Aquariums

[RavenSkyfire]

I've heard that letting a fan blow across the top of the water will help cool it down. Not sure is it works tho. My guppy tanks at home have been running in the low 80's (normal at 75ish) but I haven't lost any of them yet (maybe Endler's Livebearer's are hardier than fancy guppies? I've never had any other kind of guppy).

I'd deffinetly cut back on the feeding a little bit. It'll cut back on the amount of waste in the overly hot water.

Sorry I can't give more help! I hope you don't lose to many of your guppies!!!

[TNHawke]

*winces* Lost 3 more guppies overnight, but this morning I went ahead and moved all the remaining guppies out of their little tank into my big one. The larger water container seems to be holding its temp better. Of course... all the fry were immediately eaten by the barbs and angels. And the few adults are hanging out near the surface in the cover of some plastic plants. But they seem to have better color and otherwise look less stressed.
I did get a couple more fans for my apartment, and that's helping move the A/C cooled air around a lot more. It's finally cooler inside than it is outside- yay! I expect the tanks to cool down fully tonight.

I don't think blowing a fan across the surface of the tank's water would help. It might, however, evaporate water and cool the rest of the house, like a swamp cooler. Hmmm... It might cool the tank, like blowing on hot soup or coffee. If just getting it cooler in here, and having all the fish in the big tank doesn't help enough, I'll try that.

[Nikanika]

I am having trouble starting my first "real" tank we started out with a few glofish white skirts and a small Pleco the Pleco died then we got a gourami then it died and in the aftermath I got a pair of Cory cats so in all we have three white skirts and two Cory cats and so far they have been fine. And since the white skirts are so hardy I have decided they are what I'll stick to, so how many can I put in a ten gallon including the three I have?

[TNHawke]

In a brand new 10 gal, you most likely overstocked it. Aquariums need a chance to set up their own biosystem before they can be fully stocked.

I hate to tell you, but the pleco likely starved to death. In a new tank, there isn't any algae for them to eat yet. Plecos also should never go into a tank smaller than 50 gal because they grow so large. Once you do start getting algae (and not just bacterial scum that needs cleaned off as part of tank maintenance) get a few oticinclus algae eaters. They stay about an inch long and are voracious algae eaters. I moved my three from a 10 to my 50 and they completely cleaned off all my plants within a week. (and the 50 is heavily 'planted' with plastic plants)

I have not had much luck with gouramis, personally.

Did the glofish die too? I have found those to not be the most hardy of fish.

What kind of filter do you have in the tank?

With three white skirts... you're pretty full in a 10 gal. You generally want to stick to 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, and the white skirts will grow to be a good 2 inches (more if you count fins). Honestly, I wouldn't add any more. And if you do, not any time soon, the tank needs time to settle and develop that biosystem that keeps it healthy.

[Nikanika]

No the glofish are white skirts, generally I have been finding those glofish everywere and wasn't sure how many to school together, thanks

And after the Pleco died we waited a bid to get the dwarf gourami

[TNHawke]

Oh! I misunderstood. I always think of the genetically modified danios as 'glofish'. I forgot that they recently started putting the ... well, the white fish they used to inject dye into to make them colorful... through the same process to make them permanently colorful.

What kind of filter do you have?
is there a heater?
What's the temp in the tank?
How long has the tank been set up?
When did you last clean it?
How often do you do water changes?
How full do you keep the tank?
How long was "a bit' between the pleco and the gourami?

[Nikanika]

We have a large carbon filter
We live in Florida, we have a cooler not a heater
84 degrees
Three monthes
Four days ago
Once a week
Up to the filter
Two weeks

[TNHawke]

84 is still pretty warm for a lot of fish. Most start having issues over 79.

"large carbon filter" doesn't really say anything. Is it a piggy back type? Under gravel? Cannister? Internal? Does it use pre-made cartridges, or do you buy or fill bags?

Speaking of 'too warm', I lost all but one of my guppies. I still don't have the heater plugged in, in my 50 gal. The worst of the heatwave is over, but the tank is staying nicely at 76. All the barbs and angels and catfish made it through. Whew!

[Nikanika]

We have a internal filter with a pump attached (failed description)

We recently got a new cooler so it's around 76 in the tank now and that is rather impressive since its around 90 outside

We also got another plant to keep the nitrates down, it seems to be a fern/horsetail

Oh and what kind of guppies are they? Rainbow guppies tend to have problems with being inbred

[TNHawke]

All guppies (and a lot of other fish and other pets too) tend towards inbred. That's how they get the bright colors and big tails on them. Mine were mostly from Petsmart, so whatever they do at their breeding facilities.

In such a small tank, the internal filters aren't as good, because it's that much more space that the fish don't have to swim in.
What kind of filter media does it have? prefilled cartridges, or bags you fill yourself or bags that are pre-filled? Is it just carbon and spongey stuff, or is there more?

At three months... you might have enough biosystem going to keep a plant alive. I don't usually try adding live plants until 6 months to a year, and sometimes I add fertilizer to keep them going. Now, one advantage to a small tank is that it puts the plants closer to the light (I'm assuming you have some kind of lighted hood). Plants tend to not do quite so well in larger tanks because they don't get enough light, which is why I've got mostly plastic/ silk in my 50 gal. I have one live plant that I haven't managed to kill yet. However, I also have a black thumb of death when it comes to plants, so my experiences may not be the same as yours with them.
My boss has a 10 gal, live planted, and hers are doing GREAT. Her tank has been up and running about a year now.