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Clean up crew for small tank

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J CZA

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I have a 10 gal tank with a gourami and one with a betta. Since there is so little bacteria buildup over time i was told by a fish enthusiast that since it is only one fish per 10 gallons to do a 30 wc every month. I was wondering since the gravel is looking dirty and i cant get it all with a parcal waterchange that a clean up crew would be good. For the one 10 g I have a peaceful honey gourami and was wondering if i could get a few Cory catfish and upgrade the tank later and for the betta if getting a few snails would be good. I have one nerite snail in the tank and the betta he is verry aggressive so no other fish. Also the one tank has some brown stuff growing off the white gravel so its ither that brown algae or its built up flake food it wipes off pritty easy but sifening the gravel didnt much help. The tanks have been set up for a while now and i think its time maby.
 
Do you use a gravel cleaner when you do a water change?
if not, then get a gravel clean like the one in the following link and use that to clean the gunk out of the gravel and remove the brown stuff. If you can post a picture of the brown stuff on the gravel we should be able to identify it for you. :)
http://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html

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Have you thought about getting another Honey Dwarf Gourami so you have a pr?

A group of 4 or 5 small Corydoras would be fine in a 10 gallon for a bit, and if you're getting a bigger tank later you can simply transfer the fish and filter onto the bigger tank when you get it.

You could add more snails to the Betta tank or try some glass shrimp, they are cheap and a bit bigger than cherry shrimp so would be less likely to be eaten.

You don't mention plants in the tank but if you have lots of plants (especially floating plants), the Betta will have less chance to see things in the tank and attack them. This would benefit shrimp and possibly even the Betta, as they like a plant to sleep in at night :)

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Fish live in a soup of bacteria, viruses, fungus, protozoans and other microscopic life. Even tho a monthly 30% water change will probably keep the nitrate levels low, the micro-organisms will build up and swarm all through the tank. If you did a 50% water change every 2 weeks that would help keep the water cleaner from a micro-organism point of view :)
 
Do you use a gravel cleaner when you do a water change?
if not, then get a gravel clean like the one in the following link and use that to clean the gunk out of the gravel and remove the brown stuff. If you can post a picture of the brown stuff on the gravel we should be able to identify it for you. :)
http://www.about-goldfish.com/aquarium-cleaning.html

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Have you thought about getting another Honey Dwarf Gourami so you have a pr?

A group of 4 or 5 small Corydoras would be fine in a 10 gallon for a bit, and if you're getting a bigger tank later you can simply transfer the fish and filter onto the bigger tank when you get it.

You could add more snails to the Betta tank or try some glass shrimp, they are cheap and a bit bigger than cherry shrimp so would be less likely to be eaten.

You don't mention plants in the tank but if you have lots of plants (especially floating plants), the Betta will have less chance to see things in the tank and attack them. This would benefit shrimp and possibly even the Betta, as they like a plant to sleep in at night :)

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Fish live in a soup of bacteria, viruses, fungus, protozoans and other microscopic life. Even tho a monthly 30% water change will probably keep the nitrate levels low, the micro-organisms will build up and swarm all through the tank. If you did a 50% water change every 2 weeks that would help keep the water cleaner from a micro-organism point of view :)
I have a gravel sucker thing but i cant clean all the gravel durring a 30%wc i think somecorydoras would be good. But if I got that many would I have to clean the tank more often? And i cant find any floating plants. Id probubly get snails for the betta since is is really aggressive even attacks me. I have a filter in the tanks.
 
If you did a 50% water change then you should be able to clean all the substrate. Alternatively do half the gravel one water change, and the other half a couple of weeks later.

Adding more fish, shrimp or snails means there is going to be more waste and you will have to clean the tank more often. However, if you do a 50% every fortnight that should be sufficient or even do it weekly.

Most petshops can order plants in. If you talk to your local petshop they should be able to order some in, assuming they don't have them in stock currently. The best floating plant is Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) and it can also be planted in the gravel. Other plants like Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and Luwigia can be grown in the gravel or left to float on the surface.
 
If you did a 50% water change then you should be able to clean all the substrate. Alternatively do half the gravel one water change, and the other half a couple of weeks later.

Adding more fish, shrimp or snails means there is going to be more waste and you will have to clean the tank more often. However, if you do a 50% every fortnight that should be sufficient or even do it weekly.

Most petshops can order plants in. If you talk to your local petshop they should be able to order some in, assuming they don't have them in stock currently. The best floating plant is Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) and it can also be planted in the gravel. Other plants like Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma and Luwigia can be grown in the gravel or left to float on the surface.
Im going to the petshop today I'll ask them to get some floating plants and ill look for snails and cory cats. Is panda ones ok? Also i have an image of the gravel
 
Cories are not particularly suited here. Primarily, temperature can be the issue. Most people keep gourami and bettas at warmish temperatures, and cories do not do well with heat. Especially the panda which should never be higher than 75-76F (24C). The "dwarf" species also cannot manage above this. Generally, a degree higher is best for the other species.

Water changes should be weekly, regardless of number of fish. You really cannot change too much water, as far as fish health goes.
 
Cories are not particularly suited here. Primarily, temperature can be the issue. Most people keep gourami and bettas at warmish temperatures, and cories do not do well with heat. Especially the panda which should never be higher than 75-76F (24C). The "dwarf" species also cannot manage above this. Generally, a degree higher is best for the other species.

Water changes should be weekly, regardless of number of fish. You really cannot change too much water, as far as fish health goes.
I just got home w one panda and 2 with spots an Otto? I dono. And a nerite snail for the betta, hopefully it won't reproduce with the other nerits snail. The gourami is in cooler water but still in ther temperature range. It should be good. There is brown algie stuff on the gravel. Is it good for them or will i need to fix that. The tank is on the side of a window but i always keep it coverd, my parents tho like to mess with it.
 
I just got home w one panda and 2 with spots an Otto? I dono. And a nerite snail for the betta, hopefully it won't reproduce with the other nerits snail. The gourami is in cooler water but still in ther temperature range. It should be good. There is brown algie stuff on the gravel. Is it good for them or will i need to fix that. The tank is on the side of a window but i always keep it coverd, my parents tho like to mess with it.

I don't know your level of experience, but it seems I should have explained a bit more previously.

Cories must have a small group, at least five of the species, or they will not be in good health. They are what we call a shoaling species, and they inherently expect to be living in a group. This is essential to keep them from being stressed which means poor health.

A 10g is small space, and while I personally would never keep cories (other than one of the dwarf species) in a 10g, I suppose it can be done. I would not advise it though, to be honest. And you need to identify the other fish...didn't the store know what they are?
 
I don't know your level of experience, but it seems I should have explained a bit more previously.

Cories must have a small group, at least five of the species, or they will not be in good health. They are what we call a shoaling species, and they inherently expect to be living in a group. This is essential to keep them from being stressed which means poor health.

A 10g is small space, and while I personally would never keep cories (other than one of the dwarf species) in a 10g, I suppose it can be done. I would not advise it though, to be honest. And you need to identify the other fish...didn't the store know what they are?
I started fish keeping in january. The spots are brown and they are scattered on the gravel. This website wont let me post a photo and I dont have a computer. The corys are all rather small still and I plan on getting a larger tank this year. There was alot of diffrent corys and I dont remember what he said it was. It was a weird name ill have to look. There is only a honey gourami in the tank who dulled in color but is acting and eating fine. If you have a discord or somthing so I can send you a photo if you need to see it. I have two other tanks who dont have any of the brown spots, they wipe off the gravel easy.
 
if you post the pictures on an image hosting website, you can put the web address on here and we can view the image there.

spotted Corydoras might be a julii.
 
if you post the pictures on an image hosting website, you can put the web address on here and we can view the image there.

spotted Corydoras might be a julii.
I dont know any hosting websites. Yea i think that was the name. The temp was a little high so im lowering it to a sutinle tempityre for the corys and the gourami. Is it ok if I keep them in the bag for longer? They have been in there for hours now and the temp is a lil high still.
 
Add some tank water to the bag and let it float for 10 minutes, then put the fish in the tank. Try not to pour the water from the bag into the tank. If you can, pour most of the bag water into a bucket, then put the fish in the tank. The less water from the shop going into your tank, the less chance of diseases being introduced.

Get the temperature to about 24C and they will be fine. You can turn the temperature down while the fish are floating.

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you can try photobucket.com for an image hosting website :)
 
I have a 10 gal tank with a gourami and one with a betta.

Are they in the same tank? You cant keep Bettas and Gouramis in the same tank eventually they will fight and 1 will die.
 
Add some tank water to the bag and let it float for 10 minutes, then put the fish in the tank. Try not to pour the water from the bag into the tank. If you can, pour most of the bag water into a bucket, then put the fish in the tank. The less water from the shop going into your tank, the less chance of diseases being introduced.

Get the temperature to about 24C and they will be fine. You can turn the temperature down while the fish are floating.

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you can try photobucket.com for an image hosting website :)
Ok, thanks. That's the temp I have it lowering to. I put a peice of ice in the filter to slowly change it once in a while. The lil one is breathing fast. It might be stress not enough air or water temp is a bit high.
 

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