Newbie In Need Of Advice

[Fintastic!]

If you could post some pics of the platties and mollies, we might be able to tell you the sexes.

 

[Fintastic!]

Colleen, I've tried to post pics but I'm not sure how. The guy in the shop said he has some tanks and knows about tropical fish blah blah blah. He said we could have up to 15 fish in our tank! A disgrace!!!!! I'm gonna sort it out pronto. Be warned, I'll probably be onto you guys again!

 

[coldcazzie]

Dont worry fin you've come to the right place

Seems you're having a little trouble with the replies too? If you click the reply button directly underneath a post it will quote that post and you can type your reply underneath, if you want to quote multiple people click multiquote on all the posts and then scroll down to the bottom and click the big 'add reply' button it will quote all the people and you can write underneath or in between them, if you just want to reply without quoting you can either use the quick reply box right at the bottom of the thread or hit the big add reply button.

Your tank sounds bigger than the usual hex tanks we come across. To upload a picture you need an account with a site like Photobucket or ImageShack, you upload the pictures there and then use the image code and paste it into the reply box on here.

I'd definitely second rehoming the gourami and danios if you can. I know its annoying, but either that or you need an upgrade. Like 6x2x2 minimum for that gourami...

 

[Fintastic!]

Dont worry fin you've come to the right place

Seems you're having a little trouble with the replies too? If you click the reply button directly underneath a post it will quote that post and you can type your reply underneath, if you want to quote multiple people click multiquote on all the posts and then scroll down to the bottom and click the big 'add reply' button it will quote all the people and you can write underneath or in between them, if you just want to reply without quoting you can either use the quick reply box right at the bottom of the thread or hit the big add reply button.

Your tank sounds bigger than the usual hex tanks we come across. To upload a picture you need an account with a site like Photobucket or ImageShack, you upload the pictures there and then use the image code and paste it into the reply box on here.

I'd definitely second rehoming the gourami and danios if you can. I know its annoying, but either that or you need an upgrade. Like 6x2x2 minimum for that gourami...

Thanks for that Coldcazzie. Last question folks ,how often should I check my water?

 

[coldcazzie]

hmm.. with the stock issues you have at the moment I'd want to be checking it twice weekly minimum. And doing quite large water changes - 50% plus, more if the readings are off. You could start with checking daily, and then drop to every other day, then every 3 etc if the readings are good. But it all depends on tank size and the filter. If you could measure it somehow that would be really helpful, even borrow a tape measure off a neighbour? Also the filter make and model would be good...

You made any decisions about your stock yet?

 

[Fintastic!]

Ok, I've managed to measure the tank. It's a Clearseal, hex shape and it's 18.5 inches high and 55.5 inches around. The filter is a Fluval 2 plus. I have it filled up to 3 inches from the top. The only thing I can think to do is bring the danio's and gourami to the fish shop though hubby now wants to get another tank to accommodate them.

 

[Louiseness]

Colleen, I've tried to post pics but I'm not sure how. The guy in the shop said he has some tanks and knows about tropical fish blah blah blah. He said we could have up to 15 fish in our tank! A disgrace!!!!! I'm gonna sort it out pronto. Be warned, I'll probably be onto you guys again!

You might well be able to have 15 fish or even MORE, problem is he didn't say what kind

 

[Fintastic!]

So do you reckon I'm not overstocked? I'll be minus the gourami and danios soon.

 

[colleen0309]

Ok, I've managed to measure the tank. It's a Clearseal, hex shape and it's 18.5 inches high and 55.5 inches around. The filter is a Fluval 2 plus. I have it filled up to 3 inches from the top. The only thing I can think to do is bring the danio's and gourami to the fish shop though hubby now wants to get another tank to accommodate them.

I thought we had another member with MTS(multi tank syndrome) . This is a very real disorder, and very contagious ! I say "Go For It!". Get a bigger tank and maybe another pink kisser to go along with the one you have. That's how I ended up with 8 aquariums. But seriously, a bigger tank is really easier to maintain and the fish seem so much happier. My husband isn't very happy, but I can't help it if he doesn't like fish.

 

[Fintastic!]

Wow! 8 tanks! I'm impressed. Maybe someday.... I hope I'm not driving all of you pro's crazy with my queries but I checked my water today as it was only done once a couple of weeks ago by the guy in the fish shop. It needed good bacteria so I added it over 3 or 4 days. Anyway, my results from today are Ph-8.0, Ammonia-.25ppm, Nitrite-0 and Nitrate 40ppm. What do you guys think, will I get the API stuff to lower the ph and what with the Nitrate?

 

[fluttermoth]

A nitrate reading of 40ppm is fine; an ammonia reading of anything except zero in not and you should do a large water change to bring it down.

a pH of 8 is a little high for a lot of fish, but the chance of causing worse problems by trying to change it is not worth the risk; it's best left alone.

 

[XeroTolerance]

A 10 gallon is too small.

 

[coldcazzie]

ok

55.5/6 = 9.25"
Area of equilateral triangle: 9.25 squared x root3 over 4 = 37.04
Area of regular hex: 37.04 x 6 = 222.24
Volume: area x height: 222.24 x 18.5 = 4111.44

Via volume convertor, this is: ~67L or 17g (yes I realise this is different from what you said at first, its actually less because of substrate and room between water level and top of tank)

So, the basic guideline is around 1 inch per gallon, or 1 cm per litre of fish body (no tails). It's not foolproof, but its a great guideline for when you're starting out.

Corydoras = 2.5" x 2 = 5
Mollies = 3" x 2 = 6
Platies = 2" x 3 = 6
Danios = 2" x 4 = 8
Kissing gourami = 10"

Total: 35 inches of fish, or 89cm.

You tell us whether you think you're overstocked. Bear in mind the fact that livebearers will have babies.Lots of babies. And that that guideline only takes into account body mass which is not foolproof as I said. Large fish need much larger tanks. Some fish (like danios) are very active and therefore need large tanks despite being small. Some fish are shoaling fish and this needs to be taken into account: corydoras fit into this category, really needing a minimum of 6 in a group, the more the better. Bottom dwellers are only concerned with useable floor space: you could have a huge tank but if its all covered in rock with only a small path around the edge then your number of bottom dwellers can only be small.

I'm not trying to be cruel, just honest. But you won't get this honesty from the shop. Many are staffed with general pet store staff, who have to rely on outdated training, if they get trained at all. Even specific fish shops can suffer from getting stuck in old habits. At the end of the day, you cannot expect the staff to know everything you need to about the fish you want. That's your responsibility. Research research research. I really hope you get it sorted

 

[XeroTolerance]

ok

55.5/6 = 9.25"
Area of equilateral triangle: 9.25 squared x root3 over 4 = 37.04
Area of regular hex: 37.04 x 6 = 222.24
Volume: area x height: 222.24 x 18.5 = 4111.44

Via volume convertor, this is: ~67L or 17g (yes I realise this is different from what you said at first, its actually less because of substrate and room between water level and top of tank)

So, the basic guideline is around 1 inch per gallon, or 1 cm per litre of fish body (no tails). It's not foolproof, but its a great guideline for when you're starting out.

Corydoras = 2.5" x 2 = 5
Mollies = 3" x 2 = 6
Platies = 2" x 3 = 6
Danios = 2" x 4 = 8
Kissing gourami = 10"

Total: 35 inches of fish, or 89cm.

You tell us whether you think you're overstocked. Bear in mind the fact that livebearers will have babies.Lots of babies. And that that guideline only takes into account body mass which is not foolproof as I said. Large fish need much larger tanks. Some fish (like danios) are very active and therefore need large tanks despite being small. Some fish are shoaling fish and this needs to be taken into account: corydoras fit into this category, really needing a minimum of 6 in a group, the more the better. Bottom dwellers are only concerned with useable floor space: you could have a huge tank but if its all covered in rock with only a small path around the edge then your number of bottom dwellers can only be small.

I'm not trying to be cruel, just honest. But you won't get this honesty from the shop. Many are staffed with general pet store staff, who have to rely on outdated training, if they get trained at all. Even specific fish shops can suffer from getting stuck in old habits. At the end of the day, you cannot expect the staff to know everything you need to about the fish you want. That's your responsibility. Research research research. I really hope you get it sorted

+1

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I would keep the platys and mollies as those are pretty okay for the tank size, and they get along pretty well. I have a 40gallon tank with 5 guppys, 3 swordtails, 3 platys, a betta, and 3 clown loaches and they are doign very well. Although with clown loaches, a 10 gallon would definatly be to small, and the 40 gallon mine are in will definatly need to be expanded as loaches get rather large. I honestly thing that keeping the mollies and platys will be ideal because its recommended that there be only 1 inch of fish to each gallon. How big are your fish?