Is my tank ready for tropical fish??

Question

Ok so i have a 10 gall tank with 4 goldfish and a pleco......I ma giving the goldfish to a friend, but plan to keep the pleco. I have a heater, filter, termomter, rocks and plenty of plastic plants. Will i be ready for the freshawater tropical fish when i get rid of my goldfish?

Answer 1

Please give away the pleco, too. One pleco will grow longer than your tank - they can easily reach 18". Even the smaller plecos like bushy-nose and rubber-lip, at 5-6", are too big for anything smaller than 30 gallons.
Instead, consider getting a few oto cats. They are like little plecos, and much better suited to a tank that small. They eat algae wafers.
Yep, once you get rid of your goldfish (and pleco?) your tank will be ready. Just do a 50% water change before getting any new fish to ensure that you get rid of any ammonia, and heat the water 78F. Get 1-2 fish a week until you are properly stocked.

Answer 2

Congratulations on joining a fascinating hobby. You are to be commended because you want to know the facts before adding more fish.

Goldfish and pleco are not compatible. Goldfish get big and do not need heat. Give the goldfish to someone with an unheated large tank or someone with an outdoor pond (where it isn't snowing, that is!).

Plecos get big (10+ inches) and will outgrow the 10g quickly or more likely die before then because of lack of space. Give the pleco to someone with a very large tank or sell back to store.

A 10g tank is really a job for a seasoned aquarist. Why? Because the volumn is so small water parameters can go bad quickly; ammonia levels can build up fast and be toxic to any fish. In my 10g I do a 1/4 water change once a week and I use a freshwater testing kit; testing for pH, nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia. I have live plants in the 10g which help to keep things stable. I also have ONLY a male and female betta in there along with a few snails and ghost shrimp. A ten gallon tank is simply too small for a large number of fish. The smallest tank for someone new to the hobby, I feel, would be at least a 20 gallon (or larger). There is more room for "oops" without harming the inhabitants.

Now onto the big concern. If you just set up this tank, it has had no chance to "cycle" yet. I won't go into the explanation here (look up aquarium cycle on web) but tiny little organisms need to be plentiful in order to "eat" fish poo and pee and turn it into less harmful products. This type of cycling can takes several weeks. When the organisms are not in the tank from the beginning, ammonia levels rise and can cause the fish to be distressed, die, or at the very least sick. One can buy a product called Biospira that supposedly helps, but it is rather expensive and hard to find at most stores. If you know someone who has an established cycled tank, ask them to give you some of their filter media. It will have the organisms on it. You can add it to your filter for a more "instant" cycle. Also, some of the better pet stores sell filter media that has been cycling in their tanks. Add one or two small fish and you are all set. Check out these web sites before adding fish. Good luck!

Answer 3

If your tank has been set up for at least a few months and is fully cycled (zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and the presence of nitrate but not exceeding 40ppm), then your tank should be ready for the tropicals.

You could probably add them the same day that you transfer the goldfish since your biological filtration was already supporting four goldfish (assuming your tank is fully cycled), (so you could immediately add four tropicals if not more).

Goldfish are coldwater fish, and tropicals are warmwater fish (so if your tank was a coldwater set up you may want to increase the temp to at least 78F).

Answer 4

Goldfish and tropical fish opt for 2 forms of tanks. Goldfish can stay in less warm water and not using a heater and tropical fish opt for heaters and filters and all that. you'll probaly finally finally end up killing on or the diverse.

Answer 5

Seth, the simple answer is yes, you are all ready to go. After you remove the goldfish immediately start warming up the tank. You can then add your choice of tropicals without issues, preferably as soon as possible so that you retain all of the current bacteria culture.

Answer 6

Seth, you are all prepared, just be sure to check the ph before you purchase additional fish so you can purchase fish relative to your ph or adjust it to 7.0 before getting new fish, and you can adjust again after you buy fish and you know what ph they prefer.A Pleco is a tropical fish.
Good luck!