Kids' Tank

[Katherine]

My kids are 5 and 8 and have each been asking for their own tank for quite a while. They love mine, and they love to go to the LFSs with me to look around. My husband green lighted a 10 gallon for them to share, so they can help me take care of it and learn more about how everything works.

We got it set up today. No inhabitants yet. They helped to the best of their ability with each step of getting it together and testing the water. I am making suggestions, but as long as it's not a matter of animal safety and well being they are making the choices here.

The sponge on their filter has been in my tank for 4(?) months, so they should get a pretty good start from that. The sword(?) plant to the left and the subwassertang are also from my tank. We bought the crinum for them yesterday. The duckweed was intentional, also from my tank. They initially wanted some of my water sprite and anubias, and then each wanted one but not the other, so it came down to a both or neither situation and they both immediately said neither. We'll see if that changes down the line.

So far the plan is 1-2 mystery snails from my tank, a hillstream loach, and some other kind of fish, to be determined. Our tap water comes out with .5ppm ammonia, so we are waiting until at least tomorrow to move snails over. We'll retest the water and if it's processed through to nitrate then we'll have snails!

Edited February 16 by Katherine

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherine any other stocking ideas? is there anything you are looking for? ( a color maybe?)

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 4:38 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@Katherine any other stocking ideas? is there anything you are looking for? ( a color maybe?)

They liked the look of both neon tetras and harlequin rasboras at the store yesterday, though they weren't totally in love with either. They both loved the red shrimp, but I've never had shrimp before, so I don't even know if that's a possibility.

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherine Cherry shrimp are pretty easy, the hardest part is probably water parameters, they go really well with mystery snails too.

this article might be a helpful resource:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/cookie-cutter-for-10-gallon-aquarium?_pos=1&_sid=5a3bdd514&_ss=r

(also the sword in question looks more like an anubias)

Edited February 16 by Theplatymaster

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:01 PM, Theplatymaster said:

also the sword in question looks more like an anubias

Ooh, that is interesting. It was a bonus plant when I ordered my anubias Nana petite several years ago. They didn't tell me what it was and I just made an assumption.

 

As for the shrimp, the store we were in yesterday had some specifically marked as raised in tap water, so those would be the ones we'd try.

Edited February 16 by Katherine

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherine IDK what kind of anubias i have here, but it looks like the one you have (it looks like there is a rhizome on that plant):

for comparison here is my amazon sword:

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/16/2023 at 2:41 PM, Katherine said:

They both loved the red shrimp, but I've never had shrimp before, so I don't even know if that's a possibility.

I would have to find the post. But. Do a test....

Get 2-3 amano shrimp. They will live with the cherry shrimp without issue and won't bother them or cross. They handle the same parameters and do fine together.

If they like the amanos cool, get reds. If they don't really find that spark of interest, then no big deal, amanos just help with algae and mostly are ignored.

I do however recommend only shrimp. Learned that the hard way. The only thing I'd put with shrimp is pleco or otos (edit: meaning neo shrimp). Not much else.

Edited February 17 by nabokovfan87

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:56 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I do however recommend only shrimp. Learned that the hard way. The only thing I'd put with shrimp is pleco or otos. Not much else.

We will probably end up with no shrimp. They thought they were cool, but I'm more comfortable with fish at this point. And I don't think they'd pick shrimp if it's either or.

@Theplatymaster Here are some closer photos of this plant. I'll have to do some searching and see if I can find a match. I've had it several years and it's never gotten any more leaves than this. If it grows a new one it drops another. Root tabs don't seem to have made much difference.

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherinethat is a rhizome, definitely a anubias.

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 6:05 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@Katherinethat is a rhizome, definitely a anubias.

From a quick google, possibly anubias afzelii. Do I have it far enough out of the substrate? I mean, if I haven't killed it in 3 years...

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherinelooks to be fine, as long as the rhizome is not buried, i have had success with anubias in the ground.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/16/2023 at 4:04 PM, Katherine said:

And I don't think they'd pick shrimp if it's either or.

Amano and fish are fine. They are much bigger when full size.

Edited February 17 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/16/2023 at 4:09 PM, Katherine said:

anubias afzelii

Check out Anubias barteri 'angustifolia' too. Slightly more common, might be it.

 

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherine maybe some pygmy cories for this tank? or habrosus cories?

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 7:11 PM, Theplatymaster said:

@Katherine maybe some pygmy cories for this tank? or habrosus cories?

Last time we looked at them (not super recently) my daughter thought cories were creepy, so probably not. Lol.

[Theplatymaster]

@Katherine your daughter and i cannot be friends. 😆

Maybe albinos are creepy, but these pictures are just cute!

Edited February 17 by Theplatymaster

[Katherine]

@Theplatymaster I don't remember what type they were, they might have been albinos. Maybe pandas?

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:24 PM, Katherine said:

Maybe pandas?

pandas might be too big for this tank size. thats why i reccomend dwarf species of cories.

i think @nabokovfan87has kept panda cories in a ten gallon. how did that work for you, @nabokovfan87?

Edited February 17 by Theplatymaster

[Katherine]

On 2/16/2023 at 7:29 PM, Theplatymaster said:

pandas might be too big for this tank size. thats why i reccomend dwarf species of cories.

i think @nabokovfan87has kept panda cories in a ten gallon. how did that work for you, @nabokovfan87?

I meant that might have been the type she thought was creepy. 😂

[Theplatymaster]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:37 PM, Katherine said:

I meant that might have been the type she thought was creepy. 😂

there were 2 ways i saw you could interpret that sentence, i guess i chose the wrong way.

maybe try to show her some pygmy cories at the LFS, see if she likes those.(next time you go)

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Very cool!  I think shrimp are not beginner friendly. As @nabokovfan87pointed out, it’s best to keep them on their own or with snails or they will get eaten. Also I’ve had to drip water back in. Dumping it back in from a bucket , they were too sensitive to that, even if it was just 10%.

I wonder if you can go more horizontal with your heater, more toward the substrate?  So you don’t have to worry about it cracking from air exposure during your water changes. Unless you plan to unplug it prior to water changes.

Tetras are great for kids’ tanks. Very hearty.

Edited February 17 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[jwcarlson]

That lobster is going to outgrow the tank pretty quick.  Just FYI.

[nabokovfan87]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:24 PM, Katherine said:

@Theplatymaster I don't remember what type they were, they might have been albinos. Maybe pandas?

Alright.... I understand now. 😂

On 2/16/2023 at 5:19 PM, Katherine said:

Last time we looked at them (not super recently) my daughter thought cories were creepy, so probably not. Lol.

😱

 

On 2/16/2023 at 5:29 PM, Theplatymaster said:

pandas might be too big for this tank size. thats why i reccomend dwarf species of cories.

i think @nabokovfan87has kept panda cories in a ten gallon. how did that work for you, @nabokovfan87?

I wouldn't do any corydoras in less than a 20L, even pygmy. That's just me. I had the pandas, 30 of them, in a 10 and they were tolerant. It was literally be in that tank or freeze to death in the tub.

Needless to say, yeah, 3-4 might work, but I don't recommend it just because of the footprint of a 10.

[jwcarlson]

On 2/16/2023 at 8:02 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Very cool!  I think shrimp are not beginner friendly. As @nabokovfan87pointed out, it’s best to keep them on their own or with snails or they will get eaten. Also I’ve had to drip water back in. Dumping it back in from a bucket , they were too sensitive to that, even if it was just 10%.

I wonder if you can go more horizontal with your heater, more toward the substrate?  So you don’t have to worry about it cracking from air exposure during your water changes. Unless you plan to unplug it prior to water changes.

Tetras are great for kids’ tanks. Very hearty.

I always find it wild when people struggle with shrimp.  I guess it's really water based, I suppose.  I do 50-75% water changes on community tanks with shrimp and they don't have any issues at all.  And in tanks where they're clearly predated on and they still thrive.  

While I find tetras can be a bit finnicky until the initial die off occurs.  I think I started with 10 cardinals and I'm down to three in a year.  It's like every couple of months one of them sprouts some weird thing out of their side or something strange and then dies.  But these remaining three seem pretty stout now. 😞

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 2/16/2023 at 9:09 PM, jwcarlson said:

I always find it wild when people struggle with shrimp.  I guess it's really water based, I suppose.  I do 50-75% water changes on community tanks with shrimp and they don't have any issues at all.  And in tanks where they're clearly predated on and they still thrive.  

I have been working with first generation shrimp. A lot of people post about losses with the first gen. But once there is second gen, they are born into the water and have a tolerance to it. Therefore they are hardier.

I just saw my very first shrimplets a few days ago!

On 2/16/2023 at 9:09 PM, jwcarlson said:

While I find tetras can be a bit finnicky until the initial die off occurs

I’ve found pristella tetras and black neons to be especially hardy.