Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and this my first post. Yey! *BOUNCINGS
I've been 'keeping' fish for about 2-3 yrs, but to be honest I deserve a hearty smack on the wrist (or two) for the way I treated them. I inherited my first goldfish from a friend and he came in 1.5 ga tank, with no filtration whatsoever, just an air stone. I know, i know. *crazysmil
Somehow that goldfish, Mr. Biggs, survived for 2 yrs, even after I added a pleco. (By then I had a 2.5 ga tank and a small filter, but still too small)
Anyways, 7 guppies, 2 snails, and 1 bubble eyed goldfish later, I've finally learned something or two about fish keeping.... i think.
I recently go serious about keeping a healthy aquarium and I did my research and got a decent water test kit (not the quick dip strip kind). I bought a used 10 ga tank with a Penguin 100 Bio-wheel filter that came with crushed coral substrate. I also have an air strip and some sort of plant that's dying since my pleco took a liking to it.
Right now my 4 inch pleco (he's a hardy one) and my 2 inch red/golden ryukin are living there and they seem to be quite happy. Yes, and I know these two should not be kept together as their needs are totally different, but I just couldn't get rid of either one of them. Specially the pleco, since he's got a deformed/undeveloped pectoral fin (not from fin rot). The temperature stays around 70F which I figured is ok for both of them.
As far as water quality, I did a 20% water change last night and vacuumed the gravel, and nitrite is 0 ppm, nitrate is between 0 and 5.0 ppm, and ammonia is 0.50 ppm. pH was 7.8 so I added some Seachem pH Buffer and it went down to 7.5.
I also have a 1 in red cap oranda that i just bought and that is in quarantine in my old 2.5 ga tank. I've checked the water and it seems to be doing fine.
Ok, so here come the questions:
1) How long do I have to quarantine my oranda for? I've heard anywhere from 2 wks to a month.
2) How long does the air pump need to be running for? It seems so loud and stressing to the fish.
3) How long do the tank lights need to be on for? Do the fish need it or is it just for live plants?
4) Are there any plants that my pleco wont completely shred and that require low light?
5) I recently read a post about crushed coral substrate acting like a nitrate factory. Does anyone know anything about this? Does it apply only to seawater or to freshwater too?
6) How long can I keep both goldfish in the 10 ga tank for if I keep up with weekly water changes and don't overfeed them? I know the general rule is something like 30 ga per goldfish but I just do not have the room for a 40 or 55 ga tank in my tiny 2 bedroom appartment and both of them are still pretty small.
Whew. I think that's it for now. It's a pretty long post but I hope someone has the patience to read through it and give me some friendly advice.
Cheers! *PEACE!*
I've been 'keeping' fish for about 2-3 yrs, but to be honest I deserve a hearty smack on the wrist (or two) for the way I treated them. I inherited my first goldfish from a friend and he came in 1.5 ga tank, with no filtration whatsoever, just an air stone. I know, i know. *crazysmil
Somehow that goldfish, Mr. Biggs, survived for 2 yrs, even after I added a pleco. (By then I had a 2.5 ga tank and a small filter, but still too small)
Anyways, 7 guppies, 2 snails, and 1 bubble eyed goldfish later, I've finally learned something or two about fish keeping.... i think.
I recently go serious about keeping a healthy aquarium and I did my research and got a decent water test kit (not the quick dip strip kind). I bought a used 10 ga tank with a Penguin 100 Bio-wheel filter that came with crushed coral substrate. I also have an air strip and some sort of plant that's dying since my pleco took a liking to it.
Right now my 4 inch pleco (he's a hardy one) and my 2 inch red/golden ryukin are living there and they seem to be quite happy. Yes, and I know these two should not be kept together as their needs are totally different, but I just couldn't get rid of either one of them. Specially the pleco, since he's got a deformed/undeveloped pectoral fin (not from fin rot). The temperature stays around 70F which I figured is ok for both of them.
As far as water quality, I did a 20% water change last night and vacuumed the gravel, and nitrite is 0 ppm, nitrate is between 0 and 5.0 ppm, and ammonia is 0.50 ppm. pH was 7.8 so I added some Seachem pH Buffer and it went down to 7.5.
I also have a 1 in red cap oranda that i just bought and that is in quarantine in my old 2.5 ga tank. I've checked the water and it seems to be doing fine.
Ok, so here come the questions:
1) How long do I have to quarantine my oranda for? I've heard anywhere from 2 wks to a month.
2) How long does the air pump need to be running for? It seems so loud and stressing to the fish.
3) How long do the tank lights need to be on for? Do the fish need it or is it just for live plants?
4) Are there any plants that my pleco wont completely shred and that require low light?
5) I recently read a post about crushed coral substrate acting like a nitrate factory. Does anyone know anything about this? Does it apply only to seawater or to freshwater too?
6) How long can I keep both goldfish in the 10 ga tank for if I keep up with weekly water changes and don't overfeed them? I know the general rule is something like 30 ga per goldfish but I just do not have the room for a 40 or 55 ga tank in my tiny 2 bedroom appartment and both of them are still pretty small.
Whew. I think that's it for now. It's a pretty long post but I hope someone has the patience to read through it and give me some friendly advice.
Cheers! *PEACE!*