help i may have a huge problem!!!

[Dan Steveo]

please help!!! i set up a tank two weeks ago that was a new home for my red tailed black shark(labeo bicolour) but then my mum bought 2 swordtails and 5 cardinal tetras and the shark bullied them so my sister took him to her tank(hes ok now)(she has bigger fish )but then the fish caught whitespot and had to be removed for almost 2 weeks. then they went back in and yesterday my mum bought a pleco and 2 cardinal tetras(two of the others sadly died from filter causes) and 5 neon tetras. the tank is 10 gallons/47 litres and i have read ttifanys problen and i am worried about ammonia and nitrate problems and i have no tests. does anyone have any suggestions??? i can get the tests tomorrow but will it be to late then??? please help!!! and thanks very much!!!

 

[Dan Steveo]

sorry its not ttifanys problem i got mixed up it was supposed to say ttatak's problen. please help.

 

[KyleBradley]

Why does your mom keep buying fish for the tank? It sounds like she's going to overstock it, and I know about overstocked tanks. It sounds like every time your mom brings home fish you had no prior knowledge of it. Kind of a confusing post.
I'd get the fish to 1" per gallon and then make sure you have good numbers on your tests kits. Test kits aren't cheap, but they're worth it. Add some aquarium salt to help with gill function and stress zyme if you haven't already.

 

[Dan Steveo]

ok thanks very much for your help.

 

[Dan Steveo]

would 5 neon tetras 4 swordtails and 1 pleco be ok in my 10 gallon tank? if so could i add 1 male and 1 female of a medium sized fish? if not wat about 1 more pleco

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

i would avoid plecos in a ten. ghost shrimp are pretty cool, but they are sensative to ammonia. otos are pretty cute too.... if your good about water changes you might be able to do 1 male and 2 female sword tails with the neons, and otos. only if you are monitoring the ammonia, and doing water changes accordingly.

 

[PlecoCollector]

If you're talking about a Common Pleco, you'd be best returning it. Common Plecos should not be kept in 10 gallon tanks, they get way too big (about 14inches or more)
Because Neon Tetras school so closely, I think you'll be okay with the 5 neons and the 4 Swords (what is the male/female ratio?), but that's pushing it. I wouldn't add any more fish.

 

[Dan Steveo]

because my mum is getting a 240 litre me and her are going to try and divide the females babys up (i have a pregnant swordtail) im hoping she will only drop 15 fry and only 1-5 males so my mum can have all the females and i have the males. would that be an ok set-up

 

[Dan Steveo]

if i change my pic to the pleco u could identify it

 

[Dan Steveo]

is my pic of a common pleco?

 

[PlecoCollector]

Well, Swordtail females grow to about 2 inches each... 2.5-3 for males. If you're going by the one inch per gallon rule, then 4 Swords would be about 11 inches... and then ever more with the Neons. I'd stick to females if I were you, but that's your choice. It'll be still be overstocked, but not too badly.

 

[PlecoCollector]

Yes, I believe that's a Common Pleco.

 

[Seleya]

Swordtails aren't really suitable fish for a 10 gallon. Neither is that pleco. The stocking you have suggested would overstock the tank imo. The neons should be fine in the tank and perhaps some otos (once it's cycled and stable)

 

[FroggyFox]

Your biggest problem right this moment is that your tank was JUST set up. You need to be sure not to get ANY more fish for awhile, no matter what your real setup will be like. You need to read the stickies at the top of the beginner forum about cycling your tank and setting up your first tank...because your tank is 'cycling' right now. The more fish you add the higher the ammonia and nitrites will get even faster.

Since you dont have test kits right now you should do a 50% change asap and then get the tests. Chances are good that you'll need to do a lot of water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites at a liveable level for your fish for a few months...and then one day they'll both drop to 0 and your tank will be safe for fish.

As for an eventual stocking plan you want to stay away from having male and female platies in the same 10g because they tend to overpopulate the tank. Try getting only male or only female platies. If you really like the smaller fish, they really are better for a small tank...you can get more and usually they're less messy. If it were my tank I'd look at all of the small fish, pygmy cories, otocinclus, harlequin rasboras, cardinal and neon tetras, ember tetras etc...and then 10g tanks are also good for critters like apple snails and shrimp instead of plecos. Why dont you take a look at our profile section while trying to decide what fish you really want? http://www.myfishtank.net/reviews/index.php

oh...and you may want to talk to your mom and let her know that getting you more fish is a sweet gesture, but right now they'll probably just die so ask her to hold off a couple of months and then you can tell her when the tank is safe and which fish you really want. Or better yet tell her to save her money and get you a bigger tank

 

[Dan Steveo]

well my mum is getting a 240 litre tank today and she will need some fish so she can have 5 of the neons and the male swordtails (when the female has them) (i dont want anymore swordtail babys) then because im getting the tests today i will test as soon as they get home and then decide whether the tank has cycled. then i will think about adding 2 medium sized fish to look good.

ps. the pleco can go in my mums tank if it gets tooo big