Round two

[breebrry]

OK so you may remember me.. maybe i had a 10g with 2 carnival goldfish.. there was a debate about the fish and tank and all that.. well after like 2 months of being fine.. i came home one day and one fish was really lethargic and the other was sucked to the filter when i moved him off with the net he started swimming but not well.. so ..... the next day both were dead.. I don't know what happened they were fine..

anyway.. after that i left the tank empty and added amonia a little at a time as suggested and watched the parameters.. once everything read nicely i bought 2 long finned serpae (blood) tetras... yay right i did it the right way this time and got fish appropriate for my tank size...

my question now is.. i want more fish.. i don't know what to add to the tetras? any suggestions?

 

[misterking]

More tetras. Tetras need to be in groups of 6+ to be happy, and then you're limited to what else you can keep, mainly because serpaes are notorious fin-nippers. maybe a couple of otos as bottom feeders or a few pygmy cories, but in a 10 gallon you're limited. If you want a good sized community, look into buying a bigger tank.

Unfortunately it sounds like your goldfish died of ammonia poisoning due to them producing too much waste for a 10 gallon.

 

[breebrry]

as far as the amonia poisoning i was testing the water and have a 20g filter on the tank specifically bought to tend to over production of waste for goldies... you may be right just giving some more info.. i did put thought into this... i currently just opened up some more room in my house.. i might look into a 30g.. but for now my 10 is ok... im in a 2nd floor apartment.. so idk how things will pan out.. but yeah..

 

[Violet]

I agree with misterking. Maybe you could add one more serpae and a snail? Even one more serpae will help. Possibly a couple of pygmy corys, but they may need to be in groups like the other cory types? Snails are actually more fun and interesting than people think, I would go with that instead.

 

[stoddern]

careful with snails though they can be like a pandemic

 

[misterking]

I think it depends what type you buy, some breed far more readily than others.

Personally though I'd question whether or not the long eyes of snails would just be waving bait for nippy serpaes?

 

[Newman]

True, but snail eyes are tougher than you think

 

[Violet]

I'm sure you all know my answer to that by now.... nerite snails, they don't grow big and don't breed in captivity (or at least very, very rarely).

 

[littletankbigworld]

Bleeding heart tetras, long-finned minor tetras, black/white skirt tetras, and pristella (x-ray) tetras will school with the serpae tetras. But, you need to have a group of at least 5 or 6 tetras for them to school, look their healthiest, and be happy. Good luck!

I don't recommend snails. They can overpopulate way too easily and get out of hand. I have both serpae and

 

[littletankbigworld]

Oops. Didn't finish typing that.

Anyway, I have both serpae and bleeding heart tetras. They school together and look absolutely lovely. I think most people are turning off from buying bleeding hearts because at the pet store they look rather drab, but after a couple months in a clean tank, their colors are stunning.

 

[breebrry]

TANK UPDATE

ok so right now in my tank I have 4 long finned serpae tetras and 3 emerald cory cats i think I am good with that until I upgrade tank wise

however this morning I woke up and my babies.. my Ratties were no longer with us so RIP to Kiff and Sprocket who lived happy playful lives and who hated baths..I will miss you girlies

 

[MissFishy]

You limited what else you could add by buying the tetras, everyone else is right, you need more of them, they will beat up on anything else you put in your tank, plus they are relatively larger tetras. I would add three more tetras and a mystery snail, then you would be FULLY stocked. Or you could ask the fish store if they will take the tetras back and give you store credit to figure out a new stocking situation if you aren't happy with the tetras. Mystery snails will not overpopulate your tank, you won't even see another mystery snail.

 

[Newman]

Emerald cory is very often mislabeled as a cory. in fact it a species of catfish that grows much larger than any normal cory. its likely going to grow to 5" or more. i dont suggest keeping 1 let alone 3 in a 10 gal as they will be miserable growing up.

In the event that you DID get a cory, well for a 10 gal 3 is too many imho.

 

[jingles]

I started with 4 serpae's and 2 plecos in a 10 g (although the plecos were babies). They're pretty nippy in groups of less than six but if you have 6-9 they more than likely won't bother anything else (they'll be too concerned with themselves).

When I had them in the 10 g they didn't really school and were rather lethargic. They seem fine now in the bigger tank. I put a female betta in the tank too(against my better judgement) and they've never bothered her. The only time I'd consider them mean is at feeding time.