Lots Of Questions Regarding New Tank!

[Horselo285]

Hi guys,

I have a 10 gallon fish tank that I purchased and set up the beginning of June. I originally had one goldfish and a snail in it. The goldfish died but the snail is fine.

The tank now has three male guppies, 3 tiny little fish- I forget the name but I believe it was a type of tetra, 2 albino cory catfish and 1 ghost shrimp (plus the original snail).

I realize now that this may have been a bit much for a new, in cycled tank. I was going by the advice of a fish "specialist" in petsmart.

I have two filters in the tank (I read somewhere that two can split the biological load, keeping the tank healthier and then u always have a cycled filter if one breaks). A tetra whisper and bs aqueon quiet flow 10.

I've been adding prime with every water change and a top fin bacteria supplement.

I have API proper ph 7 to keep ph regulated and I have a master test kit.

I've found ph keeps creeping up to around 8ish- is there anything else I should be doing to stabilize it?

I've also found that my ammonia keeps spiking but I am seeing no raise in nitrites or nitrates (both at 0) and I never have (tank is almost 2 months old).

Also I found out that one of my decorations, a cave with a blue shark on it (from petsmart), appears to have paint chipping off it. Is that safe? I have removed it for now.

I have an exto terra crocodile skull that I bought for a lizard I used to have a long time ago. I have cleaned it with vinegar and water. Would this be safe to place in the aquarium as a hide?

Also, I am feeding color enhancing tropical flakes (marineland), freeze dried blood worms (top fin) occasionally, and hikari algae wafers (for the cat fish, snail and shrimp. I feed twice a day with the flakes, only a small amount and watch to make sure it is consumed. The guppies go crazy! The tetras don't come to the top but seem to eat whatever the filter pushes down. I give half and algae wafer in the mornjng ever day to every two days...as soon as the bottom feeders stop eating, I remove what's left.

Is this adequate food wise?

Any help to make this a successful tank would be appreciated!!!

Oh, one last thing. I was reading to put a piece of cuttlebone in table for snail (for calcium). I bought some and put a half a bone in the gravel, with the end sticking out. Is that sufficient?

Thanks again!

 

[RyanTheFishGuy64]

Ill Help with some of this but some of these I dont know....so yeah!
 
Ammonia-  When it spikes does it go back down? If so then you do have Nitrites/Nitrates (idk why they arent being presented when tested)
 
Ornaments- The chipping should be fine as long as you fish them out with a standard net
 
Croc Head- Yeah throw it in
 
Food- Amazing diversity with food...I applaud
 
Hope I helped!

 

[Lillefishy]

10 gallons is too small for the corydoras as they're a shoaling fish & should be kept in groups of 6+ & they're not algae eaters they're almost full carnivores. The tetra is also a shoaling fish & should be kept in groups, I'd rehome the corys & the tetra.
The cuttlefish is probably what's raising the ph so take it out, the ammonia is probably spiking because the filter can't process it as it isn't fully cycled, I suggest you do more water changes.

 

[Horselo285]

Thanks so much for the reply! The ammonia only comes down with water changes. I have never seen any sign of nitrites or nitrates which I find so confusing. The tank will be two months old in a couple of weeks. I would have thought (from what I've read) that nitrites would have presented by now?

I'm gonna put the croc head in in a bit- I bet my kids will love it! (6 and 3 year old boys).

I'm glad to know the food seems okay! . I also have left over goldfish food (from my poor little goldfish who died when I first got the tank). Should I put some in occasionally for further variety?

The fish all seem happy and healthy this far. They are active and se to hang out in there own little groups. so funny! I really want to keep them alive and healthy.

I am doing pretty much daily water changes and using prime to combat the ammonia.
Lillefishy- thank to for the reply. I actually only added in the cuttlebone last night (after looking up how to safely add calcium for the snail) so I don't think that's what's been causing the ph spikes- obviously though if it's going to make it worse I will remove it. . I believe the tetras are neon tetras. They are very tiny. May I ask why they should be rehomed? There are three at the moment.

The catfish are also quite small and seem happy together? They are active, search for food and and seem to swim and play. They also swim up at times to visit the guppies. One in particular seems to really enjoy my yellow guppy. Lol. Us the issue that the tank is not cycled yet or just general? I thought corys were okay in 10 gallons which is why I chose them.

 

[Lillefishy]

The dwarf or pygmy species of cory are ok in a 10 gallon, the others need more space as they're larger & need to be kept in groups of 6+ not ones & twos, tetras although small need swimming space & again need to be in larger groups which a 10 gallon hasn't room for.

 

[Mamashack]

I'd stop messing with the water pH. You have what you have and it is extremely difficult to change it, even for the experts!
You should get fish to suit your pH not try to change your pH to suit the fish you'd like.
Best thing would be to rehome all your fish and do a fishless cycle then get fish that fit your tap-water pH.

 

[Horselo285]

Thanks for the reply! My tap water ph is around 7.4 but it creeps up around 8 in the tank. The lady at the petstore told me to keep the ph around 7 for a community tank, but now I'm thinking that was just a way to sell me more stuff? I was just reading that it's more important to keep a steady ph than to worry about a specific number? In that case, this ph level is likely fine for my current fish?

I can't stand the idea of rehome any fish and definitely don't want to rehome them all. I am already very attached.

Any ideas why the nitrite bad nitrate levels have yet to rise? I was under the impression that nitrites would spike about two week or so into having the aquarium?

How hard would it be to transfer my fish/water/decor into a bigger tank, assuming I could afford one? I would rather try to do that then to rehome my current fish. I sure with the girl at the pet shop had given me good advice in the first place. I hate to think I've wasted all this money.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I agree with Mamashack to stop messing with the pH. What sort of substrate do you have? Have you tested your tap water after leaving it out in a glass for 24 hours?
 
I also think it'd be good to re-home the fish but if you really can't then upgrading would be great and glad to hear you'd be willing to do so. It's not hard to switch the fish to a bigger tank, though it sounds scary.
You want some buckets to put everything in. If you have room for both tanks you may consider doing a fish-less cycle on the bigger tank and then moving them over.
 
I think I'd be looking at a 20g long at least for the fish you have (and so you can up their numbers).
I'd also pick up some shrimp pellets for your cories, perhaps some frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp too.

 

[Horselo285]

Thanks for the reply. I have a couple of emails in to people advertising on cl, looking into 20 and 30 gallon tanks. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to get cycling to progress? It seems as if I'm forever stuck in the ammonia stage.

 

[attibones]

Well, the problem with fish-in cycling is that it takes much longer than fishless cycling. Ask around and see if anyone can donate any of their media. If you have access to a different pet shop (PetSmart won't help here), you could ask if they could house your fish for you while you finish the cycling process. Then you can order Dr. Tim's One and Only (which worked really well for the two tanks I've cycled with it) and do the cycle faster. 
 
If you are doing daily water changes (as you should be at this point), the ammonia bacteria is slowly growing, so nitrite (which typically takes about twice as long) has to creep behind ammonia. It's a waiting game really. Just keep doing what you are doing until you see nitrate results. 
 
May also be beneficial to test your tap for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If you get readings for any of these and still zeros from your tank, you'll need to post your results here so we can tell you what all that means. 

 

[Horselo285]

Hi! Thanks for the reply!

I am doing daily water changes- typically 10 or 20% depending on ammonia levels. It's been over a month since I bought the test kit and I'm seeing frequent high (not super high- I believe 25 or 50. When I first bought the test kit, the water was testing at the top number that the master test kit shows. That was right after my original goldfish died. That's when I went to petsmart and they sold me the test kit and other supplies saying it would help and told me I could get fish, just to keep and eye on the water levels and do water changes. I will not be listening to petsmart employees in the future.

My tap water is testing at 0 for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Ph is testing around 7.4. I hope the nitrites start soon so the cycle gets going. The tanks been up since the beginning of June and it's been at least a month since I bought the test kit and started keeping an eye on water levels, but the only thing I've ever seen is ammonia.

The fish all seem healthy and happy- they are swimming, playing and eating normally.

I wish I had had the correct advice from the start. Stupid pet stores. . I am going to see if there's a fish store around here that can help me out. In the meantime, I should just keep up with daily water changes and work on finding a bigger tank, correct? Also, exactly how many of the Cory's and tetras do I need (minimum) for each group to be happy? Would a 30 gallon tank be adequate to keep what I have now, add new Cory's and tetras and maybe get another couple of shrimp or something? Also when getting Corys, can I mix cord or do they all need to be albino?

Thanks!!
In that last question that was supposed to be color not cord. Lol

 

[RyanTheFishGuy64]

Your ammonia might have killed the goldfish because goldfish produce ammonia themselves so for goldfish id have lower ammonia... (in my case when I had a goldfish)

 

[Lillefishy]

A 30 gallon would be a nice size & give you more stocking options.
Corys & tetras should be kept in groups of at least 6 & corys should be with their own kind not mix & match, so a group of 6 albinos would be good.

 

[CichlidBeginnerMel]

Hey Folks

I am new to fish keeping and wanted to go the Fishless Cycle route on my 55 Gallon aquarium..So I've been cycling for about 2 weeks my reading are PH- 7.8 Ammo .50-1.0ppm Nitrite 5.0+ maybe(hard to really tell) Nitrate 20 ppm. So what's next?? Do I add more Ammonia to get my level back up to 3 ppm?? Or do I just wait until my it drops to 0 to add more?? Can I add Tetra SafeStart+ to speed up the cycle?? Getting kind of impatient please help




Thanks!!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Hey Folks

I am new to fish keeping and wanted to go the Fishless Cycle route on my 55 Gallon aquarium..So I've been cycling for about 2 weeks my reading are PH- 7.8 Ammo .50-1.0ppm Nitrite 5.0+ maybe(hard to really tell) Nitrate 20 ppm. So what's next?? Do I add more Ammonia to get my level back up to 3 ppm?? Or do I just wait until my it drops to 0 to add more?? Can I add Tetra SafeStart+ to speed up the cycle?? Getting kind of impatient please help




Thanks!!

Hey there, I think you would get more help if you post your own thread HERE. Have you read THIS btw? Quote below is from that article.
 
"If at any time after the first ammonia addition (Dose #1) you test and ammonia is under .75 ppm and nitrite is clearly over 2 ppm, it is time to add more ammonia (Dose #2). Add the same full amount as you did the first time. Now, begin to test the ammonia and nitrite levels every other day. (You should be seeing nitrate soon if you have the kit.)"
 
If/when you do post there can you post a log (if you've kept one) of the tank (like when you added ammonia and when, the readings when you were testing it while it was going down, etc.)
 
I know it can be a bit frustrating but stay patient! Your fish will thank you for it I did not see ammonia drop until day 21 so you're already moving faster than mine was.