10 gallon stocking

[gRuNg3b0y]

Hi all,

Sorry for posting a new thread instead of searching it up first about this question but, how's a 15 Neon tetras in a 10GL tank? for filtration, I have two of them, 1 Aqua Clear 20, and Aqua Clear 70. I do weekly 25% to 50% water change and vacuum the gravel every other week. So far I only have 8 Neon Tetras in the tank and thinking of adding more to kinda boost up their confidence. Do you think 15 is over stock, I read about the rule in stocking a tank (1" fish size per 1GL) and thinking of bending the rules a little bit (if possible :stongue:) if the tank is being maintained properly.

Thanks

Happy Holidays!!

[Dave66]

You could, grung, keep 15 in a ten, if you keep on top of the Nitrate, which I'm sure you will. Anything over 10 ppm Nitrate and you'll start losing Tetras.
Would be good if the tank was planted, as it'd not only help keep the water stable, the Tetras would be more secure with the cover of plants to retreat in if insecure.

Dave

[gRuNg3b0y]

I only have fake plants in the tank but it's more enough for them to hide, I haven't really read about live plants, Does it have any special requirements to take care of one?, I also subdued my lighting because its too bright and I read about some info here that making the light not too bright is a good thing for tetras. As for Nitrate I keep it below 10ppm as much as I could but if a live plant would really help I'm gonna start reading through about it

Thanks

PS: about plants, do you have any suggestions plants that would suit for beginners and for tetras?? Thanks

[Demi ^_^]

Elodea Densa is a really hardy, quick growing plant! It can either be planted or left floated and is a really good plant for hiding amoung!

Java Fern and Java Moss are really good too ;)

[Dave66]

grung,
Suppose you've got the light that came with the tank, and regular gravel? If you can get ahold of a piece of driftwood, you can tie Java moss on top of it. I use black cotton thread for this, and tie the moss down loosely but firm enough where the moss is in good contact with the wood. By the time the cotton thread decays, the moss will have attached itself. The small Anubis species (A. barteri var. nana) would do OK in your tank, but its tuber that the leaves come out of has to be tied to driftwood as well, the same way as the moss. Java fern is also a good bet for the low-light tank, and it, too must be tied to the wood.
Those are the three plants that can thrive in the low-light tank. You should get a bottle of Seachem's Flourish and do half-doses daily as you'll get better leaf growth.

Dave

[Sasquatch]

It's limit, but 15 could go into a 10g tank.

I'd either get a second Aquaclear 20 or an AC30. The AC 70 is way too big for a 10g tank.

As far as plants go, Java fern should be fine and doesn't need much light. As Dave mentionned, attaching it to a piece of driftwood or a rock is about the only special requirement. The rhizome (horizontal "root" that the leaves grow from) has to be above the substrate or it'll rot and the plant will die.

[gRuNg3b0y]

Alright thanks for the reply, will start browsing around for live plants if they have some available. When getting driftwood, is there something I need to do to it (disinfect, clean etc) before placing it into the tank?

[gRuNg3b0y]

It's limit, but 15 could go into a 10g tank.

I'd either get a second Aquaclear 20 or an AC30. The AC 70 is way too big for a 10g tank.

As far as plants go, Java fern should be fine and doesn't need much light. As Dave mentionned, attaching it to a piece of driftwood or a rock is about the only special requirement. The rhizome (horizontal "root" that the leaves grow from) has to be above the substrate or it'll rot and the plant will die.


I realized if I get a bigger filtration for my 10GL it'll improve the water filtration performance much better. Can you tell me the negative effect of having a big filtration for a small tank besides the overpowering flow?

Thanks

[C-Dub]

WOW an ac70 is waaay too much water flow for a 10gal tank, your ac20 should be fine alone with good maintenance, 33% water changes weekly, and a gravel vacuum bi-weekly.

Your tetra's aren't confident not because there is only 8 of them, it's because they can't swim in certain areas of the tank and it stresses them. I would stick with the 8, then get either 1 dwarf gourami,or a betta and call it a day.

The problem with the filtration I see other than the glaring issue of excessive water flow is this; More fish waste = more beneficial bacteria, seeing that you only have 8 tetras the water flow in the ac70 is moving too fast for that small amount of ben. bac. to thrive, I bet your accumulating all your ben. bac. in your ac20 and the 70 is mainly just an extra 8$ a month in your electric bill. If you are that concerned then get another ac20.

What I would really do though, because your halfway there, is buy a 30-40 gal tank, and just flip that ac70 into that...Just my opinion I hope you don't take all this the wrong way...:ssmile:

[Sir Tristen]

As far as the driftwood goes, if you buy it from your lfs it's probably good to go after a good wash. If you get some from the wild make sure it's a hard wood, not soft like pine, and then just boil the piece for an hour or so after getting all the bark and junk off. The boil will sterilize it. My tank is set up with low light plants under lighting just like yours. Java ferns and java moss are doing well, as well as anachris, but the hornwort (though it grows) always has brown patches. My wisteria also didn't do all that well. There are some links to my tanks in my signiture if you care to look. As you can see, I've set up pretty much what Dave described to you, and it hasn't been all that hard.

[Nightside_Eclipse]

Elodea Densa is a really hardy, quick growing plant! It can either be planted or left floated and is a really good plant for hiding amoung!

Java Fern and Java Moss are really good too ;)


A school of neons in a planted tank is a thing of true beauty

[gRuNg3b0y]

WOW an ac70 is waaay too much water flow for a 10gal tank, your ac20 should be fine alone with good maintenance, 33% water changes weekly, and a gravel vacuum bi-weekly.

Your tetra's aren't confident not because there is only 8 of them, it's because they can't swim in certain areas of the tank and it stresses them. I would stick with the 8, then get either 1 dwarf gourami,or a betta and call it a day.

The problem with the filtration I see other than the glaring issue of excessive water flow is this; More fish waste = more beneficial bacteria, seeing that you only have 8 tetras the water flow in the ac70 is moving too fast for that small amount of ben. bac. to thrive, I bet your accumulating all your ben. bac. in your ac20 and the 70 is mainly just an extra 8$ a month in your electric bill. If you are that concerned then get another ac20.

What I would really do though, because your halfway there, is buy a 30-40 gal tank, and just flip that ac70 into that...Just my opinion I hope you don't take all this the wrong way...:ssmile:


I like it when people tell me the rights and wrong of what I'm doing in my tank (still a newbie after all) and I do appreciate it. I noticed that my tetras never swim where I placed my AC 70 sometimes they do but behind it. The spot they go to mostly (if not hiding) is in the middle of the tank. I'm thinking of getting a 60GL soon and I'll work it out from there

Thanks

[gRuNg3b0y]

As far as the driftwood goes, if you buy it from your lfs it's probably good to go after a good wash. If you get some from the wild make sure it's a hard wood, not soft like pine, and then just boil the piece for an hour or so after getting all the bark and junk off. The boil will sterilize it. My tank is set up with low light plants under lighting just like yours. Java ferns and java moss are doing well, as well as anachris, but the hornwort (though it grows) always has brown patches. My wisteria also didn't do all that well. There are some links to my tanks in my signiture if you care to look. As you can see, I've set up pretty much what Dave described to you, and it hasn't been all that hard.

I like your 10 gallon set up I'm thinking of getting a driftwood to my LFS. I have an interest with that elodea densa that Demi mentioned at the earlier post but, I might try Java moss first.

Thanks

PS: The lighting I have just came with the hood I bought and it's been bright, I subdued it using aluminum foil is that an ok or a no no?

[Sir Tristen]

Thanks for the compliment!

As for the lighting. What type is it, incandescent or flourescent? The bulbs should say wattage as well. For plants you want a decent wattage, but it also depends on the type of light. Incandescents do almost nothing for plants, but you can put a couple compact flourescents in an incandescent hood. My hood is flourescent and has a 15 watt bulb in it, sufficient for low light plants. I've heard that smaller tanks actually require more wattage per gallon than larger tanks, but I don't know why. I guess what I'm trying to say is bright lights are good lights if they are the right type.

If you want to make the tank dimmer, get some floating plants (I have hornwort in mine, but I'm not all that fond of the stuff after having it for a few months.) It does do a nice job of dimming things though.

[gRuNg3b0y]

Went to the LFS today and looked for some Java Moss but they didn't have any in stock there's other plants but not really sure what's the name. So instead I bought 4 more neon tetras so I have 12 in the tank right now. Right now the other 4 is trying to get a hold of the new place and the other 8 is shoaling with them, I also bought an AC20 filtration since the AC70 is way too big. I have to check my water parameters first to see if a 12 Neons won't increase Ammonia. Also noticed that Algae starting to build up as well so I bought an Algae destroyer advanced.

Thanks

PS the light I have in my tank is a fluorescent 15W

[gRuNg3b0y]

Just read earlier that live plants isn't a good idea if you have airstone. I have 2 small airstones ($.99 at petsmart) running on each corner of the tank would it be recommended to take it out if I get a live plant?

Thanks

[Sasquatch]

The problem with airstones is that they strip out CO2 from the water, which the plants need to grow properly. I'd just turn the airpump off during the day and keep an eye on th behaviour of the tetras. If they start surfacing and gulping air, re-connect the air pump, if not, there's enough oxygen in the water.

As for plants, try to stick to small, slow growing plants. Java moss, Java fern and small Anubias species will do well. It'll also save you some of the added complications with maintaining a planted tank (high light, ferts, CO2 systems ...).

[gRuNg3b0y]

I switched my AC 70 (because it's way too big for a 10GL) and so far my water parameters are just fine. I was told that due to the water flow of AC 70 the neons couldn't get to the places they want to and get stressed out and hide. So I switched it to a smaller filter and the neons still hides. They only go out when feeding time and sometimes when I'm not inside the room. But I noticed the most though is when they decided to go out (in my presence) then when I decided to leave my room they come running back at their hiding place, pretty much when everytime I pass by the tank they hide then from that they just hide. I'm starting to wonder I got some pretty shy neons compare when they were in the fish store before I bought them.

[terrapin24h]

8 neons(iirc that's how many you have) should be enough to make them feel safe, do you have anything in there that might be chasing them?

--chris

[gRuNg3b0y]

8 neons(iirc that's how many you have) should be enough to make them feel safe, do you have anything in there that might be chasing them?

--chris

Well I have 12 right now. I used to have the frog decor and I took it out thinking that might be scaring them. Right now all I have are some decor plants, a black heater, thermometer and two airstones. I don't think that either one of them are bullying each other since all of them are hiding together. I read somewhere that neons normally hides and only comes out during feeding. But I also read that neons normally swims on the middle tank.

I check my parameters 2 a week and so far nothing's wrong keeping up with weekly water change and bi-gravel vacuuming.

[Naturestee]

I would take the airstones out. They make a lot of water movement too, especially in a 10 gallon. You don't need them either as the hang-on-back filter will mix enough oxygen into the water.

How much stuff is there to hide in? Some fish need lots of hiding spaces to feel comfortable and then they'll be out in the open more. A simple way to do this is to put real or fake plants in thick stands along the back and sides of the tank and leave the middle more open.

[gRuNg3b0y]

I would take the airstones out. They make a lot of water movement too, especially in a 10 gallon. You don't need them either as the hang-on-back filter will mix enough oxygen into the water.

How much stuff is there to hide in? Some fish need lots of hiding spaces to feel comfortable and then they'll be out in the open more. A simple way to do this is to put real or fake plants in thick stands along the back and sides of the tank and leave the middle more open.


I guess taking a picture instead of describing it would be easier so this is how my tank set up look like:

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I even subdued my lighting as you can see in the pictures but still the same results (they hide)

As for the air stones, I have it running in a very minimum but I thought about taking it out since the pump is making noises and it's a bit annoying. Let me know your input about my tank set up

Thanks

[wolf_eyes]

If it would be possible, try to get a couple of real or fake plant that that goes all the way to the top of your tank for the right side of your tank. Put them closer together so that its a really dense hiding area that's a little bigger.Also, I just noticed this today, but my cories will hide anytime the air stone is on . They just don't seem to like the vibrations it puts into the air.So maybe you could try both of these tactics and see how it goes. I just wouldn't expect instant results because the fish will need to adjust a little bit to the new surroundings

[Northernguy]

Very nice tank!
A nice piece of driftwood would look good in there as well.
Neons like to hide in,under or behind the plants a lot,especially when they are new.The only time I ever really saw them is at feeding.
Larger schools will roam the tank but the smaller schools tend to hide.
Thats what mine did.They are all over the bottom to mid tank now.

[terrapin24h]

I think you might need to thicken your plants up a bit too. thicken up each end and then give them some sort of "cover" to use when going from one end to the other. Maybe that will help them feel more secure. Nice so far though!

--chris

[gRuNg3b0y]

Thanks for the compliment about my tank; It's funny when I woke up today I saw them swimming around back and forth (at the back at the tank) not sure but it seems they're playing or something, then when I got out of bed they went crazy and started hiding, I fed them then it seems nothing happen and they started eating then afterwards went back hiding as I'm typing right now it seems they are observing the area alot playing peek-a-boo at me.

So in plants pretty much I should surround the tank with plants (both sides and the back) and leave the middle open? I'm thinking of putting driftwood as well; maybe this weekend I'll try and look for some.

Thanks

[gRuNg3b0y]

Well, I went to the LFS and bought some fake plants, I couldn't find a nice driftwood that would match (mostly it's too big and too small) so anyways, here what my tank looks like now:

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Are the plants too much? Couple of minutes after placing the plants, my neons started to come out, I guess they are getting a hold about the new surrounding, but they're out more now :19: well, tell me what you think about the tank

Thanks guys!!

[wolf_eyes]

Very nice looking tank! I think that's enough plants^_~. Glad to hear the little guys are more comfortable.

[fishlover49]

Looks very nice!!

[gRuNg3b0y]

Thanks you guys and just a bump about the neons, I read online that neons are great in temperatures around 78 (Fahrenheit) so I tried increasing (slowly) my heater (it's set on 75) 24 hours later when I woke up here's what I saw:

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Never seen them out like that so I considered it a picture moment thumbs2:

[Northernguy]

I find that the my Tetras seem to do better around 74 but its up to you.:22:

Mine were diing off all the time and I could not figure out why.I thought it was NTD but I tried lowering the temp and I have not lost one recently.

[gRuNg3b0y]

I find that the my Tetras seem to do better around 74 but its up to you.:22:

Mine were diing off all the time and I could not figure out why.I thought it was NTD but I tried lowering the temp and I have not lost one recently.


I read that on cold temperatures, tetras metabolism slows down making them sluggish. Increasing the temperature makes them more active but they might consume a little bit more food than usual.

[Northernguy]

I have read that before as well but I am talking about what I have seen in my tanks.I do realize that warmer temps are suggested but I got tired of watching them die for unknown reasons.I lowered the temp a bit and have not lost any since.They still eat without difficulty and seem to show their bright colors all the time.

[gRuNg3b0y]

I see, well I hope it won't do any harm on mine then