Well, some of you may know that I had bought some tropical fish to put in with my goldies. Well, so far, the ones left are doing great. Only four were eaten (the tiny ones) and the rest are doing fine. Well, now I just dont feel right about it. They seem ok in there, but I dont know...... It feels wrong. At the moment I dont have anywhere else to put them, but I let my sister borrow a ten gallon, and she isnt using it anymore. Do you think they would be ok in there??? There are 5 small red and tan tetras, and then these long silverish green ones. I dont know what their names are, but they stay up towards the surface. Is a 10 gallon ok with that many tropicals? I just dont feel right with them in the goldie tank anymore. Will they be able to with stand the cycle??

i remembered when i made a thread on compatible fish.. and said guppies and gf, after serious thoughts about it; i NEVER put them both together. the GF looks peaceful, yet they can kill spiders with ease. guppies however, looks so fragile. my two cents. 5tetras? 10gallon is more than enough. tetras could stand the cycle but what i did with my guppies is let my water just sit there for three days then put them in. the cycle process was OVER in less than a day. theyre all happy and all fry is still intact.

Do you think if I put 10 gallons of tank water from my goldie tank (its a 55) during my water change, and then took one of the filter pads and just put it in the 10 gallon filter, that it would cycle right away? There would acctually be a total of 10 fish in the 10 gallon.

Im sooo mad at myself. i had a 30 gallon and sold it! i should have kept it!

Yes you can cycle the 10 gallon that way instantly.

yup.

its all in the water changes to keep it safe. good luck!

Im not to worried about the water changes, I just wasnt sure how well tetras do during cycle. Some fish cant handle much ammonia or nitrites at all. I'll just do that then!

I have a feeling my sister might throw a fit if i try to get the tank back, and then she'll make up some excuse that she just put fish in it (and then will run and buy some fish), so I think im just going to buy a starter kit somewhere. Anyone know where the best place to get one is? I know walmart has then for like $30 usually, and petsmart has them for alittle more....

tetras are pretty hardy fish. danios are even hardier, more so than goldies. try bigalsonline.com, i think thats the site.

I think im just going to go to walmart before class tonight. Then tomorrow when I do my water change I can just add the water in then, and the juicy filter pad. Then ill add the fish in.

The Walmart near my school sells 10 gallon tanks for 8 bucks. I practically buy one every time I go there.

Oh my, walmart has gone up in their prices for the fish tanks recently. I remember a couple years ago I bought a 29 gallon starter kit for $70, now they want $100 for the same kit! Also, I got a 10 gallon starter kit there a couple years back for $30 and now they want $50!! I was shocked! You could get the regular starter for $30, but it had no heater, a really really bad filter, and the bulbs were like bulbs you put in a lamp! Not florecent bulbs.

I ended up getting the $50 starter kit. I feel so robbed though! I plan on setting it up tomorrow. I was hoping it would fit under neath my 55 on the shelves it has, but its a bit too long. I'll figure out where to put it. I havea pretty good idea.

Im really excited about having a new tank!!! I already have plans on how I want to set it up. Black rocks, live plants and I already have a background!! Ill use my old one from my 30, and ill just trim it down to fit!!! Oh its sooo exciting. My fishies are going to love it!

Ill have to find picture to show what kind of tetras they are! HEHEHEHE..... although putting them in with the goldies was not the smartest idea, it was a great way to get a new tank! My Fiance would have NEVER let me get another one....

Congrat on your new tank ! It is always fun setting one up. Good luck with your tetras!

Actually most of the beneficial bacteria in a tank are on the tank surfaces, not the water. Adding the water wont do much good but if you add some gravel and use a dirty filter pad, that will pretty much cycle a tank instantly.

The green tetras you are describing sound like greenfire rathbuni. The red and tan ones may be serpae or red phantom tetras. With any kind of tetra you really need at least 6 of each kind for them to school and be comfortable. You could probably get away with that many tetras in a 10 gallon without pushing it. The one inch per gallon rule is not hard and fast. 12 one inch tetras are not going to make a mess like a 12 inch oscar or goldfish will.

Well I set up the tank this afternoon. I took 10 full gallons our of my goldie tank just so they were in the same water conditions when moved. I also put a nice filter pad from my goldie tank into the filter of the 10 gallon. Should that do the trick? Also, hanging another filter pad just in the tank, would it help also, or should one be enough?

So far, the tetras are doing great. They seem much more calmer in there.

WOW! my walmart is 20miles away. petco sells the 10g's at 11... plus tax $12. ><

yeah your tetras should be fine. if you have a test kit just use it and check the params.

yeah the walmart here is about 30 miles away, but it takes me 30 minutes to get to town anyways for anything. Kinda sucks.

Will it be normal for the cycle to flucturate alittle bit in the new tank since I took all the bio bugs from the 55 G?

As of right now

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitires: 0.25ppm
Nitrates: 5 ppm

Just curious because my goldie tank is

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 10ppm

Just curious, and if it is, should I let the nitrites rise alittle to help with the cycle? My goldies handles me letting it rise to alittle over 1 ppm while I cycled the tank, but im new to these tropicals.

your smaller tank is fine but if you want to be exactly as the goldie tank, go for it. there would be no harm in doing so. tropicals are easy to maintain, all youve got to do is handle the temperature. other than that, its faily safe to say theyre great to handle. best of luck.

Erm, the 10 gallons here are 60$

i meant, 10gallon without stand, hood, etc. hah!

Yeah, the tank I bought I had the tank, with hood and lights, a filter, and a heater.

For just a 10 G tank at walmart without anything (even the hood) is about $10. Ive come to realize most places are $1 per gallon, but once they reach 30 gallons, they become much more per gallon. Just my experience.

you should count yourself lucky! i bought a 6gal tank here in the uk, and it cost me £15, thats about $30.
u think uve got it bad!!
congrats on the tank jess.

wow so expensive! 30bucks for a 6gal, yucky!

yu hu! and that didnt even have a hood or n e thing. just 4 panes of glass stuck together!

ew! thats so yucky.. why is things so expensive.