Introducing Myself

[Arrrnold]

Hey all, I'm Arnold (obviously) - - just wanted to say "Hey" - - have been reading posts for a while and decided to join


I am inheriting a 10 gallon - - friend decided to shut down their tank, so I asked if I could pick it up as soon as they scoop out the fish so I can take the matured media too (good move, right? I hope so!)


looking around - picking up the tank in a couple hours, then want to grab some fishy friends today so the media doesn't die - -

suggestions for a ten gallon??? something different, I want fish that cover the whole tank, not just hover in one spot - -

have looked at corydoras/shrimp/adf for the bottom
neons/glofish/betta for the middle
marbled hatchets for the top?? ---> might skip this all together!

but primarily i want the bottom/middle to have movement...


thought of doing maybe white sand and some very easy to keep live plants. not fond of moss tbh.

 

[Curiosity101]

Sounds like you've got it all planned Taking the media is a great idea, make sure you ask them to bag it up in some water (it doesn't have to stay in the filter, it just has to stay wet, and pref not wet with tap water).
How many/what typre of fish did they have in the tank before? This will give you a rough guide as too how many fish you can add today without risking an ammonia spike.

As for the stock list,
Corys - How long is it? I'd stick to the smaller corys if I were you, pygmys would be a good option, or possibly pandas. All the others are a bit too big for it imo.
Shrimp - Great plan I love shrimp Cherrys or amanos are good first time shrimp
ADF - Use the whole tank and often need target feeding as they're a bit slow. This is fine but bear it in mind with regards to other fish you'd like to add.
Neons - Would be a fine addition, any medium-low activity fish around 4cm and below should be ok.
Glofish - Too active, I really wouldn't recommend them for this tank.
Betta - Fine but be aware certain fish (such as neons sometimes) will nip at a male bettas long fins. So you may want to consider getting a plakat male or a female as an alternative to a really big fancy male.
Marbled hatchets - They're a bit big and flighty so I would personally say no.

Eitherways my main aadvice is - Go to the shop knowing what you want and dont let any fish shop worker disuade you. Phoning the shop in advance is a good way to avoid coming back with incompatible fish as you wont find yourself feeling like you should buy something just you think 'Well I'm here now I don't want to leave empty handed'.
If you ever do find yourself in that situation buy plants/food/decor.... anything that isn't fish that you aren't 100% sure about!

Welcome to TFF btw

 

[Arrrnold]

hey thanks for the welcome!


I went to the local chain stores to see the selection available, and will be heading out in 45 min to get the new tank (well...new to me!) the reason they are getting rid of the tank is they go fed up = = I kept saying that they had the tank poorly stocked but they refused to believe me....I showed them a few topics from here, and instead of upgrading or swapping stock....they threw in the towel.

by the way, in the 10 gallon, they had 2 black moors and a telescope/bubble eye goldfish


so, I am fairly certain that the media will be able to cope with what I am hoping for - -


white sand substrate, checked out some water wisteria (heard it was easy to grow?) a hunk of drift wood

stock: 8-10 neons and 2 ADF. the only shrimp in the area that I can find are ghost shrimp , and they really didnt interest me.

 

[Curiosity101]

Tanks sounding nice water wisteria is easy to grow and relatively attractive so good call on that.

10 neons and 2 ADF sounds quite nice stock wise

 

[Jenste]

your set up seems like it would do well for ADF...just make sure you take your time picking them out - - they often get mixed up with aCf...a completely different frog!

check my signature for more adf vs acf info


your set up will probably do well for both the neons and adf - -they will both like the sand/liveplants/driftwood



OH!!! I saw that you and I are from the same state!!! Not far from each other and if you need some water wisteria - I have TONS that you can have!!! so just let me know welcome fellow Rhode Islander!!! you just made my day!

there are a few fish stores in state that I can def recommend...and my fav happens to be in your area - - - "Fish Bowl" - - - the young girl who works there with purple in here hair is actually really knowledgeable and will tell you what can, and more importantly, can NOT work in your tank .....the guy with the goatee though? STAY AWAY - he will sell you a common plec for a 5 gallon tank with 3 male bettas in a heart beat so as long as you either go there with your research done, or ask the younger girl, you are allset

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to TFF Arrrnold.
I really think that a nice group of pygmy cories will get you lots of movement in the lower half of the tank with an occasional rush all the way to the water surface. If you stay with the pygmies, you can get enough of them to actually keep them happy in their shoals. How about some pictures from my own tanks?

This is C hastatus

C habrosus

And finally a C pygmaeus who is following a Heterandria formosa female that is only about 1 inch long.