Helpp!!

[Courtney_chaotic]

I have a ten gallon tank with a one extremely large pink kissing fish , four black tetras, 2 small fish that im not sure what they are, and one baby parrot fish
i clean it consatnly i buy filters and vacum the gravel and it wont stay clean!!
is it overcrowded? at first i thought i was overfeeding so i cut down food, but no change, i used instant clear for the tank nothing works,
anyone can help me with whats going on?!?

 

[Biotope Dude]

I have a ten gallon tank with a one extremely large pink kissing fish , four black tetras, 2 small fish that im not sure what they are, and one baby parrot fish
i clean it consatnly i buy filters and vacum the gravel and it wont stay clean!!
is it overcrowded? at first i thought i was overfeeding so i cut down food, but no change, i used instant clear for the tank nothing works,
anyone can help me with whats going on?!?

Overstocked-Definitely. Just the Pink Kissing Gourami overstocks the tank.Go to your Local Fish Store(not petsmart, petco, or walmart ) and see if the will take the Gourami(kissing fish), Parrot Fish, and the Black Tetras(By any chance are they Black Skirt Tetras or Black Neon Tetras?) Try to identify the unknown fish. Check the fish profiles for something that looks similar. What are the colors of the fish, size, and the body shape of the fish?

 

[MissFishy]

I hope this is a joke...but in case it isn't, please return all of your fish. Your tank is EXTREMELY overstocked. For that kind of stocking, you'd need at least a 46 gallon fish tank.

 

[Courtney_chaotic]

i went to my local pet store and talked about my fish, they are all small fish except the Kissing fish, and the Parrot and they said no it wasnt overcrowded and to juts keep trying to clean it , and test the water, it doesnt look overcrowed they are smalll but the pet store said it was fine juts keep cleaning and buy filters or possibly move up to a hugher power filter

 

[Biotope Dude]

i went to my local pet store and talked about my fish, they are all small fish except the Kissing fish, and the Parrot and they said no it wasnt overcrowded and to juts keep trying to clean it , and test the water, it doesnt look overcrowed they are smalll but the pet store said it was fine juts keep cleaning and buy filters or possibly move up to a hugher power filter

Is your local pet store PetSmart? If so dont listen to them! Your tank IS overstocked. They are small now but they get huge and are waste producers. Do the fish a favor and please rehome them.

 

[Oreo]

it's not so much about if the tank looks overcrowded, but how much waste the fish make. if the water isn't staying clear, then there are definately too many fish in the tank. Pet store people don't always know what they're talking about.

welcome to MFT, by the way

 

[lauraj]

Unfortunately, I think we've all found out the hard way that many lfs employees don't know what they're talking about. Or they want you to purchase more equipment or supplies from them, and in your case, a higher powered filter.*thumbsdow

 

[MissFishy]

As was said above, I wouldn't listen to fish store employees, they very often have NO idea what they are talking about. If you are new to fish care, you should probably take a look at the website linked in my profile, it has some helpful tank cleaning suggestions as well as stocking suggestions. In the meantime, you need to listen to what people are telling on here, return your fish to the store(you can call around to local fish stores, usualy they'll give you some money for them). Your fish are not only overcrowded, but they also shouldn't be living together in the same tank, they are incompatible and you are asking for trouble with aggression. There is a lot of great advice on here, make sure you keep asking questions!

 

[FroggyFox]

I agree with the others. It sounds backwards to hear that pet store employees don't know what they're talking about...but sadly it is very true as many of us here have learned from experience.

Would you like to consider a bigger tank? A larger tank can be a lot more fun to have than a 10g. If that isn't possible then you should definitely look into some stocking suggestions that will fit your tank for the long term, as the combination of fish that you have is definitely not healthy for the fish and as you've seen its more difficult to care for because you're always having to change water, clean the filter etc.

Ideally a 10g tank is really great for fish that stay small, like in the less than 2 inch range. Guppies or harlequin rasboras...that kind of fish. A lot of tetras are in that range too.