10gal-betta, germans, neons.

[Jim]

Can i but in german rams with a male betta? how many?

And how many neon tetras could go in there also?


Thanks!

[BigDaddy]

In a ten gallon.. I would recommend just the rams OR the betta and a very small school of very small tetras.

Preferably, 2 rams and 3 otos or 3 cories

[Mettle]

I have a male betta in my 38 gallon community tank. He likes to chase my discus (yes, it's true, and it's so amusing to watch) but I've found that he and my lil' female German ram (well, not so little) don't ever come into contact. The ram stays in the bottom and the betta near the top.

Having said that, there's a lot of other stuff going on in the tank and I think that the size probably helps out a lot.

I personally wouldn't try it in a 10 gallon. But then again. Anything can work.

[Jim]

ok thanks

I was just wondering if i could get the betta out of the bowl  

So how about 2 german rams,5 neon tetras and 3 ottos?

[Julie]

My betta chased my discus too.
Rams need low nitrates, so if you can make a low nitrate environment perhaps with alot of plants you can put more in there.
Crypts grow well in low nitrate environments.  If you crypt is doing well, then your water is in good condition - suitable for rams and otos to thrive.

Julie

[Mettle]

My crypt is growing well. I guess I'm doing good on the low nitrate front. Didn't know that. Thanks Julie.

[Jim]

Where can i buy crypt? how much is it?

If i'm going to plant i'll have to change my substrate which is ok with me!

[Mettle]

Most stores should carry some variety of crypts... I think Super Pet in Barrhaven has about four or five different types right now.

[Julie]

You don't have to use crypts.  Toss had some for sale in the classifieds if you're interested.
How is your tank set up currently?

Julie

[BigDaddy]

Nitrate is a macro nutrient.  All plants need nitrate.

Crypts are slow growers who do little foliar feeding and more with their root system, so nitrate in the water has little or nothing to do with it.

And in a 10 gallon, that might be a little over stocked.  Rams and neons or rams and ottos.  Both would be pushing it if you've never kept rams before.

[Jim]

well i have a bolivian ram...

What plant would you recomend?

[Julie]

High nitrates contribute to crypt rot.

http://www.petloversforum.net/showthread.php?t=3782

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/crypts.html


Julie

[BigDaddy]

If you re-read Tom's post... it shows that high nitrates do not cause crypt rot.  It is a dramatic change in lighting or water conditions that does.

[Julie]

What does lack of water changes lead to?

Melting Cryptocoryne
by Neil Frank <nfrank/mindspring.com>
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997
To: Aquatic-Plants/actwin.com, crypts/aquaria.net

>From: jphealy-at-SYSCONN.COM
>Date: Thu, 6 Feb 1997 22:26:14 -0500
>Subject: Melting Cryptocoryne
>
>The kinds of shocks that Crypts melt from include: large change in the
>amount of light, swings in pH, and transplanting.



I would add the following to the list: irregular schedule of water changes,
large infrequent water changes, large changes in water chemistry (including
CO2 levels... similar to the pH comment), adding new crypts with their
leaves attached (same or different species),... or just looking at the tank
in the wrong way :-)

From the krib.
The reason why discus and kribs are so compatible.

Julie

[Julie]

Here's a pic of my 20 gallon with 2 rams, 2 dwarf african butterflies and two other fish.  There are numerous plants including 4 small crypts which perk up significantly after water changes.  I use root tablets in the substrate.
Rams also do well in discus tanks.

Julie

[BigDaddy]

What does lack of water changes lead to?

Melting Cryptocoryne
by Neil Frank <nfrank/mindspring.com>
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997
To: Aquatic-Plants/actwin.com, crypts/aquaria.net

>From: jphealy-at-SYSCONN.COM
>Date: Thu, 6 Feb 1997 22:26:14 -0500
>Subject: Melting Cryptocoryne
>
>The kinds of shocks that Crypts melt from include: large change in the
>amount of light, swings in pH, and transplanting.



I would add the following to the list: irregular schedule of water changes,
large infrequent water changes, large changes in water chemistry (including
CO2 levels... similar to the pH comment), adding new crypts with their
leaves attached (same or different species),... or just looking at the tank
in the wrong way :-)

From the krib.
The reason why discus and kribs are so compatible.

Julie

Again... inconsistency.  Not high levels of anything other than CHANGE.

[Jim]

So is it hard to plant in normal sized gravle?

[Julie]

http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.9601/msg00160.html

Again, high nitrate.

Yes I plant everything in that gravel, I stick some peat pellets in the substrate and hope for the best.

Julie

[Jim]

Ok thanks julie! i guess for my first time getting plants i'll have to go with a bit of trial and error

[BigDaddy]

Yup, I agree with Karen 100%.. that high nitrates as a "marker" to poor water quality.

I've dosed pure KNO3 into my tank getting it well over 40ppm.  Now, my nitrate was high... but I'd just finished performing a water change (a large one), so water quality was not an issue.

Crypts did just fine.

Don't forget, alot of concepts have changed in the past 10 years since those articles were written.

You might want to rethink peat in the gravel.  Kasselmann's new book adds to a lot of people's comments that as the peat breaks down in the gravel, it tends to go anaerobic.