New Tanks...... Lots Of Questions.......

[Guppy_Girl]

OK. I've got a 10 gallon tank that had a firefish in it until the gas went out while we were away and someone had unplugged his heater so he died, a 46 that my mom said I can put saltwater fish in, and a 2 gallon tank that has I bred dwarf seahorses in (I sold them).

ANYWAY!!

I am going to put new fish into the 46 and 10 gallon (and maybe the 2 gallon). I would like to put damsels and yellow-headed jawfish into the 10 gallon but I don't know if they will go together. As a matter of fact I don't know much about either one of them!!
I know that they both are carnivorous, and that I will need a 5-6" deep sandbed. I've also heard that I shouldn't use ALL sand for the bottom though because it will get packed to tightly or something..... what type of substrate SHOULD I put down!! PLEASE HELP!!!

I probably won't be getting any fish until after Christmas sometime.

THANKS!!

G_G

 

[steelhealr]

Guppygirl...damsel's' and a jawfish are too much for a ten gallon nano tank. Jawfish can grow up to about 4". Adding a damsel will probably be OK but I wouldn't do plural. Damsels can be very territorial and, a 10 gallon is a small nano tank. I think 3 fish would really be pushing it. The jawfish and damsel should be compatible.

There is no way that you can put a 5 inch sandbed in a 10 gallon. You'd be asking for trouble with detritus and anaerobic conditions. A DSB (deep sand bed can work in a large tank, but in a 10 gallon I think you'll have much too much of a headache. You can build one small area of the tank up to give the jawfish the depth he needs if you want. Otherwise, a thin sand bed is best, 1/2 - 1". 10lbs of aragonite should do the job.

The sand bed should be gravel vac'd from time to time to keep the sand bed loose and clean. You can also add nassarius snails to help. SH

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

If your looking for multiple opinions, I agree with steelhealr. One damsel in a 10 gallon would be the max. 1, They need room to feel comfortable, and 2, two fish in 10 gallons may offer ammonia problems. Why not put the yellowhead in the bigger tank?[unless you r doing an aggressive tank] If you do get the yellowhead, get coarser substrate so their burrows wont fall apart.