Rodney's 10 gallon (NOT amazon)

[jaidexl]

Originally Posted by jaidexl

Just remember that fish grow fast, so you should always count their full grown size, I think lemons are actually 2". I don't doubt you can pull it off with that list if you change a few gallons or so every week. But make sure the change water pH/KH/GH and temp matches, IME hyphessobrycon sp are sensitive to rapid parameter fluctuations, I lost quite a few rosy tetras that way, it was always the runt that gets pushed in the corner and was already stressed from the others. Once they start their mating ritual, you'll see what I mean, they can be very pushy toward one another. I had 8 of them in a 30 gl and still felt it wasn't enough space (granted I had other fish in that tank), that's another reason I recommended swapping the tetras out.

Some of this info I gave could lead you into trouble without a bit of explanation. Don't buy pH adjusters to match your change waters pH, you'll just reek havoc in your tank. If you're using tapwater, than your KH and GH should usually be the same unless the water company suddenly changes things, which does happen quite often so frequent testing of the tap can save lives. Usually, setting a few gallons out for 24 hours in an open container will let the temp and pH settle to where you want it or close to it(the water plants add things like soda ash to fight pipe corrosion which raises pH, it evaporates out within 24-48 hours and pH settles a degree or more, this is one reason why pH straight from the tap is sometimes way different than the tank's pH). If you're in a cold climate, 24 hours gives you plenty of time to heat the water to 78°F, which is the ideal temp for a SA tank.

[rodney]

Jaidexl: I understand what you mean about the 1"/ gallon rule. At some websites I found different sizes ranging from 1.3" to 2" so I just put an estamated average of 1.5". I do a 20% water change every other day, and let my water sit for 24 hours before hand. To lower my ph I run some peat through the water before I put the water in the tank.

I have decided to toss the whole cory cat idea atleast until I get a bigger aquarium where I can keep the proper amount of them in a more comfortable living setting. However, I do want some algea eating fish and was wondering if I could add 2 or 3 oto affinis?

Thanks again for all the help



Update:
Not much has changed, but I did plant the foreground and also went out and got another lemon tetra.

Better photographs of the lemon tetras:






Foreground Planted: Did I do this right???




Oh, and on the second picture down you can see I am beginning to get some wierd algea growth, Can anyone tell me what this is?

Comments welcome!!!

EDIT: I will be relocating the betta soon, as well as moving the female convict back to her proper tank.

[D.gilly]

its brown algae water changes every 3 days and reduced lighting worked for me but i'd research it more on the internet. Good luck with your amazon tank they can be really neat.

[rodney]

Thanks for the comment D.gilly!

I have had a change of mind concerning my stocking options...

I think I will move the lemons to my Convict aquarium as dither fish and just restock my ten gallon/ sigh, another mistake.

I realize I may have overstocked without considering all my options. This time around I want to focus on either otos or cory cats. Maybe I could get 3 or 4 different species of otos or cory cats, and add some micro schooling fishes?

Any sugestions???

Thanks!

[dufus]

10 cardinals, 2 otos, 3 [pygmy] cories, a checkerboard cichlid, and 50% Biweekly water changes, leads to a nice 10g setup. and they're all from the amazon.

[D.gilly]

id do 5 neons/ cardinals a pair of rams or apistos 2 ottos and 3 cory's (pigmy) and wc every week 25-50

[rodney]

Thanks for the comments guys!

Since Cardinals get up to the same size as Lemon tetras, could I just go with:

6 lemon tetras, 3 otos, and 1 checkerboard cichlid, with a 60% water change a week?

Thanks for the help!

[dufus]

It's your tank, sure.
D.gilly: IMO apistos are not a 10 gallon fishg unless they are the lone fish in ther, mine use alot of my 55 gallon, and they're pretty big too.

garuf, the thing about lemons, they are a much bigger fish than cards, but heck, they'll still work, just get no more than 6.

[D.gilly]

but a bredding pair with hiding spaces fit easily in a 10.... rams would also be fine.