# is my 10 gallon ok?



## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

Hi! just got a new 10 gallon set up, just wanted to make sure my number of fish was ok for the tank size. 

I have one beta, 2 corys, and 5 zebra danios. 

Right now it appears to be fine, with plenty of room for the fish, but i'm not sure if it will be enough room when they are fully grown?

thanks for the help


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## Discusgirl18 (Oct 12, 2007)

That should be plenty of room. At my work we say 1 inch of fish per gallon. But I think you should be fine!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Get 6 cories instead of two but stick to the pygmy species when doing so. _Corydoras pygmaeus_ and _Corydoras hastatus_ are good choices.


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

Few questions..

How long has it been set up?
Has it cycled?
What species are the corydoras?


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

Honestly, I would swtich the Zebras out of the 10, buut I think they will be fine either way.


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## ShortFuse (Oct 5, 2007)

Would 6 be the magic number for Spotted Corydoras (Corydoras ambiacus)?


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

the corys are bronze corys (all the lfs had). 

tank has been set up and cycling for like a week, we used aquasafe and some stuff my older bro recommeded called CYCLE. he checked the tank levels and said they were good. 

so i should get more corys?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

rustyness said:


> the corys are bronze corys (all the lfs had).
> 
> tank has been set up and cycling for like a week, we used aquasafe and some stuff my older bro recommeded called CYCLE. he checked the tank levels and said they were good.
> 
> so i should get more corys?


More would make your tank look overcrowded. I actually think it is either a 15 gallons for new additions or dwarf species.


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

we're going to see what we can do about the cory situation. but here's a pic :









the betta absolutely loves to hide inside of the log, the danios love playing in the current of the filter, and the corys are just fun to watch too; much more lively than i expected them to be. i'm really pleased with the fish


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Your tank is looking lovely, rustyness. You probably already know this, but as it is still a new tank and you have a number of fish in there, keep a very close eye on the water parameters and plenty of water changes as required.

Do you have actual readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate you could post?

Oh - and one more thing... did you realise there's a small person in your tank? :shock:


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

don't have the levels off-hand, my bro just tested and said it was good to go. i'm picking up my own testing kit today as well as a background for the tank. and thanks for the compliments on the tank, wanted to have a relatively natural look and i think it's pretty good. didn't want to go for sand substrate yet though; just seemed like it'd be much more difficult to keep clean to me.


and yeah, the tank does appear to have a ghost :wink:


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## beetlebz (Aug 2, 2007)

rustyness said:


> and yeah, the tank does appear to have a ghost :wink:


zomg!!! scoop her out with a net before she drowns! then mail her to meee. shes pretty cute!

seriously though, i think id feel worse for the corys being under populated than i would over crowded. thats a tough call :\


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

We need to know the exact results for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. In my opinion, a week is way too early to be adding so many fish...especially in a small tank. 

As previously stated, you need to closely monitor your water quality, and do ample water changes, adding aqua-safe each time.


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

well like i said, ill get those numbers to you as soon as i can (going out to buy a testing kit here in a few)


if my levels are too high what will i need to do to remedy it other than water changes with aquasafe? ive seen lots of places saying that if the levels are so high then you need to correct them, but never anywhere that actually said HOW to correct them.


im sure there are links on the site and knowing my look i looked right passed them while looking for them, seems to happen all the time. >_<


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## JouteiMike (Oct 7, 2006)

The first and foremost way of correcting many problems will always be water changes. This rids and dilutes the toxic components in the water.

Other ways of correcting the problem of poor water quality is to control how many nutrients you are putting into the aquarium. This means how often you feed your fish, and how much. Also fertilizer for plants. May I ask how often you feed your fish, how much, and what types of food?

Another big contributer to poor water quality is overstocking an aquarium, and you are pushing your luck with this. I'm basing that solely on the fact that the aquarium is newly set-up, undergoing the nitrogen-cycle, and is only 10 gallons. A solution to this is to get rid of certain fish, give them to friends, or a local fish store. Or upgrading your tank size is another solution if you want to keep your current fish, or plan to add more.


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Very good advice from joutiemike. I forgot to mention earlier and I hope I'm not too late - when you buy your test kit, get a liquid test kit rather than strips or tablets as these are known to give inaccurate readings.

And when doing water changes, ensure that the water you put back into the tank is at roughly the same temperature as the water you have just taken out - otherwise you could shock the fish. 

Once you have posted your water readings we will be able to help you further.


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

ok, i figured it was primarily water changes, but i wasnt sure. right now were just feeding them flake food, probably going to mix in a few blood worms once in a while and such. and we have fake plants, so no soils or anything for them are in our tank.

and readings are:

Nitrite:0
Nitrate:10
PH:7.3

and temp is at 78.

any ideas on stuff i should change, other than making sure to keep on eye on levels and make weekly water changes?


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Do you have a result there for ammonia?


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

im afraid i didnt get the message about the test stripsuntil afterwards, but i tested twice and got the same results for both strips..

it tests nitrates, nitrties, hardness, alkalinity, and ph.


man, i never realized fish were this much work 

edit: and as for how much they eat, i just put enough in that they eat in 3 minutes. i've yet to find any left over after the corys got done doing their rounds around the tank.


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

aha!the glorys of having an older brother on campus.

he did some sample thing with my water where he collected it and added a few drops of chemicals to it, said he didnt detect any. and i guess he said i can borrow it when i need to do perform checks. how often should i be checking my stuff? i figured once a week was the norm, but should i be checking every day or two here at the beginning?


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

At this stage, you should be checking for ammonia on a daily basis. If you have any readings, you will know that your tank has not yet cycled - and perform water changes to keep the levels down.

In the meantime, it would be wise to invest in your own ammonia liquid test kit and keep feeding to a minimum - once per day until the tank is more established.

Keep asking questions about anything you're not sure about - and there are loads of threads and stickies here that can help you out.


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

thanks a bunch for the tips. ill make sure to ask when i need help


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