10G Freshwater Aquarium

This was taken several months ago, just to prove to someone that my fish do not always hide, and that I do in fact have them. Pardon the blurring … I’m not sure if there was something on my lens or on the glass, or if my camera was just acting up, which it does sometimes. It is very sensitive. I wanted to upload it just to have something on my account.

Life includes 2 Green Corydoras aeneus (yes, green – they are not bronze, and they are not brochis corys. Since this video, both have taken on the same pale, greenish look since I used a mineral pyramid), 4 guppies (two visible, two more appeared later on), and 1 Anubias barteri.

Plastic plants, fake rock, and Super Sculpey, which is no longer in the aquarium. I need to coat it, first. Also 10 lbs of Caribsea Sunset Gold for substrate, a TopFin power filter 10, two thermostats (because I thought the strip was broken), and a Marineland Singlebright LED. I’ve been using Seachem’s Alert charts, but I have no way of knowing if they work. The water comes from an R/O well, so the pH is below 6.0.

My second aquarium, and just a little less of a beginner’s aquarium than my first, but still a beginner level aquarium.

I bought five shrimp from a feeder tank and a guppy got mixed in. I used twist-ties on my Anubias, which I think killed my shrimp. A free guppy got caught in the mix, and now I have four of them. My corys are the offspring of the ones from my old aquarium (which was also 10 gallons).

– Lesson 1: Shrimp are not starters.

– Lesson 2: Mineral pyramids are beautiful. Particularly the brown ones.

– Lesson 3: Patience is a virtue, and test-kits are worth the price you pay for them. Don’t add fish until you are completely certain that your water is ready for them.

– Lesson 4: Guppies are pretty, but they can also live for several years. Do your research, and buy guppies if you want them, but if they aren’t your dream fish, then (within the appropriate boundaries of your aquarium) for God’s sake buy what you want from the get-go. For this size aqurarium, most fish under 2 inches make pretty decent beginner fish: some rasboras, endlers and guppies, oto cats (after establishment – they’re algae munchers), and some others I can’t think of right now. DO NOT buy freshwater sharks, swordtails, tetras (they school and need numbers and space), cory cats (I can’t help what I have, but I would rather have a larger home with more caverns (not caves) for them.

– Lesson 5: Cheap crap is cheap crap. Don’t buy it. I had to replace almost all my equipment when I started this tank. The tank came with free incandescent lights, and they corroded, besides which they gave off terrible lighting. I replaced my filter because it started making an odd noise (and I am not sure that anything was wrong with it…), and I am thinking of replacing this one, because it is a pathetic piece of junk that was cheaper than my old one.

– Lesson 6: As I learned with a relative of mine, do not let the Petsmart people talk you into stuff. They sold us a cave for our corys, and in the end, I think I knew better. Corys like shelter, but they don’t like small caves like that one, or the white cave that I have in the back of my tank. In the wild, they swim in and out of leaf litter and the like. They like cover, but if they can’t congregate in it, then it is too small and they won’t use it. They also tried to sell us stuff for fin rot, because one of our fish was missing fins (I told the guy they were red and inflamed, and he said, “Well, just in case you see white, this is for fin rot.” We had just established that it wasn’t fin rot…. Also tried to sell us two heaters when we said we were looking for something cheaper. Nine times out of ten, I just tell them I don’t need help and look for myself before taking advice from them. Everything you need to know is on the package. The designer was required to put it there for your convenience. Check aquatic hobby sites (not Yahoo) for advice before you go shopping. On the other hand: if they don’t have what you want, ask. They went in the back and got me some frozen bloodworms that weren’t on display, once. My fish love them.

(Pardon my comma-abuse.)

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