Need some help.

[Rayw]

(Tank 1)Is a 20 gallon tank with LED lighting. Its a Top Fin kit from Petsmart. 20 lbs of muti color rocks. All fake plants and a bubbler feature. I did switch out the filter for a fluval 50 as I wanted more options for filter media. Right now there are 7 fish in here.

(Tank 2) Is a 5 gallon tank kit from Walmart. It has a whisper filter, I did add ClearMax to the filter cartridge. Also placed a few BioMax in the bottom of the container to help when I change filter cartridges. It has an LED light strip as the one that came with it didnt light then tank very well. 5 lbs of dark blue rock and a bubbler feature. This tank is going to be used for Neon type Tetras. It is currently cycling.

These are supposed to be something for all of us to enjoy. Mostly for the grand kids when they come over.

Here is the reason for all of this info. What would be the most simple chemical combo? I want this all to be very simple to care for. I am very sick from time to time and need to know they will be ok for a few days without any interaction except for food.

I am thinking of staying with Tetra products and using SafeStart Plus, Easy Balance Plus and Easy strips 6 -1. to make sure everyting stays on track. Their App will make it easy for my wife to see what is going on and add chemicals as needed.

Thought and comments welcome.

 

[Rayw]

(Tank 1)Is a 20 gallon tank with LED lighting. Its a Top Fin kit from Petsmart. 20 lbs of muti color rocks. All fake plants and a bubbler feature. I did switch out the filter for a fluval 50 as I wanted more options for filter media. Right now there are 7 fish in here.

(Tank 2) Is a 5 gallon tank kit from Walmart. It has a whisper filter, I did add ClearMax to the filter cartridge. Also placed a few BioMax in the bottom of the container to help when I change filter cartridges. It has an LED light strip as the one that came with it didnt light then tank very well. 5 lbs of dark blue rock and a bubbler feature. This tank is going to be used for Neon type Tetras. It is currently cycling.

These are supposed to be something for all of us to enjoy. Mostly for the grand kids when they come over.

Here is the reason for all of this info. What would be the most simple chemical combo? I want this all to be very simple to care for. I am very sick from time to time and need to know they will be ok for a few days without any interaction except for food.

I am thinking of staying with Tetra products and using SafeStart Plus, Easy Balance Plus and Easy strips 6 -1. to make sure everyting stays on track. Their App will make it easy for my wife to see what is going on and add chemicals as needed.

Thought and comments welcome.

Picture of both tanks.
Tank 1

Tank 2

 

[Demeter32]

Staying with tetra should get you by alright. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? You said you switched out the filter in the 20gal so you might of messed up the cycle that breaks down the fish waste so it is less harmful to them.

You also have a few stocking issues, especially in the 20gal. The angel fish and the silver looking gourami will get too large for that size tank. With all those fish the bio load is too high for the filter to keep up and the water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) will rise to harmful levels pretty quickly. Frequent water changes would have to be made to keep the fish going. Also I would keep an eye on aggression in the dwarf gouramis. It looks like you have 3, they can be pretty aggressive towards their own species and other gourami, often times the dominant one will bully the others to death.

A 5gal is a bit small for neon tetras as they are active swimmers and like to be in schools. Fitting a proper school (7 or so) in a 5gal isn't very healthy for them. A betta would be more at home in a tank that size.

I'm not too sure how new you are to fish keeping, but I'll let you in on the secret to healthier fish. Water changes are key. The water needs to be clean for the fish to stay healthy. Doing a water change of about 20% every week will go a long ways toward keeping healthy fish.

 

[flchamp89]

Demeter hit it on head...perfect

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[Rayw]

Thank you for your input.

We are working with our not so local fish store to trade out a few fish. Angel and silver gourami. Will ask about the dwarfs also.

What would you suggest stocking with?

Been playing with the idea of a Betta in the 5 gallon. I will see what I can find.

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[Demeter32]

I'd try to switch out the silver (I believe it's commonly called a blue or 3 spotted gourami), the angel, and 2 of the dwarfs for a a school of neons tetras. I think that should be alright in the 20gal.

I'd like to give you a heads up on fish store employees. It's pretty rare to find a person who knows their fish and how to stock. I've heard from others that they will recommend some crazy things and incompatible fish. Not all employees are like that, but a lot are.

 

[Rayw]

Thanks again.

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[Rayw]

So I took your advice about the 5 gallon. My granddaughter helped me pick out or new Veiltail Betta. She named him doc. He wanted to say hi.

My friend asked me to rehome what was left of his little tetras cause his shark ate the rest of the tribe. They all get along great.

Talked with the folks at my not so local fish store. They said they will take the fish as store credit when they get to big for the tank. As for the dwarf gouramis the are like the three amigos from Happy feet. They don't always get along but not killing each other. So we are good for now. Had a great experience at the pet store if you look in the reviews threads. No issues with any of the bad water issues. Thanks again for your input.

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