Tank sizes/plant questions...

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SeaGoat108
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Tank sizes/plant questions...

Post by SeaGoat108 » Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:45 pm

I have a ten gallon aquarium in my dorm. I have a Cobalt/Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami and a female Betta splenden taking up residence in there. My mother has a 100 gallon with a Yoyo Loach, an Oscar, and two Plecos. She wants to get two more Yoyo Loaches since I read that they should be kept in shoals of three or more.

Here are a few questions I've got for those of you more knowledgeable than me:

Is the ten gallon big enough to raise young Loaches until they are able to survive my mother's prowling Oscar? I don't want my fishies to feel overcrowded or stressed out.

Will my current fish get along with them? I'm having trouble finding info on the compatibility of Loaches with this species of Gourami and Bettas.

A semi-related question: I want to set my mom up with some live vegetation in her 100 gallon. I think the loaches (and future Firemouth Cichlids) will really enjoy this. My mother has never had live plants before and I've never looked into them enough to be successful. Any ideas for starter plants? Half of the tank has light during the day, the other half is kept dim for the Loach. I was considering making a moss backdrop for the entire back side of the tank. Any ideas and advice on plants and my moss wall?

Thank you SO much for any answers/advice and even more thanks if you read all of this. :)

Diana
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Post by Diana » Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:59 pm

Not a lot of hope here. :-(
1) 10 gallons is too small for a grow out tank for Yoyo Loaches. Good to treat really young ones as a quarantine tank, treat for intestinal parasites and skinny disease, then move them up to a 20 long (30" long tank) for growing out.
2) 10 gallon is great for EITHER a Betta OR a small Gourami (Dwarf, Honey) but not both. These two species are both top of the tank territorial and are highly likely to fight. Pick one, then get some lower tank fish such as a group of small barbs or rasboras or tetras. About 5 of something that gets an inch to 1.5", or more if they are smaller fish, such as Dwarf Rasboras, Ember Tetras, and similar sized fish. Plants that stay a bit smaller are better in a 10, so dwarf things like Wendelove Java Fern, Nano Anubias and similar plants are better than the large growing ones.
3) The Oscar will shred and destroy plants. Try it, but I would not hold out much hope. Get rid of the Oscar, and the other fish are better with plants:
Yoyo Loaches, Firemouths, a school of Rainbow Fish or Congo Tetras and a small Pleco (Bristlenose perhaps) would make a really nice large tank, and these are generally better with plants.
4) Lighting for plants: Anything that looks dim to us will probably not grow anything. Lighting that looks bright to us may not have the proper wavelengths for growing plants, but is a better idea than the deliberate choice of dim lighting. Aim for about 2 watts per gallon using T-12 or T-8 bulbs in the color ranges called 'Daylight', 'cool white', or 'Plant' bulbs. A combination is best. So, over the 100 gallon tank, set up about 200 watts of light. You might get by with a bit less, 100 gallon tanks are large enough that a bit less than 2 wpg seems enough for low light plants.
Over the 10 gallon tank you need even more than 2 watts per gallon just to call it low light. Aim for about 3 watts of the lighting described above, or look into the much better t-5 set ups. If you can get about 15-20 watts of T-5 lighting over the 10 gallon there will be plenty of light for the plants.
5) Fertilizer for plants: Plants need carbon. Some set ups have enough carbon (CO2) from the fish, but many do not. Adding carbon using Excel is a good way in a low tech set up. Other fertilizers can come from fish food. If the nitrate stays up, even with the plants in the tank, then you may not have to add additional fertilizers. If the plants are thriving so well they are keeping the nitrate bottomed out, then they are probably lacking for other fertilizers, too.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

SeaGoat108
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Post by SeaGoat108 » Tue Feb 23, 2010 3:46 pm

Thank you so much for your advice. I was hoping the two labyrinth fish would be alright together. They're still young now and seem to enjoy each others' company. I guess I'll grab my five gallon from my mom's house for the betta and get some of the smaller fish you mentioned for the ten gallon.

Thanks for the advice! I've always had aquariums. I really wish I had the funds to make this a legitimate hobby. It saddens me that I'm not surrounded by fish everywhere.

PASoracco
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Post by PASoracco » Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:56 pm

I have a ten gallon that is used for crystal red shrimp as well as growing out new and damaged plants. I've had great sucess with lighting this tank using CFL bulbs and regular clip light fixtures. Versus the standard 15-18w strip light that goes over one of these tanks get one or two 15-30w CFLs and you will get some surprisingly good plant growth without having too much temperature variation or evap. My tank lid is plexi, so light can get in across its entire surface, but if you need to help focus the light, make a reflector out of tin foil. Growing plants in a small tank can be very cheap and easy; a small ammount of light and fertilizer goes a long way in a 10g.
Just call me Pierce :)
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