please help mee...?

Question

I am having a lot of questions arise about my fish tank, so please bear with me...

My first 10 gallon tank... Good water levels, and tempreature... I have 2 tiger barbs both a bout the size of a penny... and a sucker fish...?

1. What other fish should I add? What other fish would get along with the tiger barbs, and what would look good...?

2. Why do the tiger barbs I have seem to have dull colors when they are sleeping?

3. Is it better to buy the smaller fish or bigger ones from the store? Not like the different species, like is it better to get a small tiger barb rather than a large one?

4. Are live plants a good idea? I saw some bamboo in a tank, and thought that it was really cool... what about drift wood? and just other fresh water plants...

5. How would I go about asking for the gravel or filter from an established tank at the store...? do i pay for it... how does that work....?

Answer 1

Lots of questions, so I'll take these in order.

1) Tiger barbs are a schooling fish, and should be kept in a group of 6 or more. If there are too few of them, they tend to be aggressive to all their tankmates. Even with a group of 6+ they may still nip fins and act aggressively - these really aren't fish for an average community aquarium, plus at 3" or so as adults, you won't have enough room in a ten gallon to keep a school of these alone: http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-TigerBarb.htm Any other fish that you should try to keep with them are species which can match their aggression or be fast enough to avoid them. You might consider other large barbs, gouramis, red-tailed or rainbow shark, danios, or mollies, but only in a larger tank.

2) All fish change color somewhat when they sleep - it's their natural attemp to not call attention to themselves so predators don't spot them and eat them while they're at rest.

3) Smaller ones are cheaper and I think more adaptable to things that are "new" - foods, tank, etc. Plus, smaller ones are younger, and many of the tropicals only have life spans of 2-5 years. The smaller you buy them, the longer you'll have to enjoy them.

4) Live plants are good, as these will provide some oxygen, remove some of the nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) so the compete with algae, and provide something for the fish to nibble on. It's important that you research the plants you buy, so you get something that's a ture aquatic. The plants sold as "bamboo" aren't an aquatic plant, and need to have their leaves out of the water, otherwise they'll die within a few months. There are others which are the same, like peace lily. You also need to get plants that can survive in the amount of light your tank will provide: http://faq.thekrib.com/plant-list.html , http://www.fishlore.com/Plants.htm I think driftwood looks nice in planted tanks. It can even be used to anchor plants by using a piece of thread about the same color as the wet wood (or the plant, if you're using Java moss) to tie the plant to the wood until it roots on it. One thing about using wood - it may lower your pH and give the water a slight brown tint.

5) Just ask the employee who is working at the fish department. You can also ask for an old filter pad when they change it (this would prabably be free, since most store just throw them away). I'd do a careful examination of the fish in the tanks first, though. If you see any fish that appear sick, or are dead, don't use their gravel. You may introduce the parasites, bacteria, or fungus that are affecting the store's fish into your tank! You don't say how long you've had your tank set up, but if your water levels are "good" (meaning ammonia and nitrite = 0) then adding the store's gravel isn't necessary. You only add this to add the bacteria that lives in the gravel so you have it to convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate. But if you already have enough bacteria to do this, more bacteria aren't necessary, and the gravel won't do anything for your tank.

Answer 2

1. Your aquarium is more or less full, however, if you were to add anything other than Tiger barbs they would be nipped to death by the original two, and i would be surprised if one of the two you have doesn't leave this mortal coil shortly.
They like to play rough and you need 6 or more ideally to share the play around.
The sucker fish don't like the sound of that you need to find out what exactly you have some of these "sucker fish" grow large, others can be aggressive to other fish.

2. Most fishes colours dull there's no need to keep it bright when your sleeping its a bit like yourself you don't put make up on to go sleep do you.

3. In some cases its best to buy larger fish in the case of the ones your interested in barbs/tetra's young fish as there life span is limited.

4. Live plants are always a better solution than plastic however, you need aquatic plants and not semi aquatic or pieces of bamboo that have not been sealed these will rot in the high temperatures of the aquarium and pollute the tank.

5. You can ask for some of the gravel, but i doubt asking for some of the filter is pointless i would expect a decent aquarium shop to be running a large set of vats as sumps centralizing the filtration in one area and increasing the amount of water held in reserve, otherwise the tank would run out of water before he'd sold all the fish.

AJ

Answer 3

1) you can add any other fish that is semi-aggressive. If you ask your local pet store associate, they can tell you which fish they are. The best thing about your tank is your individual taste in fish, so get what you want.
2) Every fish I have ever owned has had light colors when they were resting.
3) Size can be a deciding factor but I mainly look for fish that are active. They usually are the strongest.
4) Live plants can increase the nitrogen in the water and that can sometimes change the chemistry of the water. So you have to be very careful. Drift wood is a great addition to your tank and is a very good surface for good bacteria to grow. (It is a good thing to have good bacterial in your tank)
5) Most of your local pet stores (not petsmart or petco) will be happy to give you an established filter if you replace theirs, if your a valued customer. I haven't tried to get gravel from a the pet store though so I can't really advise on that. I would imagine that the pet store doesn't want to give that up.

Good luck!

Answer 4

1. You could make a barb-only aquarium and add more barbs without overcrowding your tank. If you don't want to, then Lemon Tetras or Neon Tetras would make a good color comparison.
2. Almost all colorful fish will lose their color at night.
3. It doesn't matter, because the little ones will grow the same size as the big ones.
4. Live plants are excellent. They absorb ammonia, nitrate, and CO2 from your tank. I wouldn't suggest the bamboo, but I'd suggest a hardy one, such as Java Fern. You can attatch that to a piece of driftwood as well. If you get driftwood, be sure to pre-soak it in a bucket of water to remove the harmless dyes that it releases into the aquarium.
5. I've never tried that, but I wouldn't suggest it since some fish might be sick and the gravel/filter might have those parasites. But you could try it if you wanted to.

Hope this helps! If you need any more info, feel free to e-mail me.

~ZTM

Answer 5

(1) Platys, Sword tails, Guppies and Molly's are good, so are Neon Tetras. (2)As a rule fish don't sleep they just kind of rest. (3) I think it is better to have your Tiger barbs as close to same size as possible, and please make sure you pick a reputable store to buy them, to make sure they are healthy.(4) live plants take a lot of care and can sometimes cause bacteria to form in your tank, they are better for Salt Water tanks not fresh water.
(5) I would never even think to use gravel from someone elses tank, there are just too many things that could go wrong. Buying your own gravel and filter is a much better way to go.

Answer 6

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