Pushing the limits of a ten gallon tank?

[waterlily]

Shortened version at the bottom, if you like.

So, now very obvious to me, few people keep fish in their animal's water troughs.

Yes. I keep fish in a trough for my cow. I started with an orange koi and a white koi and two plecos. It's about a 100 gallon stock tank, maybe 120. They're only there to look pretty and possibly keep the tank clean between total cleanings. Despite 104 degree weather, a cow, and basically eating bugs, dirt, hay and cow feed, the white koi and one pleco have survived. One pleco died a few days after I got him, and the orange koi died while I was on vacation.

Now, unfortunately, my cow needs medecine...in his water. It's called Corid, if anyone needs to know, but I have no idea what it's made of and no idea what effect it will have on the fish((obviously because no one's tried putting Corid in fish water)). I would rather not risk killing them, because I've grown attached to my pleco. I have a now-empty 10 gallon tank at home((right in front of me, in fact)), and if possible I would like to house the fish in there for about a month so I can let the cow have his medecine and then I will clean the 100g tank and put the fish back. The koi is maybe 3-4 inches, and the pleco is maybe 5-6...I know that's way pushing the limit of a ten gallon, but can it work for a month if I keep it pretty clean?

for lazy people; I have a 3-4 inch koi and a 5-6 inch pleco I need to temporarily put in a 10 gallon tank. Will it work if I keep the tank clean, or no?
It's about 20x10x10.5 inches, so the fish can turn around and stuff...

 

[minihorses4ever]

So, now very obvious to me, few people keep fish in their animal's water troughs.

I am not sure about your situation, but we keep feeder goldfish in our troughs to eat misquito larvae. The horses don't bother them at all. They seem to turn out to be pretty hardy little things usually.

 

[ValRasbora]

You put FISH in a water trough? hahahaha!
You could maybe give it to the cow in it's food or in like a vegetable puree.... I don't know I don't have a cow, ask your vet about my sugestion...
Well you wouldn't be overstocking your 10 gallon, because 4inch+6inch=10inch. It's not great but it's only temporary. Your fish, your choice, do what you think is right!

 

[misterking]

You put FISH in a water trough? hahahaha!
You could maybe give it to the cow in it's food or in like a vegetable puree.... I don't know I don't have a cow, ask your vet about my sugestion...
Well you wouldn't be overstocking your 10 gallon, because 4inch+6inch=10inch. It's not great but it's only temporary. Your fish, your choice, do what you think is right!

It's actually a fairly common practice at farms and stables, sometimes carp are kept in them for years.

It is pushing it a bit... but could work if you keep it clean as possible. Any other troughs lieing about? You could put a grate over the one with the fish in for a while to stop the cow drinking from it and put the treatment in the other, so you don't have to move your fish and spend ages cleaning out the trough when you want to reintroduce them.

 

[waterlily]

minihorses4ever & misterking- Oooo, okay. I forgot horses also drink from water troughs. XD

ValRasbora- Aww thats mean. :c I like my fish, and I also don't think they're very edible. I wouldn't eat them...I know what they've eaten. XD

misterking- Unfortunately, there are no more troughs lieing about. There was one a few pens down that was like 175 gallons, but someone came and took it somewhere.


Also, new question. Would it be possible to keep fish in a hot tub? It's broken and basically an oddly shaped pond. I'd have to clean out the snakes, bugs, water, and general gunk but I think it would be cool to have more koi fish, and/or more plecos. And maybe other fish. It hasn't been used in two years, so it's useless now. Would that be possible or could some chlorine residue kill the fish? :/

 

[sombunya]

I put my 5 inch Bluegill in a new, uncycled 10 gallon hospital tank. I did 100% water changes every day because the ammonia would rise to .5 ppm after one day. Very, very lightly fed.

If you try to put your fish in there for a month they will die unless you change the water EVERYDAY. Minimum 50% changes, de-chlored of course.

Just my opinion.

 

[OrangeCones]

for lazy people; I have a 3-4 inch koi and a 5-6 inch pleco I need to temporarily put in a 10 gallon tank. Will it work if I keep the tank clean, or no? It's about 20x10x10.5 inches, so the fish can turn around and stuff...

I'm not lazy, but here's my 2cents:

For a month it should work out, as long as you keep the water clean. Invest in an ammonia test kit (the kind that tests with drops, not the strips) and test daily. If the level gets at 0.5, do 50% water change. If its up to 1.0, do a 75% water change. If you are diligent, it should work. It may mean daily water changes.

 

[1077]

Personally ,I would use large rubbermaid tub with filter to house the fish temporarily. Feed sparingly and as suggested, monitor the water with test kit. Is also possible that fish are already affected by whatever is ailing the cattle considering they share the same water. Might be worth a call to vet to see if fish can stay where they are?

 

[homebunnyj]

The rubbermaid tub is a good idea. You can get a big one for not too much money. And as for chlorine residue in an old hot tub, chlorine tends to gas off anyway, so doubtful there'd be any. Also, water conditioner neutralizes chlorine. Stick a submersible filter in there and you should be good to go.

(I think ValRasbora meant to give the cow his med in his food, which isn't very helpful really, since the vet's instructions are to give it in his water.)

 

[FroggyFox]

YES you can use the hottub as a fishtank I have a friend in California who houses koi in a hottub on his deck! Cracks me up whenever he sends pictures of it lol He bought some of that black plastic that they use as pond liners and lined the inside of the hottub with it and he has a waterfall going into it (from the pond filter pump) and its kind of a nice little setup.

Chances are good that your concerns about the meds for your cow aren't going to be good for the fish, so no matter what I'd get them out of there and at least into that 10 gallon tank. You'll need to do water changes but it'll be ok. Biggest thing is going to be to make sure you have a lid because I cant imagine they are going to be too happy going from a trough to a 10 gallon tank

 

[ValRasbora]

I meant the meds in the food, not the fish, like homebunnyj said! Whatever just a suggestion, ask your vet. I like misterking's idea. You could ask your friends about the extra troughs and see if you could borrow one??

 

[waterlily]

I woke up this morning and realized pretty quickly I needed to change the water a lot. :/ It's cloudy after just 24 hours.

1077- He's not actually sick, and he's also only been in there a week exactly today. It's preventative medecine, so I don't think the fish are affected. If anything they might have Encephalitis from my other cow who died.

The rubbermaid container could possibly work, but I have no where to put it and they're not really meant to hold water for long periods of time.

FroggyFox- Thats cool. I might do that later...I like koi. c:

ValRasbora- I see that now, I dunno why I thought you were talking about the fish. XD And like I said, there are no more troughs left. We don't just have them lying around. No one is willing to let me put the fish in theirs either, because of how much of a pain it is to get the out again. Lame people.

I should put them in the bathtub. XD

 

[FroggyFox]

cloudy is not necessarily bad...because if its white cloudy then it is usually a bacteria bloom If its green cloudy or brown cloudy then yeah...but you should use that test kit to tell you when to change the water. When you see the ammonia start to rise. Cloudy wont generally hurt the fish...just looks yucky to us

 

[ValRasbora]

If you had another bathroom it'd be cool to put them in the tub.... haha somebody wants to have a bath... "OH MY GOSH! THERE ARE FISH IN THE BATHTUB!! AHHHHHH!!" but the fish would prolly die because of the soap ... which would be even grosser to find dead fish in your bath...

 

[sombunya]

(properly treated) Water changes = healthy fish. If you clean your filter media us de-chlorinated water, not straight from the tap.

I repeat, I was doing daily 100%[/] water changes when I was treating one of my Bluegills for a wound. I would put the fish in a 2 gallon bucket of de-chlored water while I drained the 10. The fish did not seem to mind the water changes. Still had an appetite.

After 24 hours the ammonia was at .5 ppm and the water was starting to get cloudy. Water changes are good when properly done.

 

[OrangeCones]

The rubbermaid container could possibly work, but I have no where to put it and they're not really meant to hold water for long periods of time.

I've used rubbermaid containers for years. They hold water just fine. I have a 30 gallon rubbermaid tote that I have used as a fry grow-out tank. I also toss all my plant clippings in there until I decide to either give/sell them or plant them in a tank.

 

[waterlily]

FroggyFox- Really? Thats nice...it's white.

ValRasbora- That would be funny. XD I could maybe line it, but unfortunately we have just one bathtub in this house now. :/

Sombunya- I have this stuff that will purify the water((or something?)), so I'm good. It gets rid of nitrates, nitrites, chlorine and ammonia.

OrangeCones- I'll look into that then. I'd have to find a place to put it and I could probably do the rubbermaid tub thing.


Is it okay if the koi fish tries to eat the pleco's food and vice versa? They don't show much interest in food at all, but I'm just wondering. :/

 

[MadridKid]

well, the general rule of thumb is, "one inch of fish per gallon". and pleco's can grow up to 12 inches. so i would say no.

 

[OrangeCones]

Is it okay if the koi fish tries to eat the pleco's food and vice versa? They don't show much interest in food at all, but I'm just wondering. :/

I would feed very lightly during this time of being out of their normal quarters. Shouldn't hurt either one if they eat each others' food. Both are omnivores.

 

[waterlily]

well, the general rule of thumb is, "one inch of fish per gallon". and pleco's can grow up to 12 inches. so i would say no.

Actually plecos can grow to 2 feet. Koi can grow bigger than two feet.
I used the word temporarily...it's not a permanent thing. They will only be in the tank for a month. Neither are growing to two feet in a month.

OrangeCones- Okay, thank you. Thats what I thought, but I've only ever had little tetras so I had to ask. I don't know why I was wondering in the first place, seeing as they live off cow food and bugs. XD