Hey i have just recently bought a 10 gallon tropical tank kit and i have had it running for a week now and today i went to petco with a sample of my water and they told me it had high ph levels and that the water was hard. they gave me some stuff for it which i put in as soon as i got home: Aqua plus-water conditioner, and API ph down. they also told me to wait a couple of days before getting fish to let the stuff set in the water, but i think i should wait a little longer.i have a heater because i want tropical fish but im not sure what the temperature should be. another problem i have is im not sure if i should have real or fake plants, as of right now i have fake plants. my last concern is i have an idea of the type of fish i want to get but im not sure if they are compatible: African Cichlid, small Bala shark, and maybe a Red Sword. so if any one could help me out with any tips or advice i would greatly appreciate it, because i want my fish to thrive and live for a long time, and eventually even breed but first i need to get started.

MY SETUP:

1.10 gallon tank
2.Tetra whisper power filter
3. All glass submersible heater
4. black gravel
5. 2 fake plants
6. 2 lava rocks with holes in the middle
7. flourescent light

Hi DCfisher,

First thing you want to do is read up on cycling. It's a very important part of fish-keeping. Unfortunately you won't be ready to add fish in a few days. The best method is to do a fishless cycle, which is explained here
Unfortunately the cycle takes a few weeks before you can add fish, but it's much kinder to the fish. If you don't do this first you will end up with poor water quality, stressed fish, and probably some deaths.

Did the pet shop tell you what your pH was>? pH adjusters should generally be avoided because they can cause pH swings, and a stable pH is important to the fish's health.

You will want to buy your own test kit anyway, to test pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. API Master Test Kit is a good buy. Liquid tests are better than strips (strips are known to be particularly unreliable).

Read up on cycling and get that going, then you have plenty of time to research your fish.

Unfortunately the fish you mentioned aren't suitable for a ten gallon. While bala sharks might be small when you get them, they don't stay that way... not sure what the max size is, but I know they need massive tanks. Pretty sure there aren't any african cichlids you can keep in a 10G either.

to give you an idea you could have a read of this thread which gives suggestions for stocking a ten gallon tank

sorry a lot of this isn't what you want to hear, but if you want your fish to thrive fishless cycling and light stocking with appropriate sized fish is definately the way to go

hi and welcome dcfisher.

oh sorry that you had bad news on the fish that you wanted, but you definatley cant keep bala sharks in that size,i have kept them in the past,in a 30 gallon tank, and that wasnt enough,the speed that they swim is incredable, so need plenty with a big P of space,and they get huge anyway,so 10 gal is no where close to being the minimum requirements for them
as littlest says there are quite a few smaller fisher that you could consider and you will have plenty of time to do that while your doing the fishless cycle,and asking more questions on here in preparation

wish you enjoyment choosing the fish,and paitience with your cycle

shelagh xxxx

There is actually a type of African cichlid you can keep in a 10 gallon tank, but they're not the brightly coloured yellow and blue cichlids you see in the shops. They are shelldwelling cichlids from Lake Tanzania (neolamprologus). But you can't combine them with anything else in s amll tank.

Before you mess with your ph, it would be a good idea to think about what fish you want. Some actually prefer a high ph/hard water. And reducing ph with chemicals can lead to fluctuating conditions which is worse for the fish than conditions that are slightly out of their range. It is easier to choose your fish to suit your water, than to try to change your water to suit your fish.

Out of the fish mentioned on the thread littlest gave you, the ones that don't mind hard alkaline water are endlers, sparkling gouramis, shrimps (great fun!), galaxy rasboras (but mind you get captive bred ones as they are at threat in the wild) and pygmy coryoras (there are 3 small corydoras species on sale- pygmaeus, habrosus and hastatus). Or you could keep a single Betta, maybe with some corydoras or shrimps.

The tiny tetras and rasboras tend to prefer soft acid water.

But first of all, as others have said, you need to think about cycling. Just leaving the tank for a few days to settle, like many shops suggest, is not the safest method.

Hi Fisher

Best to start off with a few hardy fish. Some of the "cheapest" and hardiest fish are also some of the nicest in my Opinion. Gourami are really pretty fish as are certain Tetras and Rasboras. Make sure you check out the species index on this site as some of these fish need to be kept in groups. Don't rush in to anything as you may find another fish that you want but your tank is full! We've all done it!

Best of luck.

thank you everyone, i'll read that thread about the cycling , and if i have any questions i'll ask, and thanx for the help with the fish, other wise i would've picked the wrong fish for my tank, one more question that no one answered what should my temperature be? thanx get back to you soon.

For a tropical setup... I'd say go with 76-80F.

Welcome to the forum Fisher,

The bad news (which you've already taken very well): littlest is right about everything he says.

The good news: You've stumbled on the best place you possibly could have hoped for to learn about your new hobby. I've been here a few months only and have just learned so much - the advice here is really good.

I'd not only read the main articles littlest has pointed you to, I'd also read the threads of other beginners and watch them get help. After a while this is an even better teacher. Cycling and many of the other topics will perhaps seem odd at first but eventually you should find that this information is much better than you will usually hear in a fish store.

good luck! ~~waterdrop~~

alright everybody i'm back, and i have made up my mind, since im new to this i have decided to start off with the betta, and possibly a group of shrimp or galaxy rasboras. im not exactly sure what kind of shrimp i should get or if the galaxies are compatible with the betta, so again any tips will be gratefully appreiciated. i will be getting a master test kit soon as well as an air pump for my tank. im also not sure about where to get my betta since i hear so much bad stuff about wal-mart, should i go to a petstore and get it like petco? what kind of betta, and can i get a male and a female and keep them in the same tank so they can breed? so any tips on setting up for a new betta will be taken sincerely, so thanks to everyone who has helped me or who will help me. get back to 2 me soon please so i can start on setting up right away thanks .

THIS IS MY TANK AS OF RIGHT NOW

Welcome back Fisher and nice looking tank!

There will be plenty of time to talk about fish and plenty of expert members here to discuss betas and other beginning fish with you - good luck, I'll leave that to others.

For my part, I'm hoping you have really read the cycling articles and now realize that bringing home that betta should be 3 to 6 weeks away after you do a fishless cycle to prepare your filter, right?

Its hard to make that decision with a nice tank like that sitting and looking ready. But if you watched this "New to the Hobby" forum for a while you would be amazed as newcomer after newcomer rolls in each and every day, mostly with tales of woe and dead or dying fish, all because they didn't know or couldn't make themselves be disciplined enough to do a fishless cycle.

Anyway I hope you make that decision to cycle, for the sake of that betta and any other fish that come to live with you!

~~waterdrop~~