New Tank

[InLoveWithFish]

I have a 10 gallon tank with:

2 older blue gourami (had previously in tank)
5 small tiger barb (just added)
1 pleco

Do you think this is a good tank setup?.. the guy at the store informed it should work due to the number of barbs and gourami. He said the barbs would not nip if kept in the school. Will this last ?

 

[raptorrex]

I have a 10 gallon tank with:

2 older blue gourami (had previously in tank)
5 small tiger barb (just added)
1 pleco

Do you think this is a good tank setup?.. the guy at the store informed it should work due to the number of barbs and gourami. He said the barbs would not nip if kept in the school. Will this last ?

i hate to say the answer to you question is NO. sadly the tank is too small for any one of your fish, never mind all together.

 

[rabbut]

Though I do in part agree with the comment above, the success of the stocking will depend on the type of pleco you have, and the type of filtration you have on the tank. The blue goramis should grow to 6 inches, so a ten gallon may be a little small fo them, and give them stunted growth I would have personaly thought that Tiger Barbs would be fine in that size tank, and the pleco, as above, depends on the type you have.
If possible, I would look to re-home the goramis and find the type of pleco you have. Post a snap of him in the pleco sub forum for a positive ID in him. Also ask for his max size. Anything over 4 inches IMO is too large, espesialy as plecos are messy fish, and add a large amount of load to the tank.

HTH
Rabbut

 

[InLoveWithFish]

ive had the gouramis for almost a year and they seemed fine in the tank by themselves. From what the guy at the store told me, because they werent big they would be fine.

Looks like I'll need to set up my old 55 gallon tank. Any suggestions on how to properly prepare this tank for new fish and move the fish and the objects in the same tank to the larger one?

 

[raptorrex]

unless you are going to get some mature filter media, you will need to cycle the tank first. if you try to seed with your current filter, it will take some time before the tank is ready for fish, plus you will have used the filter from your 10g, so that would leave you with two uncycled tanks. i would put in your gravel/sand and then cycle the tank. as the cycle becomes more stable, you can add some new deccor. the barbs and gourami both like some plants, though at this stage i would use those you can buy from the LFS, with the little pots. this will allow you to move the plants if you decide you don't like the setup. the pleco will like, though not necessarily need, bog wood. some hides and caves will go down well with them all

your options for a 10g are limited. one Goldfish, newts or frogs, a couple of Redcrab, perhaps some tetras. or make it a "hospital" tank.

 

[InLoveWithFish]

thanks alot 4 your help.....

 

[Chrispixx]

I have to disagree with boboboys post #5
If you use the filter from the 10 gallon on the 55 plus a larger filter along with it. Use all the gravel/sand from the 10 in the 55 and add to it so there is enough to cover the bottom, and use all the water from the 10 gallon (only because its aged) it has no bacterial value. Use all the decorations too and don't scrub anything you may be ok.

I say this because the filter on your 10 gallon should be cycled to your current fish load, as long as the fish load is the same and no fish are added for a while (then added slowly after a month or so) you may be ok.

The cycled 10 gallon filter and your fish load is whats key here, if the filter is cycled for your current fish load then it shouldn't matter what size tank its on, unless the filter is too small and cant filter the big tank fast enough then the ammonia may build up. But i would say if its capable of filtering at least 30 gal per hour it may keep up and will still process the ammonia from you current fish load. Then the larger filter thats meant for the 55 Will build bacteria eventually and take over the job.

I did the same thing when upgrading from a 10 gallon to a 29 gallon. I swapped everything over from the 10 to the 29 and never even had a mini cycle.

Check your filter for the ten gallon and see how many GPH (gallons per hour) it filters. Then check ammonia levels in the 10 gallon.. you may have to wait for the filter to catch up to your stock level if you've just added fish.
If theres no ammonia after a week or so i would start cleaning the bigger tank and accessories.

Or you could just fishless cycle the 55gal. and wait it out.

 

[BigC]

Hi,
The upshot of all this is that you are wishing to expand, but you think you can cram more fish in or worse still think that the fish you already have will attain their full potential in a lowly 10 gallon tank. My advice here is to invest in a larger tank, the biggest you can afford or have the space for. Then your shackles will have been tossed aside and your imagination can come to fruition.
One word on stocking, Blue Gourami are notoriously boisterious and a bully, and the Tiger Barb can rate alongside the Serpae Tetra as being a fin nipper. Reports state that keeping this species as a shoal reduces this trait, I've tried it and you still get the odd victim.
Sorry to sound so harsh and its my opinion that deep down you want a larger tank.
Regards
BigC

 

[InLoveWithFish]

thanx.. no if only i could get that damn signature picture of my tank resized lol