Well, I started out rough.

[xdiminished]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting here, and I hope it wont make everyone think I'm a complete moron (although I was when I first started out keeping my tank.)

Anyway, I have a 10 gallon tank, that has been going for about 5 months now. 7.6 PH, and fully cycled. When I first started the tank up, I will admit I did it somewhat irresponsibly and without much research. I lost several fish in my cycling process, and didn't properly check online to find suitable tank mates for the fish I selected. I made terrible beginner mistakes, including overfeeding which led to a bad ammonia spike.

After I realized how much information there really was available, I made the necessary adjustments and now the tank looks great... the only problem Is I have a very strange combination of fish.

1 Male fancy guppy
1 Female cherry barb
1 Female Betta
1 Bamboo shrimp.

I know its pretty bad, but all the fish are thriving, dont bother each other and seem livly and happy. My question is, if I were to add another small fish into the mix sometime in the future, what would be a good recommendation? I dont wan't anything that will kill the shrimp or nip at the guppys fins, or become a victim to the cherry barb. I dont want to overstock the tank, so I dont want to add a schooling fish like tetras.

Is there any small guy that would be happy without having several more of the same species present? Ill post some pictures soon.

 

[bassbonediva]

That's a tough one. I've had female betta sororities in a 10gal tank before, but in order for a sorority to work, you need a minimum of four girls. Also, most female bettas don't get along with male guppies (speaking from experience here). I had one girl latch onto the tail of one of my male guppies (when I had guppies) and she was less than half his size. She absolutely would not let go until I netted him and physically removed her from his tank. I wouldn't do more guppies because you'll seriously get overrun. They breed like none other. My only suggestion then would be to add maybe a couple more cherry barbs? If you up your cherry barb school to 5, you'll be pretty much right at capacity and you'll avoid any nipping issues.

Also, just as an aside, make sure there's plenty of current in your tank for your bamboo shrimp, as they feed on stuff that gets swirled around by the current (leftover food, etc). Your female betta may not like a lot of current (I've had them that have gone both ways...some love current, some don't), so keep an eye on her so she doesn't get too stressed.

 

[xdiminished]

Thanks so much for your quick reply! I have yet to see any aggression from my female betta, so hopefully the guppy is in the clear. A few more cherrys sounds good. Do they go nuts and breed like the guppys? Not sure of their male/female ratio.

Also, The bamboo shrimp does alright. There is a little decoration near the filter he hangs out on to feed. The tank has a decent current with a duetto 50 and and air pump w/stone.

 

[bassbonediva]

I believe with cherry barbs the male/female ratio is similar to guppies and livebearers in general (basically, one male and a whole bunch of females). I don't know how readily they breed, however. You could always just go with all females. That's the easiest way to go with livebearers (except they usually come from the store pregnant, so they still drop fry for a while since they store sperm for up to 6 months).

The problem I had with female bettas/guppies was with delta tail guppies. If the guppies had just regular tails, the girls ignored them (for instance, they loved the female guppies).

 

[xdiminished]

Well, Ill most likely go with a group of females then. Seems the safest bet. Unfortunatly, I gotta wait a bit before I make my purchase. Getting married next week, and will be on honeymoon for a bit. As soon as I get home, I have a 2 week army school to go too, and I'd like to be able to monitor the fish to prevent another catastrophic failure.

 

[bassbonediva]

Congrats on the marriage!

Yeah, it's also a good idea to let things settle a bit before adding new fish to the mix. Of course, I'm a horrible example of this. I just bought three new cories today (one peppered and two albinos) and tomorrow morning I'm completely redoing the tank they're in because I have to get it set up for my new German blue ram pair that FINALLY came in at the LFS (they're a replacement pair for the pair that didn't make it, but they've been almost a month in the coming!).

 

[xdiminished]

Thank you for the gratz

Wow, they must be some special fish if you need to rearrange your whole tank to accommodate the pair. I'm going to have to read up on em. Which tank are they going in?

 

[bassbonediva]

They're going in the 29gal. The tank needs to be rearranged more for the fact that right now all it has in it is the DIY sponge filter I've been using, the play sand substrate and a few pieces of corkscrew val. I had it set up pretty nice a while back, but I decided it needed a re-'scape, so it got stripped down of decorations.
This was the 29gal before I stripped it down (it's technically my son's tank, but since he doesn't live with me, I get to play with it however I want):

This is it after the strip down and before the T5 light (the glare is due to the fact that I let the water level drop and didn't bother refilling it because I was going to redo the tank...I've since refilled it):

When I get done with it, this tank is going to be fairly heavily planted with a piece of driftwood (for the bristlenose pleco) and three animal skull decorations (a triceratops, jaguar and crocodile).

 

[lauraf]

Welcome xdiminished! And hey, we all make mistakes, but it's super to hear that you realize that, and are open to advice. We love to give it around here
Cherry barbs are egg-scattering, unlike livebearing fish, and probably won't breed right away in your tank. Even if they do, their eggs will get munched by everyone there, and they won't show much aggression. I wouldn't worry too much about whether they are male vs. female - it's entirely different with livebearers, though.
But yes, keeping barbs in a group will make them happier.

 

[xdiminished]

Bass: Im Jealous you're able to work on multiple tanks! I live in a small apartment, and I don't think the wife would like it very much if I lined every wall with a different themed tank. (Even though I put up with all her damn cats!)

Lauraf: Thanks for the welcome, glad people are so understanding. Ive decided barbs are probably whats happening in the future, but before I do, I'm pretty sure I need a new filter. There is no way my little duetto 50 is providing the output it claims, so I may be in the market for a new one in the days prior to me leaving for vacation. (I think Ill run both the new and the old while im gone to let whatever I pick up gather the good bacteria)

 

[tropicalcrazy]

congrats on getting married and welcome to the tank.

if buying a new filter, go for one that is rated at 20g or around there. double the filtration and you cant go wrong and a good investment. just find one that is rated for 20g for the 10g. also a bigger unit will create a bigger current for your shrimp. on my 55g i run 2 dual filters that are rated for 30-60g. on the 16g i have one that is rated for 29g. you can go with a cheap HOB from walmart. both my filters are from there and have been holding strong. both filter units are also many years old so well worth the money

i would also say up your barbs to a school and call it good. barbs calm down when in larger schools and are more aggressive when alone or small schools.

 

[xdiminished]

Thanks your your input as well tropicalcrazy.

I just got back from the mall, and purchased a penguin 100 power filter. It's rated for 20G and I just installed it. Its running alongside my duetto for now till the bacteria builds up. I already see stuff getting sucked in, something ive never seen with with the one. I hope this works out for the best

 

[tropicalcrazy]

i bet it will. it will help your tank being clearer and cleaner and will create a current your bamboo shrimp will love

 

[lauraf]

Bass: Im Jealous you're able to work on multiple tanks! I live in a small apartment, and I don't think the wife would like it very much if I lined every wall with a different themed tank. (Even though I put up with all her damn cats!)

Lauraf: Thanks for the welcome, glad people are so understanding. Ive decided barbs are probably whats happening in the future, but before I do, I'm pretty sure I need a new filter. There is no way my little duetto 50 is providing the output it claims, so I may be in the market for a new one in the days prior to me leaving for vacation. (I think Ill run both the new and the old while im gone to let whatever I pick up gather the good bacteria)

Good call. By the time you get back, your new filter will be fully seeded.
And I going to choose to ignore your comments about cats

 

[lauraf]

Oh yikes. Sorry about the grammar error. Cat-like typing detected.

 

[TAL]

Hey welcome XD....to the forum and married life(suckahhhhh) lol j/k....

I'm only allowed by the boss one tank right now, BUT we are buying a new house next year and that new house gets to have a 125g tank in the basement along with my current 38g upstairs.... Can;t wait.

But don;t feel like a noobie moron! If you want to see bad fishkeeping practices by a new person, look up MY first posts....they almost banned me here so I wouldn't spread my bad habits.

Enjoy!