FishProfiles.com Message Forums

The rule i have aways heard is 1 inch of slim-bodied fish per gallon. That said, i suggest an upgrade to at least a 20 long.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

You can always ask a store that sells fish if they will take the swordtails. Alot of them will even give you store credit unless they have plenty of that fish.
For plants you can start with azgardens list of low light easy to grow plants: http://azgardens.com/habitats_easy.php
If you put your tank parameters into the advanced search on tropica it will give you a list of possible plants. You can then search them on google to get common names.
http://www.tropica.dk/default.asp

Last edited by sham at 15-Jul-2005 22:45

give away the swordtails and get the rams! rams are awesome. they are very attractive and intelligent and fun to watch.

I hopefully will get the 20...Providing that my MOM lets me! If I do end up having to get the 10, ill have to give up the rams, because im pretty much stuck with the
Swordtails and Loaches. I dont know if I would be able to fit in a small school of tetras if i have the ten.
At least I hope so.

Well...More on plants?

-Sabrina

Yes the betta can live in less than 5g but I question how happy it is. Plus bettas are quite inactive fish. Swordtails are very active and even if you were only stocking the swordtails I would suggest a 20g tank. Kuhli loaches may not be seen much in the day or take up the upper levels of the tank but they prefer a large bottom area and do more swimming at night. Loaches actually take up quite a bit of tank space with their activities. Again I suggest a 20g to keep at least 4 loaches preferably 6 since they enjoy company and you are more likely to see them the more loaches you have. Rams would do ok in a 10g if it was only the rams but rams are slightly territorial and more so when spawning. In a 10g if you get a pair they are quite likely to do damage(or death) to their tank mates protecting their spawning site. Again 20g minimum to keep them with active tankmates.
Aside from the needs of the fish a 20g is much easier to keep stable than a 10g. I dislike 10g or smaller tanks because they actually seem to take more work than my 20g or 55g tank. Also you have more plant options and space for them to grow. Stem plants in a 10g will have to be trimmed constantly. I don't think any of the plants in my 55g would fit in a 10g permanently. Even my wendtii crypt is as tall as a 10g.

Sneaky Pete,

I know it dosnt sound very good, but my 3 swordtails are in a 3.5 gallon tank. At least they are pretty small still. Well, I dont know what unit to use or what is considered low light, high light, etc. for light strongness, but it says this on the package for the bulbs:
15W/120V Incandescent. I dont know if that means anything to you, but it sure doesnt to me!

well I dont know what light ill have for my other tank, but i guess ill just have to find out!

Also, if these are good plants.
-four leaf clover
-baby tears
-african water fern
-sunset hygrophila
-Giant Red Rotala
-water hedge

-Sabrina

Last edited by Hello Fishy at 15-Jul-2005 19:07

Hi,
Yes, a betta CAN live its life out in a 1/2g tank
It is just that 5g would be much better is all.
a 5g tank can be filtered and heated and therefore
is much better. It doesnt mean bettas cant happily live their whole lives out in kritter keepers though.
Where are you keeping your swordtails currently?
I can recommend some good plants to you though.
If your tank has an incandescent hood, you can replace the bulbs and getting much higher light.
If it is a flourescent strip though there is nothing you can do about that and will have to settle for low light plants.
Some plants that are good low light plants:
Java Fern
Java Moss
Wisteria
Hornwort
----
If you have higher light some other plants that would look nice are:
Bacopa Carolinia
Vallisneria Spirals and sp Corkscrew
Dwarf Lotus
Ambulia


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Ingo,

I do pay attention to your warnings, but I previously saw someone say that the minimum tank space for an adult betta would be 5 gallons. A couple of years ago, I kept a male betta in a betta kit tank, which isnt even close to half a gallon. It had a plant and a cave, and he lived contently for two years. He was active, healthy and never got sick. Because I found this to true, I So now,I tend to not believe these warnings as much as I probably should.
I hope you understand my point of view, and I will try to reconsider. There is a small chance that I might be getting a 20 gallon from a friend, instead. I guess I will have to see how things turn out. Just know that I am still outlining how I would like my tank to be.AND WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME PLANT IDEAS?!

Oh, and thanks, Sneaky Pete, and katieb!

-Sabrina

Last edited by Hello Fishy at 15-Jul-2005 17:28

Last edited by Hello Fishy at 15-Jul-2005 17:31

Is it possible for you to get a 20g tank instead?
Perhaps you can use the 10g your friend gives you for swordtail fry?
You could definetly have all those fish if you had a 20g, but I have to agree with Ingo, it is too much for a 10g.
You could do the 2 rams and 2 kuhlis, but swords are much too large for a 10g at 4 inches in length.
Im sure we can help you figure this out somehow though, cuz thats what FP is for!


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Sry, wrong subject. heh...

Last edited by Hello Fishy at 15-Jul-2005 14:16

Sabrina,

I am glad you did some research on the ph that would be correct for your fishies. I only wish you would spend the same time on researching tank stocking options. Do you know about the basic rule (sure, it is not always applicable) of 1” of fish per 2 gallons of water? Let’s do some math here:

2 juvenile rams at 1” each = 2”
3 swordtails at 4” each = 12”
2 kuhli loaches as 4” each = 8”

TOTAL: a whopping 22” that would, based on the rule above, require 44 gallons of water.

I agree that you could stock them tighter than into a 44 gallon tank, but not in a 10. Even if the fish doesn’t swim around, it is there, it breathes, it eats, and it produces waist.

I am a little hesitant to give you advise on plants, I am afraid that you would just ignore these warnings and that it would not be too long until I see you back at FP with questions of why your fish are dying.

Does this make sense to you?

Please, reconsider your stocking plan, for your own good. After that, I a pleased to help you as much as I can.

Thanks,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo,

My PH is neutral. Ive already checked with various sites and people on chat for the correct PH for Rams, and Kuhli Loaches.And no, my tank is not set up yet. Substrate will probably sand or standard gravel.Im not sure how strong the lighting is though. The water is medium-hard.Freshwater if you already didn't know. In my current tank with swordtails, I have plastic plants, but in my new tank, it will probably be all live plants.And Im talking smaller juvenile rams, not fry.And wont the loaches not contribute as much to the overcrowding as other fish due to the fact that they dont really swim around, only lurk on the bottom or in plants? I hope thats all you wanted to know about my tank...

-Sabrina

arent swordtails @ 4 inches too big for a 10g tank?

Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Well, your tank is/will be overstocked. Don't get so many fish or they will DIE.

Sabrina,

Ok, there are many plant options here, but I would like to spend a little time first talking about your fishies again. In my humble opinion, you still have too many fish in there. How big will your baby rams be? If they are too small then the swords will eat them. If they are not, well – too many fish (gang, please correct me if I am wrong).

Anyway, there are a lot of plants out there that will be nice for the tank, but I would like to know more about your tank first (as stated above).

Is the tank set up already?
What are your local water conditions (ph etc.)?
What kind of lighting do you have / will you have?
If the tank is set up, what substrate do you use?

Let’s start with answering these questions first.

Thanks,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Im so stupid! I posted the wrong thing!


What that was supposed to say is:

Im getting 2 rams, 3 swordtails, 2 kuhlis, and an apple snail, and possibly 4-5 ghost shrimp. I want a planted tank, but I have no clue what plants would be good for my fish. I am open to any suggestion, also please add if it is an expensive plant or not.

As for my tank, I dont have it yet.Im getting it from a friend in a couple of weeks. And the loaches, I am getting from the same person. As I will be getting the loaches first, depending on how big they are(they are already adults) I will decide on getting rams or not. I already have the swordtais.

-sabrina


Last edited by Hello Fishy at 15-Jul-2005 14:29

Wow,

am getting a 10 gallon tank with Rams, Swordtails, and kuhli loaches

How many of each are you planning to get?
Did you check with anybody if they would even be suitable for a 10G?
I responded to your Ram question post, I would strongly suggest you do some reading first before you go out and stock your tank.
A kuhli loach can get up to 5".

First off, tell us more about the tank. Is it set up already, plants, etc. etc. etc.?

Ingo

Last edited by Little_Fish at 15-Jul-2005 14:05

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club