jono_nz Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Hi guys! I'm a pretty new fishkeeper, having only started my first real tank in January this year (not counting the debacles that my parents bought for me as a in my preteens) and have been stumbling along with caring for my fish and the aquarium. Finally decided to start up here so that I can start actually relying on you more knowledgable folk's experience, instead of just going through old content Now to talk about the tank that got me into the hobby: I decided to get a 10 gallon tank on a whim last year, when I saw that it was on sale at the local pet store, and fell into the usual traps of a new fishkeeper - uncycled tanks, instant introductions of fish and etc. Anyway, since my headlong dive into this, I'd like to think that I've learned a lot - although there's still a lot more that I could get a hand on, such as improving my current maintenance habits. So right now I'm just maintaining the 10g tank with every intention of upgrading to a minimum of 30g soon, but only after I'm really confident that I can keep fish alive! Currently I've got 4 WMCM, 2 pygmy cories, and a month ago added 2 dwarf gourami. Anyway, look forward to learning a lot from you guys. (PS: I'm aware I need more WMCM/cories, but my LFS has no pygmy cories in stock and I'm debating whether or not I should change my WMCM for some other fish.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Welcome to the fishroom Jono! Yes there's always plenty to learn and you've come to the right place. What dimensions is the "10 gallon", I work in litres Some photos of your tank would be awesome too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Welcome, 10 gallon is about 37l sam. Good luck with your tank if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask. Remember there is no such thing as a silly question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Hello there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 hello and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono_nz Posted July 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Thanks guys! And yeah - it's a 37 litre tank. Sorry - been lurking too much around US forums to the point that I've just gotten used to referring to it as gallons. To share some history about my tank, when I first started this one I tried out a silent cycle, loading it with lots of plants so that it would absorb the toxins before they spiked. But as it turns out when I added my fish it spiked anyway, When it cycled again after that I rearranged my tank as below. (Please excuse the links instead of actual images, they're kinda big.) This one was during the earlier days, it looks orange because I had just treated it with maracyn-2. (Tank wasn't properly cycled at this point.) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16903230/Fish/GSDfdOkh.jpg A month later it had stabilized, which was when I rearranged it and took the pics below. Sadly when I did this I found that two of my pygmy cories had died. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16903230/Fish/J16Ki81.jpg More recently, I added in the centre piece fish to my tank, two honey dwarf gouramis. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16903230/Fish/J16Ki81.jpg Bonus picture of one of the cories! (I think this is a dwarf, as opposed to pygmy as it's quite a lot larger than the other pygmies in the tank!) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16903230/Fish/DSC_0281.jpg In my 6 month long process of keeping my first fish tank I've lost 2 WMCM (these are tough buggers, they've gone through a lot in my tank!!) and three pygmy cories. I had a moment of weakness when it came to adding the dwarf gourami but for a while now I'm resolved to stop adding fish until I can maintain this tank to a suitable standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Fixed the photos, if you press quote you can see how I did it. Looks cool, good thing you have got it stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 and welcome Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono_nz Posted July 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Thanks! I also just realized that I had the wrong link for one of them. Here's the picture of the honey gouramis as advertised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Looks cool, good thing you have got it stable. :iag: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 & Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Nice little tank you have there. Quite a nice layout you have done. Do you notice the boy Gourami chasing the girl much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono_nz Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thanks! That picture is a actually a little older... since I had to prune my plants a little it doesn't quite look as nice anymore Anyway, to be honest - I really have no idea which is the male and which is the female. One is a bit is a bit duller and slightly larger, the other has a reddish hue by the fins. From this I am only assuming that the former is the female, and the latter is the male. I don't really see them chasing each other a lot, and if they do it always goes back and forth! It's a bit cute to see. They also do this thing where they swim in parallel and in circles... which from looking at other vids online I think is their mating ritual but at the same time, doesn't quite look like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 The male is the one that goes dark blue under his throat area. Very entertaining and pretty fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Welcome! Quite a nice setup you have there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 hrmmmmm.... have to say it.. cut down a bit on surface movement and wait for bubbles???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono_nz Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Hello again! Just got back from a work trip to Australia, glad to see my family didn't kill off my fish! Many a breath of relief has been had. Anyway, regarding the surface movement thing - I'm not actually sure how to decrease it, to be honest... I've currently the filter I have makes a hell of a loud grinding noise if I try to turn down the waterflow (and I feel like it's going to break or something!) One thing I was considering was a floating plant - I'm not sure if there are many floating plants we can get over here, but I did see that we have the riccia plant. Will the gourami make nests within those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I have a large indian fern floating in the top of my tank. One of my male gourami's (I don't have any females) likes building a bubble nest in there once every couple of months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondfish Posted August 16, 2013 Report Share Posted August 16, 2013 Welcome to the forum. Be careful with the Dwarf Gouramis, the male may harass the female a lot, which will stress her. If you could get another female then that would help to spread the aggression out. Also WCMM prefer cooler temps. They will be fine in tropical temps, you just might find that they have a shorter lifespan than others that are kept in cooler temps. I love the Pygmy Corys, they're so cute! :love: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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