# Your thoughts on a beginners future stock



## Jman2453 (Feb 1, 2010)

So I have always wanted to get into having my own aquarium. My wife doesn't share that passion just yet so I am starting off small with a 10 gallon tank. I know you guys all recommend 20 gallons, but 10 is what I got. 

I have been pouring over the forums reading everything and believe I have my set up that I want to do, but wanted to make sure it was right before I go messing things up. 

So my 10 gallon tank is currently in the middle of cycling so still have some time to wait. It has a tetra filtration system, that is rated to 100 (normal from what I have read for 10g), a 50w heater (Normal from what I have read for 10g), 5 silk plants placed towards the back of the tank on the sides with one in the middle, and a bridge in the middle for the fish to hide. I set it up with this design after researching the fish I want/can work in a 10g tank.

I would like to stock it with 5 cardinals and 1 dwarf gourami. Starting with 5 cardinals and a few weeks later add the dwarf gourami. I read that cardinals need plenty of room to swim, and places to hide. 1 dwarf gourami does fine with cardinals, but no more than 1 for two reasons. One being that the tank is so small I can't fit anymore fish to begin with and the tank is so small 2 gourami's would start fighting. So is this a ok stock to work with? Also do you guys recommended ph of 7.0 and temp of 79?

Also would it be possible to add 2 ottos down the road to help with clean up or am I to overstocked for these small fish?


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## daniel89 (Nov 28, 2009)

Sounds good to me. Not sure about the otto's as Ive never had them before but I'm sure someone is gonna suggest corys. So you might want to look into that. An apple snail will work great also.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ottos are good for cleaning any algae that may grow..but you would also want to get some algae wafers to eat..you could also add 4 or 5 cories for a regular clean up crew.
if it were me, i would get 10 cardinals..1 dwarf gouramy.. 3 otocinclus.. and 4 dwarf cories... none of these species place much of a bioload on a tank;therefore you can house a few more.


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

sounds a lot like my future plans...I am awaiting the death of my honey dwarf gouramis who will sadly die soon, they are rather old. They were 2 when I got them, and I have had them for over a year. They seem to be turning black by the gills but they have been that way for a few months.

Good luck with your new tank!


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## Dragonbeards (Dec 14, 2008)

lohachata said:


> ottos are good for cleaning any algae that may grow..but you would also want to get some algae wafers to eat..you could also add 4 or 5 cories for a regular clean up crew.
> if it were me, i would get 10 cardinals..1 dwarf gouramy.. 3 otocinclus.. and 4 dwarf cories... none of these species place much of a bioload on a tank;therefore you can house a few more.


+ 1 to what loha said. Everything sounds good, and it looks to be like you're on the right track (too many beginners skip cycling). As loha said, with the fish chosen, they are all small and won't add any noticeable difference to the tank, plus they occupy different regions of the water so squables shouldn't be an issue either. A 10g can be a good beginner size tank, if you know what you want to do with it. Good luck!


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

What they said.


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## BL1 (Jan 21, 2010)

lohachata said:


> ottos are good for cleaning any algae that may grow..but you would also want to get some algae wafers to eat..you could also add 4 or 5 cories for a regular clean up crew.
> if it were me, i would get 10 cardinals..1 dwarf gouramy.. 3 otocinclus.. and 4 dwarf cories... none of these species place much of a bioload on a tank;therefore you can house a few more.


So, I was just on AqAdvisor and I put your suggestion into the little form. And it said that tank capacity was at 159% and the filtration capacity was down to 91% (with a AQ30 filter). Does AqAdvisor take into account the bioload, or is it just sheer size of the fish it checks when determining tank capacity?


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## llamas (Jun 29, 2009)

BL1 said:


> So, I was just on AqAdvisor and I put your suggestion into the little form. And it said that tank capacity was at 159% and the filtration capacity was down to 91% (with a AQ30 filter). Does AqAdvisor take into account the bioload, or is it just sheer size of the fish it checks when determining tank capacity?


It checks both, however, keep in mind that no one can create the "perfect" calculator. I must say though that the AqAdviser calculator is really impressive! 

Lohachata is EXPERT! If he says you're good, you're good! No need to question it. 

Just keep up with water changes.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Jman2453 said:


> Also do you guys recommended ph of 7.0 and temp of 79?


I recommend you use what ever your tap water is unless it is ridiculously basic or acidic. Most fish can adjust to living in dechlorinated tap water. Adding buffers and acids and bases can really be bad for fish, and could cause problems if one of the buffers were overtaken and the pH changed all of a sudden. Using what your tap is at right now should be the safest way to go.


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## Jman2453 (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for everyone's help as I get ready to add the first set of fish. Unfortunately the only fish store anywhere around is PetSmart. (The only private fish stores are all saltwater, I am going to visit one today to see if I can order batches of freshwater from them) I went there yesterday to check out some things and may have changed my mind from cardinals to neon tetra's. Mostly the same, the difference is the cardinals there looked awful, had very little color. Now they said they get new shipments on Thursday so will look back then.

I'm glad to here I can add 4 otto's also. I was interested in learning about the cories to help with all the food that falls to the bottom. So I went looking for dwarf cories, but all I could find were "Cory Catfish", and they said those things can get up to 4 inch. So should I skip the cories all together?

Lastly I'm using the seachem stability to help start things off, but my ph is very high about 8.2. Is this normal with this chemical? I have been using it for all most 7 days and PH 8.2, Amon: 0, Nitrite, 0,


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## br00tal_dude (Dec 26, 2009)

you could use peatmoss to lower the pH a little bit... wrap some in painty hose or a spare filter bag and float it behind your filter cartridge.


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## bobdobs (Feb 2, 2010)

I had a 12 gal eclipse and that worked out well. The one thing I know, the smaller the tank the more work one must put into it. Water changes and such. Remeber not to much food, that can throw off your water real quick. Anyone what to guess how long it takes for this guy to buy a 55gal? My wife does not like my tank either but my children do, so just have a few kids and she will have to let you go big.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

all cories are catfish..only a few of them will reach 4 inches.barbatus,kronei.robinae,and maybe a couple of others..although the barbatus and kronei are no longer corydoras ; but are schleromystax.still in the same family... most other cories get to be around 2-2 1/2"..
see if you can find some panda or skunk cories..they are cute little rascals.
i don't know why the dwarf cories are so hard to find in stores;it is not like they are rare or something..pygmeus,habrosus and hastatus are the most commonly seen..many of the aspidoras are really nice too;but also rarely seen in shops.


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## Jman2453 (Feb 1, 2010)

Well going to add a few fish today. I don't need a air stone and a air pump do I? The filtration system should add air into the water.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

All of the great little fish have smaller batches of fry than their big relatives. Pygmy cories, halequin rasboras, apistogramma sp., etc. Rasbora spawns are counted in 10s, tin-foil barb spawns in thousands. Its much cheaper to farm the big ones, and the bigger they are, the bigger the spawn. Where fishkeepers know what they want (fish that stay small) and ask for it by name, the cool little fish start to become available. If you let PetChain decide what fish you want, you will get what they can get cheapest (like IR sharks)


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

You don't NEED an airstone and pump, it's just nice a lot of the time. 
Our 20 gallon is the only one with extra air right now, and it is the best-looking of all our tanks. Of course, it also is the only one with an AquaClear filter. 
We have an air wand in the back of our 20, and all the fish seem to enjoy playing in the bubbles. If you decide to do cories, though, I would recommend against extra air. They don't like a whole lot of movement in their water.


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

It never hurts to have an air stone. If your filter doesn't break the water much you do need one; even if its a very small one going at a slow speed.


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## br00tal_dude (Dec 26, 2009)

your tank sounds nice, i would love to see some pics of it when you get the chance!


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## Jman2453 (Feb 1, 2010)

I wouldn't mind uploading some pictures once everything is done in a few weeks, but it is just a small humble aquarium. I have seen the pictures of some and they are much nicer than mine. This is simply a starting point that I hope can turn into something bigger in the future. 

Just a little update: I started off with 7 neon tetras last Thursday. They are all still alive. Because of ammonia creeping up, I change 20% water three times a week. I found a local fish place 30 min away that can do some special orders (hopefully in a few weeks will have some panda cories, also the place I got the tetras from), and are really nice people. 

I am taking my water to be tested at Petsmart because its close and free, I think my test kit may be a little off, and just want to see why I am now getting readings of .25 ammonia (as soon as I do a 20% it goes to 0), 0 nitrite, and 0 nitrate now.


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## Jman2453 (Feb 1, 2010)

Well correction, I am down to 6 tetra's now. I had to take one out of the tank. I noticed that one fish today seemed to have lost most of its color. I thought maybe some food issue and started watching him. He was the only one that seemed to have lost his color. He had a milky texture to him. Also he was staying a little bit away from the school. So typed up the symptoms into google and it became clear. He had all the symptoms of NTD. So they said to immediately pull him out of the tank. So RIP


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