# 10 gallon companions?



## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

So I bought a 10 gallon today! I was just wondering what type of companions should I throw in with my Betta? The tank will include live plants, also one male Betta, some otocinclus, and some shrimps.

The lady at PetSmart suggested Neon Tetras, and some bottom feeder fish (Cories)? 

I was just wondering if there is any other fish that are compatible with my male Betta? And how many fish I should get to avoid overstocking. 

Thanks for the help in advance.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

How many otos and shrimp will be in there? Knowing their numbers will help me figure out how many fish you can add.


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## thePWNISHER (Jun 18, 2011)

Well if otos and shrimp are plural then you will be pretty maxed out from them alone. Maybe 1 or 2 more fish but there aren't many smaller fish that don't like to be in groups of less than 4 or 5.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Wow seeing how if I add otos and shrimps there won't be any room left for any other fish.

I've heard snails eat algae too? I saw some at PetSmart and they're pretty big too, Nerite snails they were I think? Would those allow more fish in my 10 gallon? Also are shrimps bottom feeders or do they eat algae too? If so, I'll scrap the idea of shrimps and just get snails.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

It depends on how many otos and shrimp. The inch rule is a loose guideline. You also have to take into account territoriality and bioload. If you put, say, 3 otos and 2 shrimp in the 10g with 1 betta, you could safely add 3 cories OR 6 neons. By following the stocking suggestions in several of my aquarium books, I was able to successfully stock my 10g with 10 neons, 4 cories, and 1 betta, with 2 platies to be added soon. This is the stocking list I loosely followed:

101 Best Tropical Fishes by Kathleen Wood
10 gallon Quiet Amazon Pool Stocking List
Top Swimmers: 3 marbled hatchetfish 
Midwater Swimmers: 12 neon tetras
Bottom Swimmers: 3 panda corydoras, 1 clown pleco

Your tank really should be cycled before you stock this much though and you need to do 25-40% weekly 
water changes.

Here's another 10g stocking list from a different book, Freshwater Aquariums by David Boruchowitz
3 platies
5 zebra danios
2 cherry barbs
3 cory cats

Note that the more herbivore/omnivores you have, the more you can stock because they have a smaller bioload than carnivores.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks Sakura, I'll take that into consideration. Would the fact that I'm adding in live plants, and a lot of live plants affect on how much I can stock? I plan to have only live plants, and some hiding spots as decor.

I do not know if my tank is cycled or not, since the lady at PetSmart said that using Stability by Seachem will cycle the tank, but I'm not sure.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Stability, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't really cycle the tank. Best way to tell if it's cycled or not is to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. You should have zero to low ammonia and nitrites and a small amount of nitrates if it's cycled.

And yes, live plants helps considerably because they'll use up some of the ammonia the fish put out as their bioload. Add in only a few fish at a time, wait a week and test the water for an ammonia spike, do a water change, and add in a few more fish etc.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Blargh, that means I'll have to cycle my tank then, which I really would not like to do seeing how I've been seeing a lot of threads about the endless cycling of their tanks.

Is it okay if I don't cycle my tank? -lazy- Next week after I'm done with my Stability treatment I'm planning on adding in all the live plants and decor and then adding in fish (Tetras or whatever so they claim it their territory first). I'll have to wait till my algae start to build up first though, or the octos will starve. 

Sounds like a good plan or no?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You can certainly try it but I've heard tetras shouldn't be added to new aquariums. They're supposedly quite sensitive to water chemistry. But you can try. And you don't need to build up algae, necessarily. Just feed the otos sinking algae wafers or blanched veggies.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Ohhh I've seen those algae tabs, maybe I'll just get those in the mean time! The reason why I've chose tetras was because they look the pretties with their vibrant colors and all.

Right now I have one Betta, 3 otos (good enough number right)?, and that's basically it on my plans. Did I mention the fact that the tank will be heavily planted? I've heard cories do wonderful with Bettas since they're bottom feeders, dunno if that's true.

Any suggestions or changes that you think I should make?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Nope. 1 betta, 3 otos, 6 neons, and 3 cories would work. I love neon tetras, I have 10 of them and I love watching them.  Okay, I know it'll like kill you to have to do this so slowly, but only add a few fish per week and do twice weekly water changes of 25-30% for a month or so. Test for ammonia and nitrites/nitrates weekly if you can.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

You need to suppliment algae eating fish or such with algae wafers, there will never be enough in you tank to feed them. I wouldn't suggest danios, they need horizontal swimming space and tend to be fin killers, silly books! Haha Adding plants or hiding spaces only give you the max stocking, lesser plants means lesser stocking. Nothing will allow you to have more fish than recommended sadly. Google aquarium stocking calculator and use a stocking calculator to see what fish you plan will fit or not. My 10 g is at its max with 5 Glowlight Tetras, 6 celestial pearl danios, an apple snail and a gourami. I'm upgrading LOL 
And yes, it would be better to cycle your tank. It's less stresfull on fish and easier on you to keep up with water changes and to avoid sickness. Do you know anyone with a larger healthy tank that could lend you some rocks and some of the filter media? That should jump start your tank. I set up a tank and its ok for fish in a few days, because I have cycled tanks to pluck stuff from LOL 
The key to proper fish care if patience, you jump the gun and things could go really wrong


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I've been talking to OFL via PM, and she suggested doing a silent cycle.

I would have all my live plants up and running and add my fish in (not my Betta), seeing how it's good to QT plants and fish you get at the pet store. Seeing how I only have free space in my 10 gallon right now that'll be my QT tank, the only dilemma I'll run into is that if there is a fish indeed sick and I will have to treat it/my whole tank, some plants can't stand some medication (AQ salt, etc). 

There's no one I know that has an aquarium like I do, so yeah. No jump start for me. I'm planning to wait 3 weeks after I get my fish/live plants and see how they're doing before adding my Betta in. 

Sounds like a good plan? I'm carrying out this plan over the next weekend or so.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If OFL says go, then go.  Good luck, Micho!


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I'm still deciding on which type of fish to go with though, do Cardinal Tetras nip? They're more pretty since that red stripe is longer (I've heard Neon Tetras will eventually lose their color, do not know if that's true or not), and I've heard they grow larger than the average Neon Tetra. I would love to do some cories too, they're kinda cute with their long whiskers and being a bottom feeder and all makes it easier for me. 

With Tetras do I have to buy a different food brand for them? And how would I feed my cories? Or they just eat stuff that's leftover?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Cardinals are really pretty but I've heard they are a little more touchy as far as water chemistry etc. So far my neons are bright and well, neon. I think either one will work for your tank. To feed the tetras, you can feed a flake food like Omega One (crumble it first) or New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula .5mm pellets. I feed the New Life, it works for me because my tetras don't come to the surface to feed and the pellets sink. To feed the cory cats, you would drop in a sinking wafer like Hikari Sinking Wafer first thing in the morning and just after you turn off the tank light at night.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Okay thank Sakura, I'll be picking up some fish this weekend! I'll have to buy some different fish food I guess, I already have some small sinking pellets, my Betta doesn't like them so that's good. I already have flakes for my Betta, he enjoys those very much.

Just need to buy algae wafers for my otos, and sinking wafers for my Cories, but I'm not sure if I can find sinking wafers. Also how much algae wafers should I feed my otos?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If you don't have much algae in your tank, then you probably should feed half an algae wafer for 3 otos every day or so. Take your cue from the otos: if you put food in for them and it's gone the next day (and you know for sure the cories and the betta didn't eat it), they aren't getting enough to eat from the algae in your tank. If it's still there, then they don't need supplemental food at the moment. You can also put blanched veggies like zucchini and cucumber and romaine lettuce in. If you're lucky, both otos and cory cats will eat the veggies too. Mine never did but I think they might have been wild-caught and didn't know the stuff was edible.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> If you don't have much algae in your tank, then you probably should feed half an algae wafer for 3 otos every day or so. Take your cue from the otos: if you put food in for them and it's gone the next day (and you know for sure the cories and the betta didn't eat it), they aren't getting enough to eat from the algae in your tank. If it's still there, then they don't need supplemental food at the moment. You can also put blanched veggies like zucchini and cucumber and romaine lettuce in. If you're lucky, both otos and cory cats will eat the veggies too. Mine never did but I think they might have been wild-caught and didn't know the stuff was edible.


Hrm I remember that the fish specialist there said to wait for around three months before adding the otos in to grow algae. . Also OFL suggested to wait about 6 months and see if my plants are doing well if they are add the otos in. . 

I might add an Nerite snail and that's it. While adding 4/5 Cories instead of 3. Since the like groups. Sounds like a good plan?


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## MybettaSapphire (Sep 20, 2011)

I've got three mystery snails (unless your petsmart is different, that's the kind of snail they have available), two in my molly tank and one in my ten gallon with my betta, and I LOVE them. From what I've heard they eat algae when they're younger but not so much when they get older. Mine eat the algae wafers that I put in for them, broccoli (the stem part) and they LOVE Zucchini--my single snail in the betta tank can eat a half inch slince all on her own in a day or so--and they'll eat whatever extra food is leftover from the betta. They're really entertaining too. I'd definitely get one if I were you.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Adding a snail and 4/5 cories is also a good idea. I've heard otos can be very sensitive to water chemistry and also I know from experience that they poop A LOT.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Hrm I only remember the Nerite snail but I'll look around! If I get a snail do I still have to get algae wafers? I don't plan to add a snail until 1 month later when I get some algae build up, sounds like a good plan?

So currently I have right now: 6 Neon Tetras, 4/5 Cories, one Betta, and a snail or two when my algae builds up~

Woot, me gusta.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

NO MORE! That is overstocked Already. Cory Catfish need 10 gallons EACH. And need to have a companion, which none of your fish will be. 

Neons NEED to be in a school of 6 and need 15 gallons to shoal properly. Just themselves. 

NO SNAILS. They actually have a HUGE Bioload. Shrimp have almost none. Hence why I keep mine in a 1 gallon filtered and heated bowl. 

Get rid of the Cory Catfish and the Neons. You can't have them, unless you want dead fish. 

Sorry to seem stern, but that is a horrible setup. Been there with overstocking, done that. 

You CAN divide it 3 ways and get 2 more Bettas. And maybe 3 or 4 shrimp for each section. 


Sorry. Please return them. 

No me gusta nada.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

BettaMiah said:


> NO MORE! That is overstocked Already. Cory Catfish need 10 gallons EACH. And need to have a companion, which none of your fish will be.
> 
> Neons NEED to be in a school of 6 and need 15 gallons to shoal properly. Just themselves.
> 
> ...


._______. Lol I dunno, both Sakura and OFL both said that my setup was fine to be honest, you're the only one to disagree with them.

I haven't bought the fishies yet, this thread was the get some opinions on what fish to get, and how many.

I don't get why cories need 10 gallon each, they're tiny, probably around one inch? And they've matured. . . My friend had for them around 6 months? She says they haven't grown since she got them. . 

Also neons are small too? 6 neons in a 15 gallon by themselves kinda spoiled. . 

My 10 gallon is going to be heavily planted with about 10 ~ 15 plants, so some ammonia will be sucked up, if you didn't read some of my previous posts. So yeah. . I might overstocking a bit.

But a Betta to a 10 gallon by himself. . Yeah not gonna happen, the reason why I got a ten gallon was to let him swim with other fish.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Micho said:


> ._______. Lol I dunno, both Sakura and OFL both said that my setup was fine to be honest, you're the only one to disagree with them.
> 
> I haven't bought the fishies yet, this thread was the get some opinions on what fish to get, and how many.
> 
> ...



Reasons-

Snails crap a ton. Bad for bioload. 

Cory Catfish can actually get 4 inches, mine is. Plus, if your is healthy, they like to swim. A lot. 10 gallons is too small for a 4" fish. 

Neons are VERY active fish. They swim a ton. They also need EXCELLENT water quality, which, even with tons of plants, you will fail to provide. Even if you has the best water in the world but had them in a 5g, they would not thrive or even survive. 

Please, PLEASE, do not get them. Why not get 3 Betta fish? But if you don't want them, here are some excellent, fun, and cute additions that will thrive in your set up!

- 2 African Dwarf Frogs
- 4-5 Ghost Shrimp/Cherry shrimp (I recommend Ghost) 
- And maybe 3 or4 Endlers.


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

there's quite a few different types of corydoras, including a few pygmy types that only get to be about an inch big. they're actually one of the most commonly suggested tank mates for 10 gallon tanks with bettas


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Tisia said:


> there's quite a few different types of corydoras, some of them only get to be about an inch big. they're actually one of the most commonly suggested tank mates for 10 gallon tanks with bettas


Yeah, those little buggers don't seem to grow that big to be honest. .____.; 

I was choosing between shrimp and snails, seeing how shrimps can be easily picked off by my Betta or any other fish while snails have armor I kinda think that a snail would be my best bet for an algae eating friend.

If the snail doesn't work out (AKA dies), it's okay. I'll be having a little nano red cherry shrimp tank, apparently they reproduce like mad, so I can drop there in my 10 gallon and pray to God that they don't die. That's if I can find any RCS around here.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Okay, then the small cories. But not those you find at ones in the pet stores. Like green ones or pandas or albinos. 

Still, NO NEONS!!!

I still suggest Shrimp. Snails poop like mad. And they only clean algae, while shrimp will even eat wasted food or waste.


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

I think I've seen cherry shrimp from Canadian sellers on AB, so you could always try there if nothing else


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I dunno, there has to be some other fish I can add to my tank, other than the 4/5 Cories. . Since they dwell on the bottom of the tank most of the times they're kinda meh. Great cleaner uppers if some food gets to the bottom. I might get shrimps, really they're kinda cute, but snails are cute too. If I were to get shrimps, like say Ghost Shrimps ('cause I see them everywhere), how many should I get?

AND WAI NO NEON TETRAS? NO GUSTA, I WANT FISHY FISHIES.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

BettaMiah said:


> Okay, then the small cories. But not those you find at ones in the pet stores. Like green ones or pandas or albinos.
> 
> Still, NO NEONS!!!
> 
> I still suggest Shrimp. Snails poop like mad. And they only clean algae, while shrimp will even eat wasted food or waste.


The vast majority (like 99.9%) of the corydoras available in the hobby don't grow larger than 3". Because they are stationary and don't move around much, they don't need a large footprint as say a very active 3" inch cichlid. The inch rule, as I've noted before, is a very loose guideline. Other factors must be taken into account, including diet and territoriality and activity. Generally speaking, herbivores and omnivores carry a lower bioload than carnivores. As noted, cory cats are relatively stationary fish, therefore they don't need nor want vast amounts of space. Neons are schooling fish. Since they won't fight like cichlids would, they don't need a set amount of space per fish to set up a territory. Both are omnivores. Their bioload is relatively small compared to many other types of fish.

I have 10 neons in my 10g and they are very happy (their color is so vibrant!). Even professional aquarists stock them in tanks as small as 10g. Please note the stocking lists I copied from books by professional aquarists.

101 Best Tropical Fishes by Kathleen Wood
10 gallon Quiet Amazon Pool Stocking List
Top Swimmers: 3 marbled hatchetfish 
Midwater Swimmers: 12 neon tetras
Bottom Swimmers: 3 panda corydoras, 1 clown pleco

Here's another 10g stocking list from a different book, Freshwater Aquariums by David Boruchowitz (I really respect this guy a lot)
3 platies
5 zebra danios
2 cherry barbs
3 cory cats

I also have in the same 10g 2 panda cories and 2 Venezuelan Sailfin cories (variations of Bronze Cories). In a cycled and mature tank with plants, this is a reasonable stocking.


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## ggriffin411 (Sep 21, 2011)

I recently had to segregate a female betta in my community tank because she started attacking the other fish. I have a moderately planted 10 gallon with three caves and a fake piece of driftwood to break up the flow of the filter. Her tank mates were 5 neons and a banded cory (who just turned 17 this month). The betta had been living peacefully with them for about 6 months and suddenly turned on them; I had to put in a divider. Just keep an eye on things.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi ggriffin and welcome to the forum.  Wow, a banded cory! I'd love one but I'm lucky if I find a cory that's not an albino bronze cory. And 17, that's amazing.


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## MybettaSapphire (Sep 20, 2011)

Snails, at least Mystery Snails, eat EVERYTHING. Seriously, I've seen one of mine climb up to the top of the tank and eat betta pellets off the surface of the water. They do eat extra food, and also eat veggies, algae chips, whatever. They certainly have a big bioload, but I think they're worth it, and make a tank very entertaining. Also, a full sized mystery is pretty darn awesome to see. Mine are still probably an inch and a half in diameter, but the breeder I got my mollies from had ones that were the size of my palm!

Certainly the bioload is something that you have to keep in mind when stocking, but I don't think that should stop you from considering a mystery snail or another variety of snail.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Would a mystery snail's bioload be more or equal to a betta's, I wonder?


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

I'd guess way more. they poop almost constantly and get pretty big


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Ah. Okay, eww. I don't even really want to think about snail poop.


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## MybettaSapphire (Sep 20, 2011)

Even though I own three of them, I've never actually seen "snail poop". And even though Petunia (the golden mystery snail in my betta tank) can polish off an entire quarter inch slice of zucchini by herself in a day, their tank look pristine with weekly 10-20% water changes. 

They do eat A LOT though, even the small ones.


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## Princess Penny (Aug 26, 2011)

Didn't read this whole thread but I don't recommend shrimp with bettas, my guy is super calm and docile but the two ghost shrimp I got are dead and MIA after not even a week!


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

MybettaSapphire said:


> Even though I own three of them, I've never actually seen "snail poop". And even though Petunia (the golden mystery snail in my betta tank) can polish off an entire quarter inch slice of zucchini by herself in a day, their tank look pristine with weekly 10-20% water changes.
> 
> They do eat A LOT though, even the small ones.


here you go, lol


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

That's snail poo? Ewww.


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

yes, lol. I've found trails of it along plants and such as well


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## ggriffin411 (Sep 21, 2011)

*Bandit*



Sakura8 said:


> Hi ggriffin and welcome to the forum.  Wow, a banded cory! I'd love one but I'm lucky if I find a cory that's not an albino bronze cory. And 17, that's amazing.


My guy is probably out of fashion now. He's seen a lot of tank mates come and go but he's still scuttling along. I'm very protective of him because he's so old so when my Betta girl started pestering him I shut her off in her own section of the tank. 

gg


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

ggriffin411 said:


> My guy is probably out of fashion now. He's seen a lot of tank mates come and go but he's still scuttling along. I'm very protective of him because he's so old so when my Betta girl started pestering him I shut her off in her own section of the tank.
> 
> gg


I had no idea a cory cat could live that long. O.O I'm amazed.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

So changed it up a bit now:

1 male Betta
6 Neon Tetras
4 Cories
1 Nerite or mystery snail

The mystery snails I saw were small. . While the Nerites were big! I don't know how to feed my snail though? Do they eat the sinking wafer like my Cories will?


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## Tisia (Mar 15, 2011)

mystery snails end up getting pretty big, think nerites stay smaller. I generally just throw a bit of veggies in a bit of water and microwave for about 30 seconds and throw it in once it's cooled. stuff like spinach and zucchini are great because they have a lot of calcium which they need for their shells


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

So. . I really want to move Jake into the 10 gallon tank now. I got three plants today and it already looks great. The thing is that I'm scared he'll establish his territory and when I add in my other fish he'll kill them all! 

Or am I just being over dramatic?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You can add Jake in now if you want and when you are ready to get the first fish, take Jake out and maybe rearrange the decor a bit. Add the new fish in, wait a while for them to get established, and then add Jake in. That way, he's the new fish on the block again.


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

Still WAY to many! Are you listening to me? Please, please take my advice! No Corys or Neons!!! And Snail is a horrible choice also. Shrimp are better. 

Please, unless you aim to be the queen of overstocking, don't!!!


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> You can add Jake in now if you want and when you are ready to get the first fish, take Jake out and maybe rearrange the decor a bit. Add the new fish in, wait a while for them to get established, and then add Jake in. That way, he's the new fish on the block again.


Yeah cause I was kinda wasting electricity, one big empty ten gallon tank that has the heater and filter running while the two gallon with Jake had the same thing either, so I'll just do what you suggested so he won't be a meanie!



BettaMiah said:


> Still WAY to many! Are you listening to me? Please, please take my advice! No Corys or Neons!!! And Snail is a horrible choice also. Shrimp are better.
> 
> Please, unless you aim to be the queen of overstocking, don't!!!


._________.; I dunno about you, but. . You've been the only one to say that I'm overstocking by a whole lot. I know I'm overstocking by a tad, the lady at my PFS told me I was, and I should reduce the size of Cories by one, or so. . . But out of asking a lot of people they don't think I'm overstocking. Many people have community tanks in 10 gallons with a Betta and it seems to be successful.

A ten gallon to Jake himself is quite, grand actually. . Shrimps will have their own tank once I get them and I'll add them to the tank after they reproduce. But I'm still getting the Neons and Cories, I'm just not gonna get a snail.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

If even professional aquarists who have been in the hobby for decades stock 3 hatchetfish, 12 neons, 3 cory cats, and 1 pleco in a 10g, who am I to argue? All I can say is my neons seem quite happy and so do my cories. Granted, I don't have snails but I am going to be adding two platies in when they're done with QT and they poop a lot sooo . . . anyway. 

Micho, what kind of cory cats can you get? Aim for Julii cories if you can. They stay smaller than bronzes but are hardier than pandas. And I've heard good things about nerite snails. Don't have any snails, they kinda creep me out. Oh and what kind of filter do you have for the 10g? Best to get a filter that is overrated for your tank. Mine is rated for up to a 20g.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> If even professional aquarists who have been in the hobby for decades stock 3 hatchetfish, 12 neons, 3 cory cats, and 1 pleco in a 10g, who am I to argue? All I can say is my neons seem quite happy and so do my cories. Granted, I don't have snails but I am going to be adding two platies in when they're done with QT and they poop a lot sooo . . . anyway.
> 
> Micho, what kind of cory cats can you get? Aim for Julii cories if you can. They stay smaller than bronzes but are hardier than pandas. And I've heard good things about nerite snails. Don't have any snails, they kinda creep me out. Oh and what kind of filter do you have for the 10g? Best to get a filter that is overrated for your tank. Mine is rated for up to a 20g.


Hrm, I'll ask my PFS if they have those, they probably won't carry that specific of a fish to be honest, hard to even find plants here. I'll ask the workers there to give me the smallest cories they have, and ask how big the grow. My PFS worker's are actually educated with these fish, and don't treat Bettas like poop like my LPS. The reason why I was siding with snails is because after seeing shrimp horror stories, I rather get a little tough guy with an armour on his body than a defenceless shrimp. Right now I'm using the Tetra Whisper 10i, seems like a great filter, would I need to upgrade? I'll probably have to baffle it if I get a 20g filter won't I?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You don't have to upgrade your filter if you don't want (or can't afford to) but if you do decide to, I recommend the AquaClear 20 because it has a flow adjustor. Then you won't need to baffle it. And I agree with you on the shrimp. Too many shrimp end up becoming dinner.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> You don't have to upgrade your filter if you don't want (or can't afford to) but if you do decide to, I recommend the AquaClear 20 because it has a flow adjustor. Then you won't need to baffle it. And I agree with you on the shrimp. Too many shrimp end up becoming dinner.


I'll keep that filter in mind if I ever do decide to upgrade. The thing is that my hood has a small opening for my filter and barely enough space to fit my heater. So I don't know if I can fit a 20g filter and my heater. Right now Jake is exploring is tank, he's pecking at plants and things. It's exciting.  The filter output is giving him a tad bit of trouble though, I put a plant infront of the output to block the current so it's all good. 

It's it normal that he's swimming around the bottom only? He's quite active he only goes up for air, I thought Bettas were mid to top fish in the tank.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Jake probably will work his way up to the top eventually. He may not even realize yet that he has a whole top layer to explore.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I think your list is a bit overstocked but with heavy planting and proper care it could work well for you. My local tropical forum recommends Neons for 10g tanks as well. I have an apple snail in my tank, just a bit smaller than my palm and 6 celestial pearls and 5 Glowlight Tetras. Overstocked to some but with the upkeep I perform on it, my levels stay stable.

BettaMiah, you've said your concerns and I think we should let the OP choose what they want to do based on knowledge given, yes? No need to be hostile. Many people on here keep forked with bettas in 10g tanks. Many people keep neons with bettas as well. And who's to say the OP doesn't upgrade down the road?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Heavy planting is good. Plants gobble up fish poo. Any tank is overstocked if the hobbyist doesn't keep up with the water changes. Hence, even a 1 gallon betta tank with 1 betta is overstocked if the aquarist doesn't change the water. 

Micho, Pitluvs is right. It's all up to you.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I'm actually going to hold off on adding fish friends until I have this tank cycled first. I'm going to add more plants and do a fish-in cycle with Jake, and my live plants. Once cycled I'll start considering my companions for Jake again, I don't really wanna add a whole ton of fish to an uncycled tank. Seems kinda unsafe to me. So yeah thanks for your help guys, I'll make a new thread or rebump this thread after my tank cycles and what not. In the meantime I'll look out for any fishies that might work out for my community tank.

Thanks for you input guys.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

We want pictures when it's complete


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

I'm going to bump this now since I'm ready to add fish in, well I already have added fish in.










That is what my tank looks like right now; with two swords, java fern, crypt, echinodorus, crinum, and the val split into three plants so they're in different locations right now. I'll be adding three marimo moss balls and I'm done. 

Along with that yesterday I made a greedy buy at my PFS, I asked if they had pygmy cories and they said they do, which is rare. These buggers are tiny. I asked for four of them, but when I got back home I saw six. . So I got two free fish I guess. 

On the first night Jake was chasing them, I turned off the lights and went to bed. Woke up this morning, he wasn't chasing them at all. Kinda you know leaving them alone. . Right now I can only spot four of the cories. They're too tiny I couldn't even spot the fourth one until awhile. . 

I was wondering, how many of these cories I could add? I believe they like to be in groups. So I scratched the ideas of tetras since I now know Jake is aggressive. And I plan to just add these cute little buggers in.

*So td;lr how many pygmy cories can thrive in my 10 gallon heavily planted tank along with one male Betta? *


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## BettaMiah (Sep 12, 2011)

AWWW! Cute! I love Pygmys. 

I'd say you could safely have ten and no more. 

Can I suggest 5 ghost shrimp?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

BettaMiah said:


> AWWW! Cute! I love Pygmys.
> 
> I'd say you could safely have ten and no more.
> 
> Can I suggest 5 ghost shrimp?


Yeah these things are roughly smaller than one inch, they'll probably get bigger but I dunno. . Don't seem like they will. So I'll add about four more in. Seeing how they like to be together, they're hugging my crypt right now. I got some mini Hikari algae wafers that sink, I tossed two in, but they aren't interested? Either the tank is too big and they can't find the food or are they just not interested? D: I don't want them to starve.

I'm planning to set up a RCS tank with my two gallon. If it thrives and they reproduce (apparently they reproduce like mad), I'll add some RCS into my ten gallon and see how they fare, they're smaller than ghost shrimps so I'm scared they'll get eaten by Jake. We'll see how it goes.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh lucky find and even a bonus! I want to have pygmys. You're tank looks really good  Nice healthy plants. Next time you hit the LFS ask them for trumpet snails. They are an inch long and kinda unicorn horn shaped. They help aerate your substrate for you to prevent toxic gasses from building up in the bottom. Since my pet store refused to give me some, I had to order mine online  I think they are good to have in a planted tank.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I'd say you could easily add 2 more for now. Maybe once the plants have grown in, you could add 2 more but for now stick with 6-8. 

Although cories will eat algae, they're mostly carnivorous. Feed them shrimp pellets or Hikari Sinking Wafers. With that many plants, they'll get all the vegetable content they need from the tank, I think.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

aurasoulful said:


> Oh lucky find and even a bonus! I want to have pygmys. You're tank looks really good  Nice healthy plants. Next time you hit the LFS ask them for trumpet snails. They are an inch long and kinda unicorn horn shaped. They help aerate your substrate for you to prevent toxic gasses from building up in the bottom. Since my pet store refused to give me some, I had to order mine online  I think they are good to have in a planted tank.


My plants are new so obviously they're going to look healthy! I'll wait for a couple more weeks to pass to see how they fare. If they thrive, whopee! Time for more fish, if they don't I guess I'll have to spend more money on these plants. I'll be on the look out for these snails.  I can't believe driftwood and these snails come from Malaysia, I should have started my aqua hobby when I lived there, I bet it would've been way cheaper. . . 



Sakura8 said:


> I'd say you could easily add 2 more for now. Maybe once the plants have grown in, you could add 2 more but for now stick with 6-8.
> 
> Although cories will eat algae, they're mostly carnivorous. Feed them shrimp pellets or Hikari Sinking Wafers. With that many plants, they'll get all the vegetable content they need from the tank, I think.


Really it's so hard to find them all at the same time, I thought they stick together. . Most of the time I can only count four together, I dunno where the other two are, they're alive hopefully. Darn! What shall I ever do with these mini algae wafers then? Blah, I'll have to buy sinking wafers then. . Luckily my PFS sells Hikari stuff, which makes me very happy.

Also after toying around with AquaAdvisor I plan to upgrade to AquaClear 20 as you suggested, one of my main priorities now is to get that filter. Seeing how it'll upgrade my filtration capacity by 243% with 1 Betta and 6 pygmy cories. . .


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

In a planted tank, it can be a real headache to find your fish. Mine isn't even halfway planted like yours and yet I still don't know how many tetras I have. It's either 8-9 in the morning or 10 in the afternoons . . . usually can't find my otos either. I think one might be sucking on the heater right now. If you can't find the missing cories after a day, test for ammonia. If you get an ammonia spike, then the poor things have passed somehow. 

And you ARE lucky, pygmies are so hard to find! They shouldn't get any bigger than 1.25-1.5 inches long. Also, because of their smaller size, pygmies tend to be more midwater fish than larger cories. You won't see them on the substrate as much. My guess is your missing cories are stuck to a plant leaf somewhere.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

I got my trumpets online at: http://www.shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/7-Malaysian-Trumpet-Snails-Algae-control-Live-mts07.htm Shipping is a little pricey, but i think it will be worth it as they multiply. You start off with 5 of them. Do you have potting soil on the bottem of your tank? If not, (this hobby is expensive no?) I'd get some root tabs for the swords. Better yet get them and put near all of your rooted plants to supplement iron for stronger growth. I'm very new to this myself so I'm hoping my plants with thrive as well XD


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> In a planted tank, it can be a real headache to find your fish. Mine isn't even halfway planted like yours and yet I still don't know how many tetras I have. It's either 8-9 in the morning or 10 in the afternoons . . . usually can't find my otos either. I think one might be sucking on the heater right now. If you can't find the missing cories after a day, test for ammonia. If you get an ammonia spike, then the poor things have passed somehow.
> 
> And you ARE lucky, pygmies are so hard to find! They shouldn't get any bigger than 1.25-1.5 inches long. Also, because of their smaller size, pygmies tend to be more midwater fish than larger cories. You won't see them on the substrate as much. My guess is your missing cories are stuck to a plant leaf somewhere.


I thought Tetras would be easier since they actually stick together, and they're so vibrantly colored? While my cories over here blend right in into the substrate. . . Sometimes I can only find one LOL. It's sad, I'll be sure to test for any ammonia spikes. I dropped on of them yesterday so I wouldn't be surprised if he dies. When I added him into the tank he wasn't budging much while the others swam together. Poor little bugger. 

I've noticed these things are fast. LIKE, really fast. They dart so fast, I've seen some dart up for air once in awhile and gosh do they swim. In a blink of an eye as they say. 


aurasoulful said:


> I got my trumpets online at: http://www.shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/7-Malaysian-Trumpet-Snails-Algae-control-Live-mts07.htm Shipping is a little pricey, but i think it will be worth it as they multiply. You start off with 5 of them. Do you have potting soil on the bottem of your tank? If not, (this hobby is expensive no?) I'd get some root tabs for the swords. Better yet get them and put near all of your rooted plants to supplement iron for stronger growth. I'm very new to this myself so I'm hoping my plants with thrive as well XD


>: Boo, I can't buy online. No credit card. And my parents won't allow it either. If I could have it my way, I would have bought all my plants online, seeing how they're in better shape and somewhat cheaper. No, I don't have potting soil in the bottom of my tank, are they needed? D: I've played with root tabs yesterday. . Didn't turn out too well. . It actually turned several 100% water changes, but I'll try again and grab extra substrate to make a little hill to mark where I've placed them.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Micho said:


> I thought Tetras would be easier since they actually stick together, and they're so vibrantly colored? While my cories over here blend right in into the substrate. . . Sometimes I can only find one LOL. It's sad, I'll be sure to test for any ammonia spikes. I dropped on of them yesterday so I wouldn't be surprised if he dies. When I added him into the tank he wasn't budging much while the others swam together. Poor little bugger.
> 
> I've noticed these things are fast. LIKE, really fast. They dart so fast, I've seen some dart up for air once in awhile and gosh do they swim. In a blink of an eye as they say.


They ARE fast! Even my bigger pandas are fast but probably nowhere near as speedy as your guys. Once when I had to remove mine from my tank, I basically had to tear the tank apart to get them. I musta chased those things all over that tank with the net for an hour . . . *shudders at the memory* 

Most of the time I can find my tetras but first thing in the morning, they're really pale and kinda sleepy I guess. That's when I usually come up short on the head count for some reason.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Sorry you can't buy online. Where do you get your plants and livestock? Get Seachem root tabs. I have a soiled tank, but I put in a couple anyway to my swords. I haven't had any clouding or anything. Maybe I was just lucky. Just push them slowly into the substrate with your finger. What happened to your tabs and what brand were they?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> They ARE fast! Even my bigger pandas are fast but probably nowhere near as speedy as your guys. Once when I had to remove mine from my tank, I basically had to tear the tank apart to get them. I musta chased those things all over that tank with the net for an hour . . . *shudders at the memory*
> 
> Most of the time I can find my tetras but first thing in the morning, they're really pale and kinda sleepy I guess. That's when I usually come up short on the head count for some reason.


Yeah these guys freak me out sometimes because they move so fast, I'll be like "What was that?!" These guys are so annoying, when I tried to catch them with my net they would escape because they're so small they can creep through tiny holes. >: Unlike with Jake one swift swoop and I got him! But yeah hopefully I'm not taking them out with I do water changes, I'll have to slowly add in water and stuff. So I don't disrupt them, along with the root tabs in my gravel. . .

Yeah my Cories are usually at the bottom of the tank, they'll swim in like a single location, it's like fidgeting for them or something? Then they'll just chill together in one spot. I've actually grown quite fond of these little buggers, I want more of them now! xD



aurasoulful said:


> Sorry you can't buy online. Where do you get your plants and livestock? Get Seachem root tabs. I have a soiled tank, but I put in a couple anyway to my swords. I haven't had any clouding or anything. Maybe I was just lucky. Just push them slowly into the substrate with your finger. What happened to your tabs and what brand were they?


Yeah no buying online, makes me wanna qq. I get my plants and fish from my PFS, they're actually a pretty good store that have knowledgeable staff and take good care of their fish. Their plants are a bit pricey, but I've had no problems with them. They actually select the healthiest looking plants for you unlike my LPS where they just grab the closest thing they can reach. But their fish is cheap, pygmy cories are like $2.99? The two swords I got were from PetSmart, only plants there that weren't infested with algae or some sort of weird green stuff. . .

I've just planted the rest of my root tabs and made myself a sticky note to not shift any of the gravel for several weeks. I use API root tabs, and they have the nastiest looking brown poof clouds when you shift them out of the gravel. This time I pushed them real deep, hopefully no more poof clouds for me. =_________=


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh okay, sounds like a great place to go. We don't have places like that anymore. It's sad really. Yeah, try not to stir up that gravel. Brown poofy clouds don't sound good o-o But do you poke holes in your substrate? I have to daily until I get my snails. Then they can do it for me.. I'm lazy  How long have you had your tank running?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

aurasoulful said:


> Oh okay, sounds like a great place to go. We don't have places like that anymore. It's sad really. Yeah, try not to stir up that gravel. Brown poofy clouds don't sound good o-o But do you poke holes in your substrate? I have to daily until I get my snails. Then they can do it for me.. I'm lazy  How long have you had your tank running?


You don't have any nearby pet stores? D: I mean LPS aren't the greatest place but sometimes they can be okay-ish? I don't poke holes, I'm guessing it's suppose to aerate the plants, I'll grab a chopstick and start poking some holes soon.  Dem snails, I want some, me want to be lazy too and not poke my own holes. This tank has been only around for a week, I got it for a nice price last Saturday. 

It's not cycled yet but I've been checking ammonia everyday and nitrites every three days, and it's been at 0. . . So I'm guessing silent cycle is what's happening.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Yep, all the ones I've seen have all closed down :/ Yeah, poking the substrate is important to prevent toxic gasses and funky bacteria to develop. It's recommended to do this until the roots grow down deep and aerate for you, but this could take months. That's why I'd do it the easy way and get the snails. But yeah take chopsticks and poke around. You'll see bubbles coming up..... and yes you are silent cycling right now  That's what I'm going to do. I haven't added any fish yet and my beta Fernando is in his hotel room until his house is renovated  I don't think Petsmart has mini Cories, so I may try my luck with Otos. Then I'll add some Neons or Rasaboras later, then Fernando. This tank is a 10 galleon as well


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

aurasoulful said:


> Yep, all the ones I've seen have all closed down :/ Yeah, poking the substrate is important to prevent toxic gasses and funky bacteria to develop. It's recommended to do this until the roots grow down deep and aerate for you, but this could take months. That's why I'd do it the easy way and get the snails. But yeah take chopsticks and poke around. You'll see bubbles coming up..... and yes you are silent cycling right now  That's what I'm going to do. I haven't added any fish yet and my beta Fernando is in his hotel room until his house is renovated  I don't think Petsmart has mini Cories, so I may try my luck with Otos. Then I'll add some Neons or Rasaboras later, then Fernando. This tank is a 10 galleon as well


Wow that sucks. ): Guess there's no business so they have to close down. I'll be sure to poke everyday, don't want weird things happening in my tank, especially if it's bad things. D: I'm pretty bad rooting my plants, their roots are long and I can't place it in the gravel, some of the roots are hanging out floating in the water. =______=; We'll see how this goes. . . You never know, you should always ask, but after seeing my PetSmart I'm not going to buy any fish from there unless it's a major steal. I was looking at the Neon Tetras, not that great, couple of them dead on the floor and while the others were eating the corpses. Bleh. Hope your renovation goes well, I'd just dump in the plants that I could find that weren't too tall and looked healthy so I could get a better chance from them dying.

I'm still not sure if I should add some other species into the tank, the Neon Tetras at my PFS are also cheap, $1.99 for each one.  But I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to see how my pygmy cories and live plants do first, don't want to rush this and possibly ruin my whole tank. D:


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Yeah, always good to introduce slowly. The floating roots you probably could just pinch off. If it's a thin side root, it won't hurt the plant. It may just rot away, or enjoy the current XD I can't STAND seeing dying fish in overcrowded tanks... With the other fish eating their tank mates, you know they aren't dedicated enough to check the tanks and remove the death asap. The corpses release ammonia that is weakening and killing the others :/ OH! i just thought of a small business pet store around me that I believe is still open! XD I can't wait to check them out. I used to go there all the time. Forgot why I stopped


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Aurasoulful, there used to be a great pet store out in your area that I went to several times. Pet . . . Connection, I think it was called. I think sadly it burned down several years ago. I'm not sure if it reopened or not.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

aurasoulful said:


> Yeah, always good to introduce slowly. The floating roots you probably could just pinch off. If it's a thin side root, it won't hurt the plant. It may just rot away, or enjoy the current XD I can't STAND seeing dying fish in overcrowded tanks... With the other fish eating their tank mates, you know they aren't dedicated enough to check the tanks and remove the death asap. The corpses release ammonia that is weakening and killing the others :/ OH! i just thought of a small business pet store around me that I believe is still open! XD I can't wait to check them out. I used to go there all the time. Forgot why I stopped


We'll see, apparently I didn't space my out my plants good enough. D: I'm too scared to move them and sent off a mine of root tab bomb. I really don't wanna do several 100% changes again. . Yeah death in pet stores are common and usually unnoticed too, especially in Betta section it's really gross and you can smell it if you stand too close to it. Bleh, I dunno now, after playing with AQ advisor I want to add one more species of fish to my 10 gallon, possibly a shoal of six Neon Tetras, I'm wondering if that's a good move alone with my six Cories right now. Go to small pet stores! They're usually better, hopefully, too bad you don't have a LFS, those ones are usually better.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I would wait a week at least before adding any new fish, Micho. Let the bacteria catch up to the added bioload and make sure it can handle it before adding more bioload. I know it's sooooo hard to wait though, isn't it?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> I would wait a week at least before adding any new fish, Micho. Let the bacteria catch up to the added bioload and make sure it can handle it before adding more bioload. I know it's sooooo hard to wait though, isn't it?


Haha I know, I was just wondering if it's possible to add more fish in the future, adding more fish right now would be a horrible mistake. Currently I'm thinking of making a tank like Dragonii's they two gallon tank he made, not the three gallon cube. . I would want something more in width than depth, and probably going to house a Betta in it. It'll probably make my parents mad hen they find out I want another Betta, oh well. xP


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Your folks should be glad you'd rather spend your money on fish than on something really bad, like drugs.


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## snoopy (Sep 13, 2011)

Micho said:


> Yeah, those little buggers don't seem to grow that big to be honest. .____.;
> 
> I was choosing between shrimp and snails, seeing how shrimps can be easily picked off by my Betta or any other fish while snails have armor I kinda think that a snail would be my best bet for an algae eating friend.
> 
> If the snail doesn't work out (AKA dies), it's okay. I'll be having a little nano red cherry shrimp tank, apparently they reproduce like mad, so I can drop there in my 10 gallon and pray to God that they don't die. That's if I can find any RCS around here.


The problem is that snail don´t clean the leaf of the plant and the ground. I have 1 nerite snail and it´s perfect to clean the glass, but for the rest of the fish tank I recommend you shrimps, maybe your betta will eat them or not.

And if you have live plants I think the snail poop will not be a problem.




Micho said:


> So changed it up a bit now:
> 
> 1 male Betta
> 6 Neon Tetras
> ...


I would choose nerite snail, becase this can´t breed due to the temperature of your fish tank. (In fact I have one)



Micho said:


> I'm going to bump this now since I'm ready to add fish in, well I already have added fish in.


You should bury those roots or it could rot.




Micho said:


> I'm planning to set up a RCS tank with my two gallon. If it thrives and they reproduce (apparently they reproduce like mad), I'll add some RCS into my ten gallon and see how they fare, they're smaller than ghost shrimps so I'm scared they'll get eaten by Jake. We'll see how it goes.


Your 2g fish tank have filter and heater?



And my last question..  At the end what fish/snail/shrimp are you going to add?


Edit: I have a 10g too with a betta and 3 red cherry shrimp (before 4, because the betta killed one but currently they get on well with themselves) but I would like to add neon..


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## dbockrath (Jul 29, 2011)

If you go with mystery (aka apple) snails, just be aware they grow quickly. My two were each the size of a small grape when I got them a couple of months ago, and they've easily tripled in size since then.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

snoopy said:


> The problem is that snail don´t clean the leaf of the plant and the ground. I have 1 nerite snail and it´s perfect to clean the glass, but for the rest of the fish tank I recommend you shrimps, maybe your betta will eat them or not.
> 
> And if you have live plants I think the snail poop will not be a problem.
> 
> ...


I dunno I'll probably get one Nerite snail and add some RCS, if the RCS don't work out too well I'll try Ghost shrimps cause they're bigger. The roots are annoying, I'll try to bury them without setting off a bomb. Yep my Fluval Spec 2 gallon shall be the home for the RCS I plan to get.

Plan to add some Neon Tetras, a Nerite snail and a few shrimp depends what kind though. I dunno if that's overstocking but my plan won't take action for a few weeks. Need to see if my plants will thrive, and if my pygmy Cories will survive. 

Yeah you can most definitely add Tetras, just have to take out your Betta and introduce him back after a few days. 



dbockrath said:


> If you go with mystery (aka apple) snails, just be aware they grow quickly. My two were each the size of a small grape when I got them a couple of months ago, and they've easily tripled in size since then.


Nerite snails are my snail to go. xD


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> Aurasoulful, there used to be a great pet store out in your area that I went to several times. Pet . . . Connection, I think it was called. I think sadly it burned down several years ago. I'm not sure if it reopened or not.


Oh yeah I remember that place. I could look it up, but I doubt it's around anymore.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Ohhh, so one of my cories just died. I picked him up and said goodbye to him. Did a water test, ammonia and nitrites level were at 0?

Jake right now has mouth fungus, separated him and put him into his 0.8 QT tank. Should I do a water change with my 10 gallon?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You could do a small water change. Was it the cory you accidentally dropped who died? I'm sorry to hear about Jake and about your cory. 

Micho, in the pic of your tank, the Amazon Sword with the roots sticking up . . . take the plant out and use scissors to trim the roots to a short 1/2 inch length. Then bury it again.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> You could do a small water change. Was it the cory you accidentally dropped who died? I'm sorry to hear about Jake and about your cory.
> 
> Micho, in the pic of your tank, the Amazon Sword with the roots sticking up . . . take the plant out and use scissors to trim the roots to a short 1/2 inch length. Then bury it again.


I'm not sure, they all look the same to me. I dunno maybe I'm just a bad caretaker of fish. The cories are supposed to be swimming right? A lot of them are just chillin' at the bottom which is usually not a good sign. Sometimes they do swim but not for very long.

And yeah I'll do that with my plants, didn't know you could cut the roots.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Micho, you're not a bad fishowner. Starting community tanks is difficult, trust me. When I started mine, I lost 2 guppies, 3 platies, and 3 panda cories before things stabilized and I figured out what I was doing. Your little cories may be adjusting still. The're such tiny things . . . oh, also cories are most active early in the morning and after dark. Maybe they're just sleeping until it gets dark?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Sakura8 said:


> Micho, you're not a bad fishowner. Starting community tanks is difficult, trust me. When I started mine, I lost 2 guppies, 3 platies, and 3 panda cories before things stabilized and I figured out what I was doing. Your little cories may be adjusting still. The're such tiny things . . . oh, also cories are most active early in the morning and after dark. Maybe they're just sleeping until it gets dark?


I wouldn't be surprised if more drop dead on me, or I should really say float. I'm really need to go pick up some sinking wafers, maybe that's why they died 'cause they're not getting enough food. . . Hope they are adjusting, all I ever see them do is hide (which is when I cannot find them) or be on a plant. 

Maybe they're just trolling me and being shy with me, I'm gone for most the early morning because of school and at night I'm asleep. I dunno. . . I've trimmed my roots like you said to, now for the water change, 20% would be good?


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh no, Sorry to hear about the cory and Jake. Some fish just don't pull through. I hear some cories can be sensitive. I was going to get some otos, but I can't seem to make up my mind. I hope your tank stabilizes soon


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Yeah. 20-25% would be good. You'll find your plants will grow better with the roots trimmed.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Aurasoulful, I have otos. They're great fish. In just 3 days, they've eaten the algae off my tank glass and most of my plants. The bad side is they poop. A lot. I mean A LOT. I have a pale substrate and parts of it are actually turning black/brown from the poop. :shock: But for algae eating, they're hard to beat.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

HAHA POOP MACHINES!! They seem small enough for a 10 galleon. How many should I get?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I have 3. If you don't have anything else but a betta in your 10g, I'd say you could have 4-5 as long as you keep up on the water changes. A planted tank would help too. They're so cute the way they stick themselves to things. But here's a day's worth of poo from 3 otos. They spent a lot of time in the plants so all that brown stuff is poo. From one day.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh wow, along with wanting some neons and adding Fernanado, I dunno if I could handle the bioload o-0


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Planted, cycled tank with 6-10 neons and 3 otos would be okay, I think. Neons have very little bioload. I've never even seen mine poop. They're too small to see them poop, I guess.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Well they only poop when you're not looking... Tis not proper to poop in front of people... Silly neons. I'm still adding more plants and I believe the tank may silent cycle since I removed the old substrate and put down soil and darker finer gravel. I haven't had any fish in there for a couple days so the nitrogen cycle may have crashed. I'm getting some trumpet snails in a day or so and some more plants. We'll see how it goes


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

:lol: So I have nice polite neons.  Where are you getting your trumpet snails from? I've only found one website that has them so far and only in groups of 3.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

I ordered here: http://www.shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/7-Malaysian-Trumpet-Snails-Algae-control-Live-mts07.htm says you get up to five snails  Guy is in Arizona


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

How's the shipping for them, is it reasonable? I could order some plants from them too. One other site I looked at, www.azgardens.com, has a massive selection but the shipping is $37.


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

The shipping is 10 bucks to ship them. If you enter BETTAFISH in the coupon area, you get 50 cents off. Their plants can be pricey though. I shopped at sweetaquatics.com for their plants today. They sell fast, but great prices and they have 10 bucks flat rate shipping.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Ooh, I've heard PewPewPew talk about sweetaquatics. I'll check them out too. Thanks, aurasoulful!


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

You're welcome Sakura!! ^______^


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

Ew oto poop, I don't think Jake is going to make it. I'm in school right now but I checked up on him this morning. He's not moving that much, and the fungal around his mouth seems to be getting worse. 

If he is going to pass, I hope he passes quickly. . Other than all my other Cories seem to be doing fine. . .


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about Jake. Did he start getting sick before the corys were added? T____T


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## snoopy (Sep 13, 2011)

I have just bought 6 neon and the betta is chasing them all the time. I don´t know if he wants to eat or play with them.. hahaha


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

snoopy said:


> I have just bought 6 neon and the betta is chasing them all the time. I don´t know if he wants to eat or play with them.. hahaha


Did you introduce the neons to the tank first? If not, the betta wants them to die or get out.


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## snoopy (Sep 13, 2011)

aurasoulful said:


> Did you introduce the neons to the tank first? If not, the betta wants them to die or get out.


Yes, the neons were alone for 30 minutes.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Micho, I'm so sorry about Jake.  

Snoopy. do you have lots of plants that the neons can hide in?


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

snoopy said:


> Yes, the neons were alone for 30 minutes.


I would suggest taking out your Betta for a one or two days, and let him live by himself. Then shift a your decorations/plants around to make it seem like a new environment. By a day or two your Tetras will have established their territory, add your Betta in. There should be nipping for a the first day and then it should all come down.

If not take your Betta out, he's not compatible with other fish. Also having lots of plants/hiding places is vital. 



aurasoulful said:


> Oh no! I'm sorry to hear about Jake. Did he start getting sick before the corys were added? T____T


No he wasn't sick before, the fungal grew so fast. I don't think it's the Cories or they would have all died by now. I'm not going to euthanize him, if he passes he can go on his own. Until then I'll keep treating him with AQ salt. :/


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## aurasoulful (Aug 19, 2011)

I hope he gets better soon


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