New Tank, New Fish, New Hobbyist

7 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


dabigkahuna007
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:09 pm

New Tank, New Fish, New Hobbyist

by dabigkahuna007

Hey there, Just thought i'd stop in and say hi. I'm new here and also new to the aquarium scene. I was just given a free small setup by a friend and decided to try it out. So far its a blast! Just a 10gal tank with 6fish, only about 2 weeks old. has 1Rainbow shark, 2 tiger barbs, 2 green tigers, 1 albino tiger. Just wanted to get some advice on how densely decorated it should be and if i an aerator inthe tank. Thanks!
247ee-tanks.jpg


toxicbiscuitj28
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:29 pm

by toxicbiscuitj28

Some advice before i get into the Decorations/plants amount:
The fish are wayyyy to big for that aquarium. Also, do you mean 'albino tiger' as in an oscar? you will have to return them in about a few months or get a bigger tank. 1 green terror alone needs a tank over 55g's.
you will have quite a bit of fighting in that tank because the green terror can be very aggressive.
Adult Sizes of the fish:
Green terror-8-12inches
Rainbow shark-6-8inches
I can't answer the albino tiger because i don't know what it is.
the tiger barbs are a good size but beware, they have been known to be 'fin nippers' so let's say you added a betta ( even though the green terror would kill it ) the barbs would constantly bite the betta's long fin and tail.
You really should think about getting rid of the green terrors, there very aggressive and are to big for your tank, But if you still want to keep them and return them in a few months thats fine. The green terror's might attack the barbs. Barbs should also be in a shoal of about 5-8 fish.

Plants/Decorations.
Plant wise you should have a good few plants because Cichlids are very territorial. 1-2 tall plant's 2-3 medium plant's and 1-3 small plant's. The barbs need a well planted/decorated aquarium so i would go with bit of driftwood. About the plant's, only get fake plant's. Cichlids will just devour live plants. do not just place the plant's on 1 side, spread them out. Any gravel will do.


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

Hiya, congrats on the new tank

Rainbow Sharks get too big for your sized tank i'm sorry to say. So unless you are going to upgrade to a larger tank at some stage i would return that guy :)

I love barbs. so you have 5 barbs (2 tigers, 2 green and an albino), some cories (5) would go nicely with them

What filtration do you have on the tank? Is it a hang on type, i think i can see that in your pic, then i dont think you'll need an aerator as that should agitate the surface enough.

As for decorations, that depends on what you what look you want. Some more fake plants (or live) gives the fish a sense of security. But remember the more you fill the tank with the less water you actually have. So your 10gal and become a 9gal for instance.

Dont add any other fish at present though, your tank will be cycling and this can take 6-8 weeks. Because you have fish in the tank you need to test it regularly to make sure the ammonia doesnt build up to much and make your fish sick. If you change a gallon (minimum) of water every day that should keept the fish comfortable until the tank has finished cycling.

Looking forward to seeing more pics of your tank as it progresses


tekneb
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am

by tekneb

Alasse is right. I loooove your choice in fish, but sadly that rainbow shark is gonna have to go. Toxic has your fish confused with other, much larger species. Your green tiger barbs and albino tiger barb will be just fine. If you have the shark in there for algae cleaning purposes, then fear not, for there are a myriad of other algae cleaning fish that are just as pretty. Alasse mentioned Cories which come in all sorts of funky colors, and theirs also the Otocinclus, the algae eating king! Oto's eat a lot though so if you do decide to get them wait a few weeks till your tank has an active algae colony growing.

Water becomes oxygenated by agitation at the surface. So basically if there is substantial water movement at the top of your tank, I wouldn't worry about getting an aerator.

Decorations are up to your personal taste. The only suggestion I would make is get some live plants, they help keep ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels under control (especially important in smaller tanks) and are really not hard to keep at all. If your interested let us know, literally everyone on the site will give you a suggestion on plants lol.


dream2reef
 
Posts: 521
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am

by dream2reef

Good luck!


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

not only will the fish outgrow the tank, but the fish are mostly semi-aggressive and in a 10 gallon tank (no offense pal) it is downright cruel

the tiger barbs require space to swim

let us know how it goes


esk98
 
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 6:11 pm

by esk98

get a tank a bit bigger, and add some formations in the tank to make it interesting-
9e1b9-tropical-fish-tank-rocks.jpg

New Tank, New Fish, New Hobbyist

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