Filter Questions Please Help

[the_sixx]

Ok i know that you dont want chlorinated water running into your filter but what happens if it does? Would you need to replace it or run a new "cycle" also another question I have a 10 Gallon tank now and was wondering if a larger tank would be easier to maintain with the fish i have now?

10 gallon tank has:
2 marigold swordtails
2 red tailed dalmation platys
3 regular dalmation platys

the dude at petco said this was an ok number of fish but i seem to be doing alot of cleaning and such and was wondering if the tank was too small for this many/type fish

 

[Kissyboots]

Whoa! The dudes at Petco have no clue. I have had experience in that. Usually you want 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. I have a 20g with two swordtails (listed in signature). I have plants too. Might want to consider getting a larger tank. I don't know anything about the filter though...

 

[MissFishy]

So you have 7 2-3inch long fish in a 10 gallon tank. A general suggestion for tank stocking is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. You could have almost 21 inches of fish in your 10 gallon tank depending on how large your platy/swordtails are, PLUS if they are mixed male/females, you will soon have lots of fry to contend with as well. Each female can have 50+ fry per MONTH, so that is a LOT of fish to think about. Time to start thinking about your stocking and tank size and whether you should possibly return some to the fish store for store credit, or upgrade your tank size.

 

[the_sixx]

Thanx

Ok thanx for the info well the dudes at petco didnt tell me the inch rule (i guess they just wanna move some fish?) so its set Im gonna get the 29 gallon tank!

 

[Kissyboots]

I wouldn't worry about the potential swordtail fry too much. My swordtail has been pregnant at least four times and every time the other fish ate all the fry. The only reason I have three fry now is because I saved them. If you don't want fry, keep the swordtails with other fish, they'll clean up the mess.

 

[cchase85]

Chlorine in the water burns the fishes gills and can kill off some of the beneficial bacteria that keep the tank cycled.

 

[FroggyFox]

Yeah I agree...your fish will have more room, plus that 29 gallon size is really nice (in my opinion).

You'll probably want to check out the livebearer section and you might want to check out whether your fish are males or females and then decided to add or subtract fish where necessary. Usually we suggest about 2 or 3 females for each male, or all males or all females...that seems to be the way your livebearers will be happiest.

IF someone were to run chlorinated water over their filter it would really depend on how much bacteria was on there and the circumstances. It may make you have to re-cycle...or it might not make a huge difference. Best thing to do would be to test your water a few times over the next couple of days to make sure there aren't any ammonia spikes, and be ready to do some big water changes if there are spikes.