I need help in restocking my tank!

[Lady Samsara]

I have a 10 gallon tank which currently houses a (huge) mystery snail,
a columbian ramshorn snail, one ghost shrimp and one very small
Leopard Danio. Over the last few months I've lost the other Danios and
do not want to restock with them. Having only had Bettas and Danios I
am not really sure what would work in such a small tank with the
snails.

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates 10ppm
pH 7.6
Temp. stays at about 76 (No heater - I reside in Florida)
Tank has been up and running 1 1/2 years and seems to be stable,
powered by a Pengion Bio-Wheel and internal filter (back up in case I
need a quarantine tank). I also have a bubble wand in the rear of the
tank that can be removed if new inhabitants like gentler waters.

Any ideas? After having the Danios for so long I think I might enjoy
something slower and mellower. I was thinking of Dwarf Gouramis and
wonder if a male/female pair would work well. I was also thinking of a
group of female Bettas, I've always enjoyed them. I like their
personalities, a fish that wouild respond like they do would be nice.
How about one male Betta and another kind that would get along with
him? I love male Bettas. I was also thinking of fancy Guppies but a
friend has them and they seem somewhat boring. Would pygmy cories work
with the snails? I've often thought of getting them as I hear their
antics are cute.

I do appreciate any input and ideas. I have done lots of research but
always end up getting more confused with every fish I contemplate,
never making a final decision. The tank seems so bare and I'd like to
finally stock it and begin to enjoy it again.

Thank you!

[Chris Palma]

Hi.

I don't have any large snails (I just found a small snail that I think
hitchhiked in on the Java Fern I just bought), but I do have
recommendations for fish for your aquarium.

1) I *love* threadfin or featherfin rainbows (same fish sold under two
different names). They only get to be about 1.5" or so, so you could
safely stock a small group (4? 6?) in your 10 gallon. They are really
neat in a group -- they seem to communicate by fluttering their long,
delicate fins.

2) I have pygmy corys, and although I enjoy them and think they would do
fine with your snails, I've lost at least two of mine, and I'm starting to
worry that they are a very fragile species.

3) If you are interested in gouramis, I have a big group of honey
gouramis in two different colors (normal & "sunset" or something like
that). They are smaller than the dwarf gouramis (only grow to about 2")
and are very peaceful.

HTH!

--chris

On 4 Apr 2004, Lady Samsara wrote:

<snip>

> Any ideas? After having the Danios for so long I think I might enjoy
> something slower and mellower. I was thinking of Dwarf Gouramis and
> wonder if a male/female pair would work well. I was also thinking of a
> group of female Bettas, I've always enjoyed them. I like their
> personalities, a fish that wouild respond like they do would be nice.
> How about one male Betta and another kind that would get along with
> him? I love male Bettas. I was also thinking of fancy Guppies but a
> friend has them and they seem somewhat boring. Would pygmy cories work
> with the snails? I've often thought of getting them as I hear their
> antics are cute.
>


NB: This email address is dead. If you would like to email me directly,
please use: cpalmaATSYMBOLastro.psu.edu

[NetMax]

"Lady Samsara" > wrote in message
om...
> I have a 10 gallon tank which currently houses a (huge) mystery snail,
> a columbian ramshorn snail, one ghost shrimp and one very small
> Leopard Danio. Over the last few months I've lost the other Danios and
> do not want to restock with them. Having only had Bettas and Danios I
> am not really sure what would work in such a small tank with the
> snails.
>
> Ammonia 0ppm
> Nitrites 0ppm
> Nitrates 10ppm
> pH 7.6
> Temp. stays at about 76 (No heater - I reside in Florida)
> Tank has been up and running 1 1/2 years and seems to be stable,
> powered by a Pengion Bio-Wheel and internal filter (back up in case I
> need a quarantine tank). I also have a bubble wand in the rear of the
> tank that can be removed if new inhabitants like gentler waters.
>
> Any ideas? After having the Danios for so long I think I might enjoy
> something slower and mellower. I was thinking of Dwarf Gouramis and
> wonder if a male/female pair would work well. I was also thinking of a
> group of female Bettas, I've always enjoyed them. I like their
> personalities, a fish that wouild respond like they do would be nice.
> How about one male Betta and another kind that would get along with
> him? I love male Bettas. I was also thinking of fancy Guppies but a
> friend has them and they seem somewhat boring. Would pygmy cories work
> with the snails? I've often thought of getting them as I hear their
> antics are cute.
>
> I do appreciate any input and ideas. I have done lots of research but
> always end up getting more confused with every fish I contemplate,
> never making a final decision. The tank seems so bare and I'd like to
> finally stock it and begin to enjoy it again.
>
> Thank you!

I think Pygmy Corys would work very well. Any of the medium to larger
labyrinth fishes (Dwarf gouramis, Bettas etc) might make a nuisance of
themselves (with each other and very possibly the snails). I've found
that even Guppies can torment large snails. Other small gouramis like
the Licorice, Pygmy and Croaking would work better (but snail parts can
be tasty). I think that the Featherfin Rainbows mentioned are an
excellent choice. Many tetras would fit the bill too, something a little
different like Emperors or Black Phantoms. They have amusing antics too.

NetMax

[Lady Samsara]

"NetMax" > wrote in message >...
> "Lady Samsara" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I have a 10 gallon tank which currently houses a (huge) mystery snail,
> > a columbian ramshorn snail, one ghost shrimp and one very small
> > Leopard Danio. Over the last few months I've lost the other Danios and
> > do not want to restock with them. Having only had Bettas and Danios I
> > am not really sure what would work in such a small tank with the
> > snails.
> >
> > Ammonia 0ppm
> > Nitrites 0ppm
> > Nitrates 10ppm
> > pH 7.6
> > Temp. stays at about 76 (No heater - I reside in Florida)
> > Tank has been up and running 1 1/2 years and seems to be stable,
> > powered by a Pengion Bio-Wheel and internal filter (back up in case I
> > need a quarantine tank). I also have a bubble wand in the rear of the
> > tank that can be removed if new inhabitants like gentler waters.
> >
> > Any ideas? After having the Danios for so long I think I might enjoy
> > something slower and mellower. I was thinking of Dwarf Gouramis and
> > wonder if a male/female pair would work well. I was also thinking of a
> > group of female Bettas, I've always enjoyed them. I like their
> > personalities, a fish that wouild respond like they do would be nice.
> > How about one male Betta and another kind that would get along with
> > him? I love male Bettas. I was also thinking of fancy Guppies but a
> > friend has them and they seem somewhat boring. Would pygmy cories work
> > with the snails? I've often thought of getting them as I hear their
> > antics are cute.
> >
> > I do appreciate any input and ideas. I have done lots of research but
> > always end up getting more confused with every fish I contemplate,
> > never making a final decision. The tank seems so bare and I'd like to
> > finally stock it and begin to enjoy it again.
> >
> > Thank you!
>
> I think Pygmy Corys would work very well. Any of the medium to larger
> labyrinth fishes (Dwarf gouramis, Bettas etc) might make a nuisance of
> themselves (with each other and very possibly the snails). I've found
> that even Guppies can torment large snails. Other small gouramis like
> the Licorice, Pygmy and Croaking would work better (but snail parts can
> be tasty). I think that the Featherfin Rainbows mentioned are an
> excellent choice. Many tetras would fit the bill too, something a little
> different like Emperors or Black Phantoms. They have amusing antics too.
>
> NetMax

Hello Chris and NetMax and thank you so much for the great ideas!! I
LOVE the rainbow fish...so far have only been able to find them online
for sale and they are quite expensive. I'll keep looking, though.
The Emperors are another that are beautiful and sound perfect as well,
so graceful. I saw a pair of Black Phantoms that were very healthy
but had been in the LFS for about 2 years, so I was reluctant to get
them. I did come home with an unexpected gift, 3 very tiny babies the
LFS gave to me, either Mollies or Platies. They had gotten in another
tank and my heart melted when I saw them, so perfectly formed even
that small. Thus far I have only seen two so I think I may have lost
one, time will tell. I suppose I will find room for them if they make
it :). I see another tank in my future!!

Thanks again guys so much for the ideas...I'll keep you posted.

[Velvet]

Dick wrote:
<snipped>
> I have 3 ten gallon tanks, one is kept stocked with black mollies for
> use as a quarantine tank. In another I have live bearers including
> black mollies and Platties in the third I have some tetras, Harlequin
> Raspora Tetras. I have Red Serpae Tetras in my 75 gallon tank, but
> would recommend them as well.
>
> In past years I have kept one male Betta in a community tank, but
> would not do so again. I think Bettas are best kept in a Betta tank.
> Two in a divided tank show off better.
>

I disagree :-) I have a male betta in a 3' community tank, he's in
there with a pair of angels, a pair of pearl gourami, some cardinal
tetras and harlequins, and a few other more bottom-dwelling fish. It's
a very heavily planted tank, and my betta loves it in there. He gives
as good as he gets if the gourami or angels think about pestering him,
but otherwise he's very happy drifting about amongst the plants toward
the top of the tank, and puts on a nice show if he catches his own
reflection in the glass, or one of the cats gets nosey. He's very
colourful in his own right and doesn't need to be splayed-finned
constantly to be appreciated, IMO ;-)

Having said all that, I've had bettas before in community tanks who
didn't get along so well with other inhabitants. I seem lucky that this
one is a laid-back personality, but not easily scared by other fish - or
maybe the difference is the amount of real plants in there this time,
I'm not sure.

I'd try it again when he eventually pops his clogs, but if it didn't
work out then I'd be pulling out my small tank (1') for him and a few
non-nipping companions I think (and plenty of plants again).

Velvet

[TYNK 7]

(Snipped)
>Subject: Re: I need help in restocking my tank!
>From: Dick
>Date: 4/7/2004 5:33 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: >
>


>In past years I have kept one male Betta in a community tank, but
>would not do so again. I think Bettas are best kept in a Betta tank.
>Two in a divided tank show off better.
>

Having kept Bettas for 26 years now and breeding them many times, I can tell
you I've kept hundreds through the years in a community tank. There's only benn
a few that have overly aggressive and couldn't be housed in a tank with
anything.
That is more on the rare side though.
Most Bettas are pretty laid back when they used to being around other fish.
The problems occur when the keeper adds the wrong type of fish to a tank with a
Betta in it, or adds a Betta to tank that will get him shredded and nipped up.
Bettas are not really solitary creatures. I'm not saying put a couple males in
a tank, I mean between a bunch of females and one male. There's a hierarchy
that will be formed and played out. It's quite interesting.
I would also recommend being careful when recommending a person get a divided
Betta tank. Ususally the only divided Betta Tanks there are are much too small
for housing one male in permanantly with the divider removed.
If you're going to keep a single male Betta, it's best not to house them in
anything less than a gallon.
There water should also be heated to 78-80*f and kept clean (filtered is
prefered). If kept in a filtered tank, small weekly water changes as usual.
If unfiltered, depending on size....a gallon tank should be cleaned 100%
weekly.
Smaller than that (not recommended anyway), 2 - 3 times weekly or even daily.