# Fish thread?



## Kass

I know this is mostly for farm animals, so tell me if it's weird to start a Fish thread? 

Apart from my dream of having a farm, I would someday love to have a huge 500 gallon comunity tank with goldfish in it. 
I am starting with a 10 gallon planted tank. Does anyone here have advice? Or storys of fish-keeping? 
Any 10 gallon stocking ideas? 
I will post more details of my set-up later.


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## Goataddict

It's not weird.

I know friends who raise catfish not sure about goldfish though.

Hopefully someone else will help.


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## MellonFriend

My family has had quite a few fish tanks over my life time. We have never had a planted tank though. We currently have a 30gal. tall tank with a neon sword tail (Joker), an angelfish (Richard Armitage), a platy (Bon Jovi), a bunch of harlequin rasboras, one lonely bloodfin tetra (Starscream) and a couple glow light tetras. We are trying to get our hands on some kuhli loaches since we had some tank space free up from our third and final very short lived gorami (can't seem to get those things to live).

We only stock peaceful tanks now after my parents kept ending up with only one large dominant fish in tanks with cichlids and aggressive classified fish.

This website has been very helpful to us for figuring out tank capacity: http://www.aqadvisor.com/
This Youtube channel has been really helpful to us too: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJuJfXCKNWu4-VifYixs8A

Do you have anything in mind your thinking about stocking?


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## Goataddict

MellonFriend said:


> My family has had quite a few fish tanks over my life time. We have never had a planted tank though. We currently have a 30gal. tall tank with a neon sword tail (Joker), an angelfish (Richard Armitage), a platy (Bon Jovi), a bunch of harlequin rasboras, one lonely bloodfin tetra (Starscream) and a couple glow light tetras. We are trying to get our hands on some kuhli loaches since we had some tank space free up from our third and final very short lived gorami (can't seem to get those things to live).
> 
> We only stock peaceful tanks now after my parents kept ending up with only one large dominant fish in tanks with cichlids and aggressive classified fish.
> 
> This website has been very helpful to us for figuring out tank capacity: http://www.aqadvisor.com/
> This Youtube channel has been really helpful to us too: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNJuJfXCKNWu4-VifYixs8A
> 
> Do you have anything in mind your thinking about stocking?


Cute names


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## Tanya

I have 4 tanks. 6 foot, 2 2 foot and a 1 one foot. I am breedi g show guppies and bronxe and green corries. 
Gold fish are cold water fish. They do like airated tanks and places to play or hide in.


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## MellonFriend

Tanya said:


> I am breedi g show guppies


Oooo I bet those are pretty aren't they?


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## Tanya

You get some stunning ones. I have fiery males and lemons. My shining star is a rare Japanese. He just doesnt want to breed at the moment.
Fish, no matter what type are relaxing


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## Kass

I was thinking , for a 10 gallon, 
1 dwarf gourami 
2 snails
2 gost shrimp 
4 corydoras or 6 neon tetras

I have heard that dwarf gourami tend to be sickly... anyone have experience with that? 
I love the corydoras, but maybe the tetras would look better? I like both. The snails and shrimp are to keep algae under control .


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## Tanya

Dwarf gouramis must be in male female pairs. Bying young helps. They are prone to fin rot so you must put the medicine in for it.
Corys are wonderful little characters. Must be pairs at least. On their own they get distructive.
Neon tets are beautiful in schools. If you buy them young they will last.
Snails are awesome. I like apple snails.
Shrimps are cute. Shrimps are finiky. And carry some deseases like white spot and intestinal parasites.


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## MellonFriend

We have had terrible trouble with gouramis. We have had two dwarfs and a pearl at different times and they have not done well for us. They just hide and don't eat until the waste away. That doesn't mean you will have trouble though. I'd give it a shot if you really like them. We speculate that the flow in our tank is too strong for them. We have a larger filter than necessary and a bubbler.

Make sure that if you get snails that you have a lid on the tank. I hear they can get out rather easily.

Neon tetras would be good to get to start your tank cycling. We tried to get corys while our tank was still cycling and they didn't survive the ordeal. I assume since you are planting you will have some sort of soft substrate not gravel? Our corys did a lot better when we had sand. They love to snoop their little noses around in it.

We have had many ghost shrimp over the years and none of them have stuck around. They tend to just die and get eaten by the other fish, but we still get them occasionally just to see them for a few days and give our big fish a tasty snack.


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## Kass

I thought I read that Gouramis had to be single. I'll look into the pairs. 
I know cories and tetras are both schooling fish, so I can't keep both in only a 10 gallon, which stinks cause I love both. 
Do the mystery snails or the nerite snails clean better? My sister has 1 of each. Her mystery snail moves around and is fun to watch but doesn't clean too much. Her nerite cleans, but stays out of the water... so not very helpful. Do you have experience with either?


Tanya said:


> Dwarf gouramis must be in male female pairs. Bying young helps. They are prone to fin rot so you must put the medicine in for it.
> Corys are wonderful little characters. Must be pairs at least. On their own they get distructive.
> Neon tets are beautiful in schools. If you buy them young they will last.
> Snails are awesome. I like apple snails.
> Shrimps are cute. Shrimps are finiky. And carry some deseases like white spot and intestinal parasites.


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## Tanya

Sometimes I just get 1 of each. Snails function in different ways. 
Mellon Giroumis are pairing fish. Probably why they faded away. They swim in pairs and mate for life.
I would put 2 corys in. I agree soft sand is better for corys. Gravel works nicely with loaches and bala sharks.
What also looks beautiful is red tetras and tainbow tetras.


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## MellonFriend

Kass said:


> I know cories and tetras are both schooling fish, so I can't keep both in only a 10 gallon, which stinks cause I love both.


Yeah it's tough to stock a ten gallon sometimes because there's so much that would be fun to have. We used to only have a ten gal. and we bumped up to thirty for more stocking options.



Tanya said:


> Mellon Giroumis are pairing fish. Probably why they faded away. They swim in pairs and mate for life.


Interesting! I did not know this. Wouldn't be possible around here to get though, since our pet stores only stock males.


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## Tanya

Mellon. That is so sad. I have been breeding fish for the last 13 years. 
I absolutely love the tetra family. My faverite scrounger are the warm water snakes. They also school well. Another fish I like is the talking catfish. They also like to be in threes and fours.


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## Kass

What would you recommend for substrate? 
Not sure what I'll be planting. 
Going for java fern and java moss since they can be anchored to logs and rocks. 
I will have a grow light and the liquid fertilizer stuff. Tank around 78 degrees.
I still haven't ordered all the stuff yet. Just the tank. So if anyone has any recommendations or advice on affordable equipment, filter media, substrate, and stocking, opinions and ideas are welcome! 

I need ideas for a good center-piece fish. And either cories or tetras. Probably won't be able to fit both?


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## Kass

Only 2 cories? I could be totally wrong, but I thought they had to be kept in groups of 4 or more


Tanya said:


> Sometimes I just get 1 of each. Snails function in different ways.
> Mellon Giroumis are pairing fish. Probably why they faded away. They swim in pairs and mate for life.
> I would put 2 corys in. I agree soft sand is better for corys. Gravel works nicely with loaches and bala sharks.
> What also looks beautiful is red tetras and tainbow tetras.


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## Kass

I know! I want a bigger tank so bad! But even a 10 gal is kinda pushing it with my parents. Maybe if I maintain it well I could get a bigger one.... when I move out I want to upgrade


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## Tanya

2 corys are a good start. You can put in more. I have two of each kind. Albino, choral, bronze and green. 
The fern is excellent. Fish love playing in it. If you put bubnles between that you create a fish playground. Angels are also beautiful. 
The moss on logs creat good oxygen so you wont go wrong there. You may need at least 1 algea eater. They help maintain the ballance.
If you get a larger tank an interesting fish to keep is a knife fish. 
Dont forget. Dont put the tank in direct sunlight. Also put in ground filters too. Side filters are not always dffective.
Good luck.


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## MellonFriend

Have you considered getting a betta? They are not just for tiny little bowls. There are also ways to successfully keep them in a peaceful tank. I believe they can be kept with corys as the corys stick to the bottom mostly. We considered doing this with our ten gallon after we upgraded. It sure would be nice to save one from one of those horrible little dishes they sell them in. I think they look lovely in a planted tank.

I don't know if a planted tank differs with filtration, but in our filter we use two filter sponges, filter floss (folded polyester batting from the craft section is cheapest), and bio rings. We struggled with algae and proper filtration for a log time and found this to work the best for us. We get all of our filtration medium from from Fluval through Petsmart or Chewy. We also use a filter intake sponge which fits on the end of the filter intake as sort of a pre-filter. It keeps big debris from getting far into the filter and has worked very well for us. The guy from the Youtube channel I posted a link to recommends them.



Tanya said:


> If you get a larger tank an interesting fish to keep is a knife fish.


Those are cool. My parents had a knife fish once before I was born. It disappeared one day and they never found the body. (embarrassed)


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## Kass

I thought of a beta... I guess part of me wanted something more unusual... but it is a good option. I am getting a 15 gal filter for my 10 gal tank to ensure good filtration, so I don't want him to get blown around.


MellonFriend said:


> Have you considered getting a betta? They are not just for tiny little bowls. There are also ways to successfully keep them in a peaceful tank. I believe they can be kept with corys as the corys stick to the bottom mostly. We considered doing this with our ten gallon after we upgraded. It sure would be nice to save one from one of those horrible little dishes they sell them in. I think they look lovely in a planted tank.
> 
> I don't know if a planted tank differs with filtration, but in our filter we use two filter sponges, filter floss (folded polyester batting from the craft section is cheapest), and bio rings. We struggled with algae and proper filtration for a log time and found this to work the best for us. We get all of our filtration medium from from Fluval through Petsmart or Chewy. We also use a filter intake sponge which fits on the end of the filter intake as sort of a pre-filter. It keeps big debris from getting far into the filter and has worked very well for us. The guy from the Youtube channel I posted a link to recommends them.
> 
> Those are cool. My parents had a knife fish once before I was born. It disappeared one day and they never found the body. (embarrassed)


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## MellonFriend

We actually had a twenty gallon filter on our 10 gallon. I don't think that would too much of a problem. Bettas come in lots of varieties. Maybe you can get lucky and find an unusual one.

Look into apistogrammas (I think I'm spelling that right) and Kilifish. I could not find these in my area, but they are both a small centerpiece fish.


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## Kass

How big do they get? Do they have to be kept in pairs?


MellonFriend said:


> We actually had a twenty gallon filter on our 10 gallon. I don't think that would too much of a problem. Bettas come in lots of varieties. Maybe you can get lucky and find an unusual one.
> 
> Look into apistogrammas (I think I'm spelling that right) and Kilifish. I could not find these in my area, but they are both a small centerpiece fish.


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## MellonFriend

I really don't know much about them but a quick google says that apistogrammas should be kept in male female pairs and get up to 3.5 inches so they're probably out. 

I believe you can have only one male killifish. They are only 1-2 inches so they would be fine. They are gorgeous and come in many colors.


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## Kass

Ok. I have a new idea. 
-2-3 Male guppies. ( if you have experience, tell me if that is wrong) to prevent breeding 
- 5 panda Cory's. 
-2 snails
-2 shrimp 
- Sand substrate ( if I can find some inexpensive) . 
-Rocks and log to Plant Java moss+fern onto. 
-weekly water changes
- 15 gal filter

* can I keep just 2 guppies? Is 3 or 4 better? 
* can the plants only feed off of waste if planted in the substrate? If so, what plant has the same water parameters as Java, and also likes sand substrate? 
*I was thinking the snails and shrimp would only have the combined bio-load of about 1 fish. So that's what I'm counting them as. That's 3 guppies, 5 cories, and 1 fish. 9 in a 10 gal. Does that work?


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## MellonFriend

I believe that guppies should be kept at a ratio of one male to two females. I don't know if males will fight. I have only ever had one at a time. @Tanya what do you think?

What's the exact model of your filter?


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## Tanya

Mellon and Kass. I have a 5 gallon pump in my small tanks. In my 6 foot I gave a 15 gallon filter. 

Male guppies dont fight with each other. You can have 1 male to every 3 females. If you are show breeding like me that is my ratio per set.
Kass you can do a 25% water change every second week. If your filter system is good that will be all you need. My 6 foot gets changed every 6 months and my smaller tanks every 2 months. Live plants help filter too. 
Plecostamous also keeps tanks clean. You can only keep one at a time and they live forever.
Barbs are also beautiful and entertaining.


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## Ashlynn

In my 13 gallon lightly planted tank I have Zebra danios (very hardy fish), Rasboras, and Nerite snails. Previously I‘ve had Mollies, Platies, Mosquito fish (also keep them in the goats water to eat mosquito larvae), Mountain Tetras (did not go well), Guppies, Neon tetras, and Cardinal tetras. I want to get Cherry Shrimp soon. Plecos require somewhat specific tanks so I wouldn’t put one of those in a 10 gal until I’ve had more experience. The substrate I use is “Carib Sea Eco Complete Planted Black Aquarium Substrate” and it works well for the plants. My poor fish are in the garage right now and because it’s so hot out I cannot turn on their light. They do get natural sunlight from the window though. Can’t wait to one day either move them inside or get them an led that doesn’t produce heat.


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## Ashlynn

Kass said:


> Ok. I have a new idea.
> -2-3 Male guppies. ( if you have experience, tell me if that is wrong) to prevent breeding
> - 5 panda Cory's.
> -2 snails
> -2 shrimp
> - Sand substrate ( if I can find some inexpensive) .
> -Rocks and log to Plant Java moss+fern onto.
> -weekly water changes
> - 15 gal filter
> 
> * can I keep just 2 guppies? Is 3 or 4 better?
> * can the plants only feed off of waste if planted in the substrate? If so, what plant has the same water parameters as Java, and also likes sand substrate?
> *I was thinking the snails and shrimp would only have the combined bio-load of about 1 fish. So that's what I'm counting them as. That's 3 guppies, 5 cories, and 1 fish. 9 in a 10 gal. Does that work?


There are some plants such as Anubias that get their nutrients from the water instead of the substrate. I would maybe keep 4 panda cories, 2 nerites, up to 4 shrimp, and 4 guppies. In my experience all guppies will play fight but it's nothing serious usually. If you keep male and females you probably will never see the fry anyways as they will get sucked up in the filter or eaten unless you put any pregnant fish in a fry net or separate tank. To play it safe though you could keep all female guppies which won't breed and will be a bit more peaceful. Males are flashier though. Having plants to break up sight lines will help territorial fish to attack less if you ever have that issue. I love Java ferns but very slow growing at least in my tank. They do look amazing once established and provide good shelter for smaller fish. Amazon swords and Anubias grew in a flash if those might be of interest to you


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## Kass

Ashlynn said:


> There are some plants such as Anubias that get their nutrients from the water instead of the substrate. I would maybe keep 4 panda cories, 2 nerites, up to 4 shrimp, and 4 guppies. In my experience all guppies will play fight but it's nothing serious usually. If you keep male and females you probably will never see the fry anyways as they will get sucked up in the filter or eaten unless you put any pregnant fish in a fry net or separate tank. To play it safe though you could keep all female guppies which won't breed and will be a bit more peaceful. Males are flashier though. Having plants to break up sight lines will help territorial fish to attack less if you ever have that issue. I love Java ferns but very slow growing at least in my tank. They do look amazing once established and provide good shelter for smaller fish. Amazon swords and Anubias grew in a flash if those might be of interest to you


I'm leaning towards all Males. If the females are in a tank with the males at the pet store, they can store the sperm and continue having babies for like 3-10 months from what I read. So lots of baby fish!

I was going to get a mystery snail ( my sister has one and it is super fun to watch) but they may be to big for my tank. So 2 nerites (smaller) might be good. What is your experience with them? My sister has one, and it cleans well, but only above the water line. He rarely goes in the water.


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## MellonFriend

I was actually trying to ask Kass what kind of filter she has, but that's okay.


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## Kass

I will get back to you on that. I can't remember the brand. I haven't ordered yet,still checking different prices, but the one I'm looking at is a 15 gal slim hang-on-back.


MellonFriend said:


> I was actually trying to ask Kass what kind of filter she has, but that's okay.


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## Kass

MellonFriend said:


> I was actually trying to ask Kass what kind of filter she has, but that's okay.


Ok. So I changed my mind and ordered the 
MarineLand Penguin 100 GPH bio-wheel power filter.
It got good reviews and was only like $12.
What do you think @MellonFriend?


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## Ashlynn

Kass said:


> I'm leaning towards all Males. If the females are in a tank with the males at the pet store, they can store the sperm and continue having babies for like 3-10 months from what I read. So lots of baby fish!
> 
> I was going to get a mystery snail ( my sister has one and it is super fun to watch) but they may be to big for my tank. So 2 nerites (smaller) might be good. What is your experience with them? My sister has one, and it cleans well, but only above the water line. He rarely goes in the water.


True, guppies can store sperm I forgot. I've always had Nerites in my tank. They do well in many conditions as long as they're healthy when you buy them. With Nerites I've never had algae except one time when I tried using aquarium plant fertilizer in my tank. I haven't noticed them above water or at the water line any more than they've been in the middle or bottom of the tank. Sometimes they even go onto the plants and rocks in the tank. Bonus is that they won't breed unless there is salt in the tank, don't eat your plants, don't disturb the fish, and produce a negligible amount of ammonia. 2 sounds good for your tank. In my 13 gal I currently have 2, but have had up to 5 in the past. 1 even can keep the whole tank clean.


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## Kass

Ashlynn said:


> True, guppies can store sperm I forgot. I've always had Nerites in my tank. They do well in many conditions as long as they're healthy when you buy them. With Nerites I've never had algae except one time when I tried using aquarium plant fertilizer in my tank. I haven't noticed them above water or at the water line any more than they've been in the middle or bottom of the tank. Sometimes they even go onto the plants and rocks in the tank. Bonus is that they won't breed unless there is salt in the tank, don't eat your plants, don't disturb the fish, and produce a negligible amount of ammonia. 2 sounds good for your tank. In my 13 gal I currently have 2, but have had up to 5 in the past. 1 even can keep the whole tank clean.


Awesome! I can't wait to have snails in my tank! I just ordered my stuff and will set it up next week


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## MellonFriend

Kass said:


> Ok. So I changed my mind and ordered the
> MarineLand Penguin 100 GPH bio-wheel power filter.
> It got good reviews and was only like $12.
> What do you think @MellonFriend?


I think that seems good. (thumbup) I put your plan into AqAdvisor to check stocking vs filter capacity and that all works out.


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## Kass

MellonFriend said:


> I think that seems good. (thumbup) I put your plan into AqAdvisor to check stocking vs filter capacity and that all works out.


Perfect!
Thank you


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## Goataddict

@Kass how is it going.

Pictures please


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## Kass

I did not forget about you guys! 
I am getting back from vacation this afternoon, and hopefully setting up the tank today or tomorrow. I just have a couple more things to pick up tomorrow, plants and aquarium sand. 
I plan on cycling the tank for 2 weeks using Quickstart to speed it up a little. 
When should I add the snails and shrimp? (If I can even find any shrimp locally) should they be added early to help cycle the tank, or just at the same time as the fish?

My sister gave me some cory cat and shrimp food, as well as some filter media, so that helps. 
I'm pretty sure I can get to Petco tomorrow, so pictures should come then. I might post pictures of the supplies. 
Does anyone know if Petco carrys shrimp or snails? I would assume they have cory cats and guppies.


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## Goataddict

Hope the installation goes well.

And remember pictures.


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## Ashlynn

Sometimes Petco has Nerites and a few glass shrimp, but I like to go to a store that specializes in fish and aquariums because they have more variety and usually have healthier animals. You can add the snails and shrimp whenever.


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## Kass

I set up the tank today. I havnt filled it. Still figuring out outlets and cords.
The blue sand in the middle is supposed to be like a pond. It's also a favorite of corycats. 
View attachment 186945


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## Ashlynn

Are you planning on getting any plants? It looks so good and love the blue sand!


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## Kass

I'm thinking of Java moss and Java Fern. I saw some Amazon Sword, but I don't want it to out grow the tank.


Ashlynn said:


> Are you planning on getting any plants? It looks so good and love the blue sand!


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## Ashlynn

Kass said:


> I'm thinking of Java moss and Java Fern. I saw some Amazon Sword, but I don't want it to out grow the tank.


(thumbup)


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## Nudanud

If you want aquarium plants, stay far away from Buenos Aires tetras!

Here’s a little fish story for you..
My husband ran to the pet store to get fish food, and I had been half heartedly mentioning for a while that we needed more neon tetra for our one little lonely tetra that was in the tank with a female beta because tetra are schooling fish and they need a school etc etc.
He thinks to himself, I’m gonna be today’s hero and just get a few fish since I’m already here. He buys five Buenos Aires Tetras. Brings them home. I thought, whoa..those are huge..and not Neons. We temper them, add em to the tank. Everybody’s swimming around and fine. Feed them and they go NUTS. The things are just crazy to watch eat. I was kinda thinking “Hmmm”, but it is fun to watch so didn’t think too much about it. Next morning...ALL the leaves gone on my really tall aquarium plant. I’m like, you got me PLANT eating fish?! So I decide to look this fish up...not only did he get me a fish known to CONSUME any plantings you might have..he got the ONE fish NOT recommended to be with beta or neon tetras! Boy, did I get a good laugh at that mistake! 
Unfortunately, the beta died, I’m assuming stress, but the one little neon seems happy as can be with his pod of much larger Buenos Aires. I no longer have a planted aquarium though. They just ate..everything!


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## Goataddict

Thanks for the pictures @Kass

The tank is looking good.


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## Kass

I filled it today!


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## Kass

I won't be able to get the plants for a couple days. Still working on hooking up the heater and light.


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## Kass

I hooked up the light and heater. all that's left is the plants and fish.


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## Goataddict

Looking good.

How is it going?


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## Kass

Good! The filter had this really obnoxious grinding noise for the first day, but I fixed it. The lights and heater are working well. 
I'm hoping to get plants in the next couple days. Then fish in the next couple weeks. 
The lights can turn blue too, so that's really cool


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## Goataddict

Hooray glad that it is going well.


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## Kass

I finally got some plants! Java fern!


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## fivemoremiles

I think you are thinking too small.
I use a free hot tub as a tank. the filters go on the jets air too. lights are a bonus.
the Hot tub is just the grower tank when my trout are 4 inches long i transplant then in to my two acre pond.
feeding my fish in the pond was the highlight of my day.
i lost my fish last year to a severe freeze. they suffocated because of a power outage.


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## Ashlynn

The tank looks so good


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## Tanya

Looking good. Cant wait to see the fishes.


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## Goataddict

(thumbup)


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## Kass

I would love to do that. And have a fish pond. Unfortunately we aren't ready for that yet, but it is definitely a dream of mine.


fivemoremiles said:


> I think you are thinking too small.
> I use a free hot tub as a tank. the filters go on the jets air too. lights are a bonus.
> the Hot tub is just the grower tank when my trout are 4 inches long i transplant then in to my two acre pond.
> feeding my fish in the pond was the highlight of my day.
> i lost my fish last year to a severe freeze. they suffocated because of a power outage.


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## MellonFriend

How's your tank doing?


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## Kass

It's doing good. It doesn't seem to be cycling though. I've been testing it like every few days and there hasn't been any changes over the past almost month except for the PH . I took out the big rocks because I heard that rocks can mess with the PH and I already have a high PH... 8 or 8.2. I'm hoping to get a driftwood center-piece when I go to get the fish. I've been trying to get to the per store for q couple weeks now but haven't gotten a chance.

I put some rocks behind the tank to give it a little more depth.


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## MellonFriend

Okay I could be wrong, cuz I don't no if the plants change this, but I think you need fish in there to start the tank cycling. To get the biological filtration and nitrate-nitrite cycle going.


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## Kass

You can also start it with fish food which will act almost like fish waste.


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## MellonFriend

Interesting, I did not know that!


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## Kass

My theory is that that since I dont have pure ammonia, just fish food, the plants are able to take care of it before it makes a big impact in the tank.


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## MellonFriend

That sounds like a good hypothesis. What do you think you are going to do about it?


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## Kass

I'm going to get the 3 male gupoies and test the water for a couple weeks and see how they do. If the tank does well I'll get some panda cories.


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## MellonFriend

Sounds good. (thumbup)


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## Kass

Tank update!
I finally got some fish today! At first I meant to only get the Guppies then get the cories later. But after previously visiting both stores and finding them sold out of both panda cories and pygmy cories, I decided if they had them I would get them. So I went and got 3 gorgeous male guppies. A pale blue, a black and emerald and a black red and blue/green. The people right before us got the last of the Panda cories, but there was 4 pygmy cories left, so I snatched those up too. One died during transit from stress, so we are down to 3, which worries me, I would like to have 6. So we will get 3 more ASAP. 
I have 3 java ferns, but I wanted more plants so i ordered 3 anubias and a driftwood centerpiece. They arrived today. I am on the 3rd boil right now, hoping to attach plants and add to tank tonight. I will try to get pictures of the fish. Very fast swimmers so it will be hard!


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## Kass

The pictures do not do them justice at all!


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## MellonFriend

Oh they are gorgeous. Have you given them names yet?


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## Kass

No I didn't even think of that yet! Mostly been trying to not kill them! Any ideas?


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## Kass

Also any tips on drift wood? This piece was ordered online. It is real driftwood for aquariums. I'm planning to finish boiling it, I boiled it 3 times. Then soak it in cold water a couple times until it doesn't color the water too fast. Then cool it, attach the anubias and add it tonight. Is that too short a process? Some places say to soak it one to two weeks, but my price is so small, 7in by 4 in, I think as long as it will sink I can put it in? I want some tannins in it still to lower Ph. Mine is 8-8.2. I understand cories like it lower.


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## Kass

Should I boil it again if the water is this dark?


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## MellonFriend

I have never done drift wood. Came real close to trying it once, but didn't end up going for it. I do know a little about it from researching, but I don't have any personal experience. 

That water sure dose look dark though. Sheesh. Is it still floating?


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## Kass

No. It doesn't float anymore. It's been soaking in this cold water for like half an hour and there's no change to the water.


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## Kass

I think I'm going to go ahead and attach the plants


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## Kass

I did it!







View attachment 188797


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## MellonFriend

:great: Looks real good.


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## Tanya

Looks real good Kass. I like the driftwood. Your colours are beautiful


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## Goataddict

I looks good.


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## ksalvagno

Looks really nice!


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## Kass

Thank you! I like it. I cant wait till I get more pygmy cories! I also ordered some moss balls and an anacharis, so I will have more pictures in a few days.


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## Kass

I went to the pet store not expecting them to have any and they had some pygmy cories! So now I have 6! I am so happy!


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## MellonFriend

They are adorable! Looks like your guppies want all the attention.:lolgoat:


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## Kass

They really do and they are so fun to watch!
I find it hilarious when the little corycats try to school with the guppies. They always fall behind, but a valiant effort little guys!


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## Goataddict

It looks beautiful.


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## Tanya

7














this is my tank. My girls put it up for me while I was ill. My guppy babies are bigger now. But I do have new babies hiding in the tank. My corries lay eggs regularly but I jave yet to have them hatch


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## Goataddict

Tanya said:


> View attachment 188869
> 7
> View attachment 188869
> View attachment 188873
> this is my tank. My girls put it up for me while I was ill. My guppy babies are bigger now. But I do have new babies hiding in the tank. My corries lay eggs regularly but I jave yet to have them hatch


It looks beautiful.


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## Kass

You have a pretty tank!


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## Tanya

Thank you. Its hard work but so rewarding


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## Kass

My tank is doing well. I have snails! So excited! If I get an infestation will the chickens eat them?


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## Kass

I took out the carbon filter pad and put filter sponge and filter floss instead witch made my plants really flourish. It seems to be working. 
I only knew we had snails a couple days ago and now I can count 6 at any given time. And they are mating all the time. I'm curious if my chickens would eat them if I got them out while they are still small. I want to keep a few as pets, but I dont need a billion snails!


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## Tanya

The chickens will gobble them yes. Snails breed very quickly. You can squash them in the tank. Your fish with love them too


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## Kass

Guppies will eat them? I didn't know that


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## Tanya

Oh they thrive off them if they are squashed.


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## MellonFriend

I didn't have any luck with carbon filtration either. Filter sponge and floss is the way to go. (thumbup)


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## Kass

Update!
I now have 4 male guppies and 4 pygmy cories. The java fern and anubias is growing great. And the anacharis is doing ok. I try to keep it 'planted' in the rocks, but whatever is under the rocks just rots off and the plant is floating again in a week. But its growing well nonetheless. We had a bladder snail explosion so after squishing so many of them I ordered some assassin snails online. I'm not sure if any are alive. 3 havnt opened their shells yet. The 2 in the picture have been like that all night and didn't move when I touched them. The place i bought them from said to give them a week to move around before assuming they are dead. What do you think? 
I also added some frogbit to the tank yesterday.

The Petco near my house is doing dollar per gallon sale for 10, 20, and 29 gallon tanks. I would love the 29 gal but our houses is just too small so I'm getting a 20. Any stocking suggestions are welcome! As well as ways to get equipment without spending a bajillion dollars! 
I'm thinking of moving either my guppies or my Cory's over to the 20 when its ready. But I really want to have panda cories in the 20 so maybe my guppies can be the centerpiece fish? Or the ones in the 10 can stay, and I'll do something totally different for the 20. I dont know! Ideas welcome!

My camera is not good, sorry!


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## ksalvagno

Looks really nice. I'd just go with what the store said on the snails.


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## MellonFriend

I have a stocking suggestion! We got some kuhli loaches for our tank and they are awsome! I don't know if you know what they look like, but they are these little eel looking fish and they are just so cool. They are a great cleanup crew too.

Your current tank is looking great!


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## Kass

I actually looked into them for my 10 gal. But I think they are too big for the 10 gal. It's either loaches or corycats.
I also just did some research on african dwarf frogs. So they might be an option. I'll update when I get closer to setting up the 20 gal


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## Tanya

Your tank looks good Kass. I really like it. I only have one male and five females. So I often have babies in my tank. So far two surviving babies.


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## Kass

So all the assassin snails were dead. By day 2.5 they smelled awful and came right out of their shells when I checked them. So nasty. So I spent $15 more dollars on three more snails from a reputable breeder rather than amazon. All three were alive, healthy, and active right out of the bag. So fun to watch. Glad I made the investment


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## Tanya

I am sorry about the dead assasin snails. Glad the new ones are better


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## Kass

I got a 20 gallon tank! I'm so excited. The pictures are from the day I set it up. I'm hoping to get it cycled quickly because I told a friend who only has a 10 gallon that I would take her pregnant female guppy. Right now what I'm thinking is to make the 20 gal a guppy breeding tank with panda cories. That way I can feed the baby guppies to my chickens all winter as another food source. Then add some more pygmy cories to the 10 and maybe a betta.


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## MellonFriend

That's a beautiful tank! Feeding the guppy fry to chickens was not where I was expecting that sentence to go. :lolgoat: That's a good idea. Do you think you will try to keep any of the fry?


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## Tanya

Nice looking tank. Guppy dont live very long. You might want to try keep tour stocks up by breeding and keeping. Remember momma guppy has a horid habit of eating most her fry. My females give me 10 but 1 to 2 survive because they get eaten. 
Love the new tank


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## Kass

I'm planning to move my 4 males over to the 20 gal and get maybe 8-10 females so I always have some babies that i can either keep or feed to the birds. And 6 panda cories. Do you think that would over stock the tank? I'm planning on adding more plants. 
You probably can't tell from the pictures, but do you think that sponge filter will provide enough circulation to the tank?
Also I have a 50 watt heater in set for 78 degrees, but its only getting up to 72. Is the heater to small? Or too little circulation? 
Thank you guys.
Here's pictures of the 10 gal. The Java ferns are doing great


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## toth boer goats

All very nice.


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## MellonFriend

Kass said:


> You probably can't tell from the pictures, but do you think that sponge filter will provide enough circulation to the tank?
> Also I have a 50 watt heater in set for 78 degrees, but its only getting up to 72. Is the heater to small? Or too little circulation?


With that long of a tank I think you would need a little more circulation, but I could be wrong. More circulation will help your biological filter too. Improving the circulation may help disperse the heat a bit better.


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## Kass

The air pump im using now is only a 10 gallon pump. So I just ordered a 20 gallon pump to use for the filter and ill use the 10 gallon pump for an airstone. Hopefully that will help with the circulation. I have the heater set at 80 , and I checked the tank this morning, its only at 64 degrees! I'm going to move it around to different places in the tank, and see if that helps. I don't really want to buy another heater.


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## Kass

I got the rest of the stuff for the 20 gallon! Plants, a bigger heater, an air stone, and everything's going great! It's finally up to the right temp, and the plants are doing great. I got 2 more female guppies yesterday as well as 2 panda cories. I was going to get 6, but they were the last 2 in all the local per stores. They are awesome! I love watching them follow each other around foraging. Its so funny. I love them. Here's a picture of the tank incase anyone wanted to see it.

Don't mind the algae and snails.


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## MellonFriend

That looks so good!


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## Kass

On Sunday one of my guppies gave birth! I'm not sure which one as I never saw it happen. But Sunday evening I saw 4 babies! Then in the morning a saw another, and by Monday afternoon I had 6. All 6 have survived. They hid in the plants for the first couple days, but now they are very active, coming up to the top for the food I crush for them. The adult guppies occasionally dart after one, but the babies know to stay away from hungry mamas!
I'm debating moving the males into the tank tomorrow, the babies seem to be able to take care of themselves. But I may give them a full week to grow a little more. It would be three females and three males, and the babies. What do you think?


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## Kass

The last one is when they were only a day old or so


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## MellonFriend

Congrats! They are so cute! I don't have any experience with fry, but I would be worried that adding more fish could make it harder for the fry to escape being someone's lunch.


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## Tanya

I have babies all the time. Puting males in the tank keeps the mommas busy so they dont hunt the babies. Its so exciting when there are babies. Congratulations


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## Kass

Thank you! It was so exciting! 
I share a room with my little sister... she's getting tired of my excitement... 
Me: oh look! Three swimming together! Look! They're eating the food! Look! They had to run away from the females! 
Her: They're just fish. Go to bed already!


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## Tanya

Little sisters dont understand. You must stay excited because you can breed some amazing colors


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## Kass

So you think it would be safe to add in the males today? Should I do it in the morning or at night just before I turn the lights off for the day. Does it matter?


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## Tanya

Do it in the evening. The fish are more at peace then. You should also put some anti stress into the water.


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## Kass

I put them in on Thursday, and all is going well! All the babies are alive, and all the adults are doing well too.
I love watching my fish tank


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## Lstein

Really nice tanks  I could stare at them for hours.

Before I got married *cough*, I used to have three fish tanks. I had one betta tank, a 55 gal community tank full of tropical fish and also a 90 gal. reef.

The reef was by far my favorite and just downright fascinating with all the beautiful coral you can grow, the really bright and colorful fish and all the other things (crabs, starfish, snails, feather dusters, etc.)

It was a tremendous amount of work though, and got expensive very quickly. Plus I like to travel and it was just another thing holding us back. (It's a lot harder to try and find someone to care for a reef than to sprinkle some flakes in occasionally.)

I honestly probably wouldn't do it again unless I had a dedicated "fish room" just to keep all the extra equipment, sump, supplies, etc. But when you get to that point, is it really even worth it anymore lol? Though I'm still not ruling it out for someday (doh).


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## SalteyLove

I hear you @Lstein - we've got the 55 gallon and all the equipment stored in the basement for "possibly again someday". We had a really cool cichlid aquarium ten years ago.


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## Kass

Another update! Its been a while... 
The guppies didn't work out. I moved the males into the 20 and got some more females. A few weeks later the males long fins rotted off and they died. But it didn't affect the females. I have no Idea why. Maybe cause the females had shorter fins? 
The females had babies and I moved them into the 10 gallon as a grow out tank. About 50+ babies and 6 months of an unattractive tank later, I decided that the guppies just weren't for me. The males always died in the 20 gallon and the females just weren't pretty. 
So I did a big water change, scooped out most of the fish, and fed them to the chickens. Which I feel a little bad about, but I originally got them as a feed source for the chickens. 
Currently in the 20 gallon I have 3 panda cories and 7 pygmy Cory's. I just added a few more plants, so I'm going to give it a rest for a while, let it get established, and think about what I want to do before buying more fish. 
The 10 gallon has 4 males that I kept from my original batch of babies. They are pretty, and I have a friend that might take them for her 10 gallon. 
Since I just made a huge decision, I'm going to let it rest for a while and before jumping in and buying more fish. 
But I am thinking a honey gourami for the 20 and a betta for the 10. 

The 10 gallon looks bad because of all the algae on the glass, but it's clean water I promise


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## ksalvagno

Very nice


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## Kass

Shorty the Betta!


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