuating parameters eg rainwater / tap. Consistency is key.

The water parameters are pretty consistent and it's always crystal clear. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate are usually around 20-40-try to keep consistently around 20 or lower.

pH 6.6-is this your tap reading as well? why so low?

Water changes are rare, I let the plants do their job unless it gets over 40 nitrate. Well the plants can only do so much. Really, unless you are keeping a dedicated Walstad tank, waterchanges should be weekly. It's hard to tell how deep your gravel is-are those amazon swords in the back?

We top off with treated tap or boiled rainwater. Best to pick one or the other.

I've got algae on plants but I scrape that off and feed it to the brine shrimp tank I'm working on stabilizing. Do you know what kind of algae?

We used to have a castle in it but I couldn't see the fish. Went all natural instead. - Real fish, real natural! Love it!!

 

Thanks for all the replies!

fishgirl: seems like there's plenty of algae in there and plenty on the glass too. I'm told they are very delicate. If I got otos again it'd probably be from a specialist not petsmart. CAE I've read needs a bigger tank when they grow. As I mentioned it's likely going to end up in the 45 I have set up.

Stargirl: I wasn't happy when I found out it was a cae, I'm not good with just offing it. What do you suggest?

Fisheye: why replace? It holds a consistent temp. They don't make em like they used to!
I've been thinking about bringing the danios back from the 45 as it's mostly a guppy tank now. Wouldn't do that till I find a home for the betta and cae. I liked the dynamic of the danios alone in this tank.
I feed with fish flakes, algae wafers, and cooked peas spinach or zucchini.
Just tested my tap water and it's 6.8pH, 40KH, 50 GH.
Our captured rain water is 6.2pH, 40KH, 25GH.

Yes plants can only do so much, I'd love to have a true Walstad tank, but for now I just have as many plants as I can get in there. The bed is one inch. Yes they are amazon swords. I should probably have root tabs, but i don't.

I have been using rain water to top off so I'm not adding more and more minerals.

In do not know the type of algae. There's some on the glass but the nerites and cae mostly take care of that. There's green slime algae that grows on the driftwood and pothos roots. There's dark green tufts that grown on the tips of the java moss.

 

You can see if your lfs will take it back( or any will take it). Otherwise just keep an eye on it. If you see it chasing fish get it out of there.

 

Does your Betta get along with other fish? I'd love to take him/her. But not sure I'll have to see

 

Thanks for the reply.

Regarding the heater, as they can suddenly fail and cook your fish, this piece of equipment is generally considered replaceable after a couple of years. If you are comfortable then you are comfortable!

As for water changes, consistency trumps all for the health of your fish. Also, it's easier to pinpoint the cause of issues if you rely on one source.

I wonder if you could pinpoint the cause of the algae?

 

Does your Betta get along with other fish? I'd love to take him/her. But not sure I'll have to see

Sorry, I meant a home for him in one of our other tanks. My wife would kill me if I got rid of Sam! We have nine tanks. Sam gets along great with other fish. Actually all our bettas boys and girls do. They're all in community tanks.

The blue betta I'm treating is in the portrait tank that was originally designed for Sam. Once he's treated he goes to the community tank and Sam will likely go in the portrait tank.

 

Sorry, I meant a home for him in one of our other tanks. My wife would kill me if I got rid of Sam! We have nine tanks. Sam gets along great with other fish. Actually all our bettas boys and girls do. They're all in community tanks.

The blue betta I'm treating is in the portrait tank that was originally designed for Sam. Once he's treated he goes to the community tank and Sam will likely go in the portrait tank.

Lol. Alright. Sounds like you have some good fishies