Preparing for a Sorority!

[Panthera]

Okay so for Christmas and Hanukkah (My dad's Jewish), I never know what to tell my parents what to get me, and they always end up just giving me cash. Which is never much - -" But this year I'm going to ask my mom to get me the 10 Gallon Tetra tank that's like $40 at Petco, and the rest of the money I'm going to use to build a sorority! Now I know it takes a lot of work and its not just the act of putting all the fish together in one big tank.

I'm going to first buy the tank and buy all the plants and everything, and cycle it. I know the fish need to be QT for 2-3 weeks before adding them together to watch for any signs of disease, so I'm going to buy those after the tank. I had a question though about QT them. What should I use? I'd prefer not to have to buy 6 different Critter Keepers at once, but I will if I have to.... Also how do I keep them properly heated? Will the fish be okay with not so great temperatures for a few weeks?

Also I plan on going all out with this tank and giving all the females, (6), plenty of areas to hide, including caves, plants (fake and real), as well as some Driftwood. I'll probably buy the tank in about 2 weeks since I have some money saved up, and I just wanted to know if you guys had any advice for me. Also what should I look for when buying the females? Should they be about the same size?

[Oldfishlady]

IMO/E-I would get a 20gal tank and plant heavy- get the females and add all at once....QT is important especially for established community tanks-but with a new set up and species only-I would use that as my QT and if any show signs of problems in the sorority remove and QT from that point to treat if needed.

Also if you can find related young females from a spawn this can increase your success-use some tall plants to break the line of site is also helpful for the less dominate females so they have a way to the top without being seen.

The bigger the better IMO especially with sorority set-up-
Lots of folks here do have success with 10g-but with 20g you can do a lot more.....

[Connieconcon]

I'm excited for you! I hope you show us pictures when you're all set up. I have an unused 10 gallon right now and I'd really like to set it up for a sorority some day too. :)

[Panthera]

Thanks for the advice Oldfishlady! And I will post pics Connieconcon, but it probably won't be until around or after Christmas xD I'm so excited, I went to Petco tonight to look at females, but all of them looked like 1 month old fry - -" One couldn't even swim she was so small, and just moved at the bottom of the tank. Let's just say I won't be buying female's there.....

Also I think I'm going to go with a Desert theme for my Sorority. I saw a really cool Egyptian vase along with other related stuff, and they have plenty of live plants I can put in. How many plants and what kind do you suggest for a 10 gallon? Thanks! Also is 6 the most I could have in there? Would 7 or 8 be pushing it? (Probably).

[darkangel216]

7 is ok, 8 is starting to push it. I have a 10g sorority and I make sure to have 5 or 6 girls in it. Fewer than that and they start acting stupid, too much more than that and you risk over stocking your tank.

[CrankyFish84]

YaY I can't wait to see pix of the final tank :)

Is the Tetra tank a kit? Or just the tank? Make sure the filter with it is rated for a 10G...I bought a Tetra 16G Tank Kit, and guess what..the filter was BELOW rated for the size (what the heck??)..had to buy a new one!

I'd shop around a bit though, people moving and stuff might give you a nice set up with
extra goodies for less. :)

Some people say they should all be the same size, others disagree...Some big ones
are gentle & some tiny ones are drama queens LoL
It's just a roll of the dice really...When you do finally introduce them,
pick a long weekend when you can keep an eye on the action.
I picked ones who looked wiggly & active...Its tempting to get a sicker looking one,
but chances are she's too weak to fight for her place in the tank & could die from stress.
If you get them all from the same person or place, I don't think you need to QT them.
Maybe some people here will sell or adopt out a few to you :)

[CrankyFish84]

Oh ya and OFL is right about the "line of sight" ... I switched mine around to fix some empty spots
for this & it helped a lot. Real or fake is cool. Fake might be cheaper now because I rarely see tall enough live plants for sale. Floating plants help here too, like Anacharis...it floats but will droop
a bit to make lush loops for them to play in.

[dramaqueen]

Sometimes the tiny ones are the worst! lol