10 Gal Miniature Planted Tank

[fish_fetish65]

hey there everyone. the planted tanks on this forum looked so gorgeous that i decided to try one myself... nothing huge, just a few little plants in my 10gal aquarium. i had fish in there before, but i moved them to my 55gal for now.

so, my questions are, how shall i keep the plants healthy and help them root? i'm using gravel (the substrate was too expensive for such a small project... they only had huge bags of it), but am using some plant growth formula in the water. is there anything special that i need for a 10gal planted tank? i don't want it to get too expensive... i just want a nice little planted tank in my room.

also, how long do i need to wait before i put fish in? and what kinds of fish can i put in? i was thinking something along the lines of neons and a couple cory cats. any good suggestions? keep in mind that it's a 10gal... pretty small.

thanks a lot! will try to post pics soon!

EDIT: whoops, forgot to mention the types of plants in there. i have anacharis, moneywort, red ludwigia, jungle vallisneria, green mondo grass, and cabomba. (those are pretty much the only plants my lfs carries... it's a pity they have such a small selection... so i just got one or two of each.)

 

[Themuleous]

Sounds like its already a planted tank? My best bit of advice would be to get a box of laterite and mix it into the existing substrate (be sure to wash it first!) its not the best plant substrate out there but is cheap (you'll only need the 560g box at around 7quid) and should help the plants grow. If you want the plants to grow ok I would also add a weekly plant fert like seachem and API do.

If the tank is cycled then you can add plants whenever, although corys might uproot anything you plants.

Neons make a good fish because the are small, helping the illusion of size.

Sam

 

[fish_fetish65]

anything else aside from neons that can be put in a 10gal? i was thinking about putting in a few small tiger barbs, but figured 10gal was too small for them...

also thought about dwarf puffers... but i need to do some research on them before making any decisions. does anyone know anything about them off the top of their head?

 

[jayjay]

your right on the tiger barbs as they like groups and need a bigger tank.

in a 10g you could possibly keep 4 dwarf puffers at a push.

they like foods like bloodworm, brineshrimp etc. unlikely to take flake.

like lot's of hiding places and plants.

they can be quite messy.

 

[fish_fetish65]

your right on the tiger barbs as they like groups and need a bigger tank.

in a 10g you could possibly keep 4 dwarf puffers at a push.

they like foods like bloodworm, brineshrimp etc. unlikely to take flake.

like lot's of hiding places and plants.

they can be quite messy.

thanks i definitely wish i had a bigger tank to do this in, as i would love to some day own some tiger barbs or perhaps a couple of african leaf fish (i think they're gorgeous!!)

anyhow, i'll think about the dwarf puffers. do they like to be in groups? would a cory cat bother them much?

also, do you know of any other fish that might enjoy a planted 10gal?

 

[jayjay]

a species tank for the puffers.

i'd go with some kind of tetra personally, a nice small bright species.

 

[fish_fetish65]

a species tank for the puffers.

i'd go with some kind of tetra personally, a nice small bright species.

yeah, i think i'll probably stick to some neons. either that or a couple of orange von rio's. or even some skirt tetras if that would work out. i'll probably have two cories, either panda or peppered, as well. that's about all i can think to add. anything else that i'm missing? i don't want to overstock.

this is a bit offtopic too, but eventually i would like to get some african leaf fish. anyone know what the requirements for them are? i've never owned one before.

 

[jayjay]

cories like groups try to get 4 of them.

african leaf fish are these south american leaf fish? got a pic of one?

south american leaf fish can be hard to wean off live food it think......

 

[Themuleous]

Perhaps ask in one of the other forums they might be able to advise on the leaf fish better?

Sam

 

[BWBettas]

Dwarf puffers are brackish i believe... read up jayjay

Bret

 

[jayjay]

dwarf puffers are pure freshwater brackish water won't do them much good.

 

[fish_fetish65]

i added a few more plants today and hope to find a good source of plants sometime tomorrow. i'm also going to buy some slate to make a DIY cave/tank decoration. any suggestions? i would like to find some java moss and/or driftwood as well.

i have finally decided on the stock for my tank. it will be as follows: 1 spotted african leaf fish, 2 small peppered cory cats, and 2 small african dwarf frogs.

i didn't realize it, but my sister had a dwarf frog that she had gotten at the beach about a year ago. the poor thing was in a little 3x3" container with a small bit of gravel, bless his heart. so i rescued him from a horrible fate and plopped him into my tank today. he was ecstatic- swimming EVERYWHERE and just as happy as can be. he's such a cute little booger.

so... on my agenda is...

tomorrow: look for more plants, purchase slate, purchase plants, purchase another african dwarf frog and 2 cories
within the next week or two: purchase java moss online if it can't be found in stores, purchase african leaf fish

i'm quite excited about this project. pictures will come soon once i find an arrangement in my tank that i actually like! i do wish my LFS had more plants to choose from... they only had about 6 at best. now i'm just hoping the plants will actually take root. any helpful hints concerning that matter? anacharis doesn't seem to want to root.. neither does the cabomba.

anyhow, thanks for the advice!

 

[Dude]

i have a 10 gall with anubias and javva fern with 2 corys and a school of cardinals

i deffntly recommend

 

[fish_fetish65]

currently, i have three cories (i decided that would probably be more appropriate, considering the fact that cories like to be together) and two african dwarf frogs. i'm going to do a partial water change today and then get my "leaf fish" within two days or so. i've been trying to find some slate somewhere, but after looking at many stores, i've almost given up. any idea where i can get some small pieces of slate to decorate the tank with? or some small bogwood? i have no idea where to get them, as my lfs carries neither.