My 10g planted newbie tank

[el_heb]

Just setup this tank about 3 weeks ago

Equipment: 10g AGA, 20'' Coralife 50/50 PC (planning to change to 6700k or dual daylight), AquaClear 20 filter, Hagen Natural Plant System for Co2

Substrate: Azoo Plant Grower Bed

Flora: Hygrophila polysperma (I think), Cabomba caroliniana, Red Ludwighia, Anubias nana, Cladophora (japanese moss ball)

Fauna: 4 Schwartz Cories, planning to add 3 Honey Gouramis, 6 Cherry Barbs or Neon Tetras, 1 Otocinclus and 1 male Betta; alternative add 2 more Schwartz Cories, 3 Honey Gouramis, 1 Otocinclus and 1 male Betta

I would like to ask what you think about my tank, it's my first one ever.
Is it overstocked? Is the aquascape good? What other recomendations do you have in mind?

[graciegrapes]

I would be cautious about putting a betta with the honey gouramis. Generally betta fish don't do well with gouramis; i think it has something to do with the coloration. But I know some people are able to pull it off; just depends on the temperment of the betta really.

I would suggest some sort of foreground plant. Dwarf sags are pretty easy.

[CFlux]

sometimes betas think the gouramis are other betas because of their shape and size. So just keep an eye on them and have a backup plan if they start fighting. otherwise I like where your tank is going. Another caution is having 3 gouramis in there could turn bad if two of them decide to spawn as the parents will get very territorial. so I guess I would suggest either going with the beta or 2 gouramis. Three would be fine if your sure you can get all the same sex.

Just some suggestions. Happy Growing!

[april_tanks]

As for the bettas and barbs together, I wouldn't do it because barbs are nippy.

And as for the bettas and gouramis together, people suggest not to put them together because they are bother related because of the way they breath oxygen from the surface and the way they breed. I myself, I have a betta and an opline gourami together, but they are in a 37 gallon together so they got space... But the betta has chased the opline before even though he is smaller xD

So unless you have an extra tank for the betta to go in if they don't get along, I wouldn't suggest it.

[el_heb]

Ok, thanks for all the replies.
I guess i'll stick with just 2 honey gouramis and keep my betta in his 2g tank. My other question is, besides the 4 cories, the oto and the 2 honey gouramis, can i put a small school of 6 neon tetras or cherry barbs or harlequin rasboras?

thanks

[RipariumGuy]

I agree with graciegrapes, try adding forground plants, mabey somthing on the drift wood???

[Tex Gal]

It's hard to see if your anubias is planted. The big stem with the roots coming off of it needs to be out of the substrate. If not it will rot. It would love to be tied onto your drift wood!

I think it's great that you have begun with a lot of stem plants. It will help your tank cycle quickly.

[el_heb]

The anubias is planted in the substrate, and i'm pretty sure the rhizome is above the substrate, i'll consider attaching it to the driftwood.

It's difficult to acquire good quality plants in my area, and most of them are stem plants, the best foreground plants i could get where the anubias and the moss ball, sagittaria or other carpeting plants are difficult to find.

As for the fauna i think i'll settle for 6 corys, 6 neons, 2 honey gouramis, and 1 oto.

[mynameisjonah]

what you're settling for could be slightly overstocked. the six cories alone leads to a lot of waste. If I were you, I would look into more of the nano cory cats (pandas for example), a group of 3 would be sufficient. Otos are unnecessary at first, unless you are going to provide them with plenty of food, since your tank is bare of any algae. So maybe 3 dwarf panda corys, a pair of gouramis and school of micro rasboras. Lastly, definitely adjust your filter to its lowest setting, thats a lot of flow for your gouramis.

[el_heb]

Hi! Sorry for the lack of updates

I've just added 2 red honey gouramis, and, according to a friend at my LFS, are 1 male and 1 female. Current stock: 4 schwartz corys, 2 honey gouramis, and 1 oto, and due to the 50/50 light, there's a lot of algae for him, i still give sinking algae wafers for all the bottomfeeders.

I've just pruned my plants this week, but i have had conflicting advice about this. Some say thay i should discard the tops, others to replant the tops, while others say to discard the bases, but why the bases? it's a PITA to keep the plants anchored while waiting for them to grow roots again. How should I prune the plants and still make them look nice and uncluttered?

Thanks in advance

[FrostyNYC]

Your cories will appreciate meat-based sinking wafers. They're not really algae eaters, so algae tablets won't provide them with all the nutrition they need. If they're eating flake or normal pellets too, though, they'll be fine.

Here's my usual methodology after setting up a new tank or scape: Since you still have some room in your tank, I would cut off the tops and then plant them in your tank near the bases, which I would leave in the tank also. The bases will form new shoots and start branching out, and the tops will root at the bottom and continue to grow. Then, next time you trim, Id give away or sell the tops. Third time you trim (probably in 6 weeks or so, depends on your growth), you might consider throwing away some of the old "bottoms" because they'll be tired-looking and old. That's where you substitute the tops where the old bottoms used to be. That make any sense?

The "bottoms" start to look really ugly after a while in most tanks. That's why people replant the fresh, pretty new tops instead.

How about a new full tank shot?

[el_heb]

I see what you're saying. I noticed some of the oldest bases of the ludwighia getting very ugly, i'll replace them with new shoots. The hygrophila ys growing very nice side shoots in every direction, even to the front of the tank. I'm having trouble for the cabomba to root, but i've read that it's a common problem, i'll try to replace the bases with new shoots from the cabomba too.

The sinking tablets i'm using for the corys is made from fish meal, algae, and some other stuff, brand Otto, chinese i think, the funny thing is, every fish loves it! even the gouramis and my betta, i'm having a hard time for the corys to eat that stuff because every other fish wants a piece of the tablets.

Here's a new shot, right after pruning. I overestimate the size of the tank, i don't think i'll be able to cram other species of plants in there, almost all LFS in my area who carry live plants are stem plants or big leaf plants, almost no foregrounders, so i'll leave it at that.

Thanks for your advice FrostyNYC.

[FrostyNYC]

You're welcome. I think the tank looks great.

[xximanoobxx]

The tank looks really nice! Keep up the good work!

John

[el_heb]

Hello again

Another update, i discarded all the bases, and replaced them with the youngest side shoots i could find. I also added several neon tetras. I was thinking of removing the male gourami, it's very aggressive towards the female, chasing her all over the tank.

I'm having some trouble with the ludwighia, some stems are rotting from the base upwards, by sections, it happened on the oldest bases, but also some of the newer ones, any explanation for this?

Thanks in advance

PS. Last picture is King of the Hill! LOL; by the way, is that a Schwartz Cory? I think it is, but the guys at my LFS are surprisingly ignorant about fish species.