10 gal

Question
so i should just wait on the tiger barbs and start out with black skirt tetra. and are those test kits a must. i have decorations and filter and cover and lighting and bubble bar and pump
thank you


Answer
Hello Andrew, sorry I should have explained about that. Tiger barbs should be hardy enough for cycling. But the problem is you really need to keep a medium size group so they won't pick on each-other too much. And a medium size group would like consists on the minimum of 5 fish like you planned before. You could always risk it with 2-maybe 3 barbs but with that few one weaker fish may be get terribly bullied. Black Skirt tetras (AKA black tetras, black widows) have proved hardy cyclers and I have had excellent luck in keeping only one alone, he wasn't afraid at all but you should later add at least another friend for him because they highly appreciate company of their own species. ~ Test kits are the best and safest way to go. I have relied on weekly trips to the petstore before but this is risky and I don't recommend it, because you can't moniter the ammonia level of your aquarium if it gets too high and can really harm your fishes. Aquarium test kits are relatively easy to the find in your local petstore and not usually the most expensive. The key is to use at the most a few such as 2 hardy fish for cycling, check the ammonia everyday and if it is above safe bounds you do a 30-50% water change. Keep in mind you should feed your cycling fish an extremely tiny amount. Any more and you may have a ammonia spike that can prove . As a rough guideline, allow each fish one small flake each...Once a day. They will not starve and it is for the better for them. And there will be plenty of ammonia and nitrite to feed the biofilter creatures whom are trying to establish a colony. Once your ammonia has begun to rise, it should start settling down in almost a week or more, your nitrites will begin to rise as ammonia declines, and Once again if your nitrites are out of the safe range do a 30-50% water change. Now, finally, nitrites will drop as nitrates begin to accumulate--you're almost there! When your ammonia and nitrite has dropped to zero you have cycled your tank! And now you may add a couple of other fish of your choice but never add too many at one time, your biolfilter needs to catch up to the extra bioload added. Remember to always feed lightly and test the water daily after each new addition. When your levels of ammonia and nitrite remain at zero after a few days, you may continue stocking with fish until you are fully stocked. If you should get another ammonia or nitrite spike, be patient and give your aquarium time to get through this so called "minicycle" before adding any more addition fish.
Keep in mind you should test after each water change. If the reading is still outside the safe zone-- do another water change until the water is safe for the fish again.*

I noticed you didn't mention you had a heater for your aquarium. Heaters aren't always neccessary but there are few climates that remain warm enough to not have to run a heater in your aquarium during the winter months. But if you are positively sure your house won't get cold at any time of the year such as if it had central heat/air then most fish do fine without one. Always keep a thermometer on your tank, either the stick on ones which are great or the suction cup stick thermometers. The sticker-type are good but may not be the most accurate, but they still work and are excellent because you can just glance at them as you go by and spot any strange temperature flucuations perhaps before it harms your fish. Keeping the temperature at an accurate level at all times isn't that neccessary anyway, but you should never let your fish get too cold or warm.

You can probably get by on the setup you have now. The most important thing is getting the cycling done correctly. Without doing this most important part of starting a tank, you will certainly fail and I would never want that to happen. The key point to sucess is get it right the first time and you will be successful from there on...

I really hope this helps you out! There is nothing quite like fishkeeping, nothing can match the beauty of a well kept aquarium and it's the strange wonder of the creatures you cannot touch but only view them swimming gracefully among the plants and rocks that is truly wonderful... ;-)

Best wishes andrew! Happy holidays!
Happy fishkeeping as always!
Karen~