New to forum and looking for advice

[Matthew Peters-Nahanee]

So I have had a 10 gallon tank since March 23rd 3019, I had originally put gravel substrate and got bored with the unnatural look and the lack of fish as I only had 7 Tetras who don't do much to begin with so just recently I had seen someone had a 20 gallon for sale I asked to buy it but couldn't find the place or the person, I had already boughten 6 Cory's for the tank but with this not being possible, I felt I needed more filtration and to get sand for the Cory's so I replaced the gravel, I am worried about losing fish.

I have Seachem: Prime and Flourish, Nutrifin: Cycle, Waste control and Aqua+

In my tank I had 2 java ferns, one of which has new ferns growing and one anubias, the top fin starter 10 filter which has plenty of BB.

I am just looking for advice on how to prepare for a mini cycle and how to avoid fish loss.

 

[Fishmanic]

What type of tetra do you have? What type of cory's do you have? Do you have a test kit for the tank. If not, buy the API complete test kit and keep an eye on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. What is your water hardness? Having changed out the subtrate and then adding 6 corys may well result in an ammonia spike. And 13 fish in a 10 gallon may be overstocked too.

 

[Matthew Peters-Nahanee]

What type of tetra do you have? Do you have a test kit for the tank. If not, buy the API complete test kit and keep an eye on ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. What is your water hardness?

Neon tetras and Glowlights I forgot to mention that I had two species 7 neons and 5 Glowlights

 

[Colin_T]

So you have 12 small tetras and 6 Corydoras in a 10 gallon tank.
And you changed the substrate to sand.

If that is correct, there shouldn't be any real problem. Just keep the feeding down for a few weeks and do big water changes every day or every couple of days for a couple of weeks.

Monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a big water change if you get any readings.

*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[Matthew Peters-Nahanee]

So you have 12 small tetras and 6 Corydoras in a 10 gallon tank.
And you changed the substrate to sand.

If that is correct, there shouldn't be any real problem. Just keep the feeding down for a few weeks and do big water changes every day or every couple of days for a couple of weeks.

Monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels and do a big water change if you get any readings.

*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

I Also added a 2nd filter for more filtration but I am still gonna do water changes every day.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I'm a newbie to fishkeeping too but I wouldn't think you need to do a water change everyday unless you really want to. Just take readings of the ammonia levels, nitrites and nitrates and if any of those start to spike then do a water change if needed. The nitrates just mean the tank is dirty - not a big deal unless it's a seriously high reading -the other two are very important. You've got all those solutions to purify your water so I don't think you have much to worry about. If your tank fully cycled well once already - then you may not even have a mini cycle after adding fish- I didn't.

Sounds to me like you're doing a great job - but your tank is a little crowded but I've read that's not that unusual.

I have a 29 gallon tank. I just filled my tank with 14 fish - The cycling had just finished and I did a water change on it before I bought them because I had one particular plant that was making a terrible mess and constantly clogging the filter (why do they even sell a plant for an aquarium that sheds little spikes constantly and grows like crazy?); I'm purchasing another 8 fish online (Raspdora's and Dwarf Gourami's - we have crummy fish stores where I live) and then stop - they'll arrive next Wednesday after being shipped overnight. I plan to do a water change before they arrive because of more plant mess. I tell you the live plants are more trouble than the fish.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would not do water changes every day, that seems a bit crazy to me.!