My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

[Liane]

Some of you may remember that I posted several months ago about what kind of fishies to set up in a 10 gallon for my 6-year old son in his room.  We ultimately went with guppies (Tequila Sunrise) and added two Algae Eating shrimp to the mix as well.  I added some low light plants and two small decorations that my son picked out.  The tank has been doing great (as evidenced by the number of baby guppies), but I wasn't super happy with the plants and arrangement.  So this past weekend we upgraded a bit on the lighting.  I went from 2 10-watt coralife screw in florescents to one 10-watt and one 20-watt.  I also added some more substrate (the bed wasn't deep enough) and added a few more plants.  While re-scaping the tank we discovered larval shrimp, so I must be doing something right.  Here's the details:

Tank: 10 gallon glass
Filter: Whisper 30 (way oversize, but it's what we had lying around)
Lighting: 2 socket screw in fixture w/ 1 10-watt Coralife screw-in florescent and 1 20-watt Coralife screw-in florescent.  Total 30 watts on a 10 gallon tank!  Contemplating changing 1st bulb to a 20 watt.  Plugged into a timer for about 12 hours of lighting a day
Substrate: gravel and fine quartz mix
Heater

Livestock:
3 female tequila sunrise guppies
2 male tequila sunrise guppies
1 male delta tail gupppy
2 Algae eating shrimp
Also on a varying basis - guppy fry and larval shrimp

Plants (I'm guessing at some of these - my knowledge is really lacking)
Java moss
Anubias
Water Wisteria
Swords
Some others I have no clue about  

Chemistry:
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5-10
We've been adding Flourish Excel every other day, and Leaf Zone once a week

Anyway, thought folks would like to see the results of our efforts.  My son is very proud of his tank and is pretty good about feeding.  I handle the maintenance portion.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Thanks,
Liane

[szidlon]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

It's great to see folks introducing their children to fishkeeping.  I hope your son continues to be interested in his/your hobby.  That's a nice tank set up and it makes it even better that it's doing well and can be enjoyed without tooo much maintenance.

[Mzungu]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

Love it! Your son has great taste in decorations, as well!  :)

It looks like you've got some cryptocorynes in the middle, directly in front of the intake. They look good!

Just a suggestion, which you already may be doing...I'd wait a week or so with the 30 watts, then decide whether or not to switch to another 20 watt bulb. See how the plants do, and such.

Very cool tank, and congrats on the baby shrimp! What kind are they?

[Tiapan]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

ys i was wonderin the same thing what kind of shrimp.

[guppymax]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

Congratulations. The interaction between you, your six year old and the inhabitants of the tank is good parenting. Obviously you are doing something right. The condition of the fish and the plants is less important. I am happy that you are having fun.

max

[Liane]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

As far as the larval shrimp, it's possible they are ghost shrimp as we had 2 for a while (we're now down to 1 - he was in hiding for a few days after he molted).  The two others are Amano Shrimp and since they require brackish water to reproduce,  it's definitely not their offspring.  

I have read quite a bit that says the ghost shrimp can be predatory to fry, etc. but thus far I haven't seen any evidence.  So, the remaining one can stay.

Thank you for your compliments about good parenting.  I firmly believe that learning to care for a creature of any kind teaches a child responsibility, compassion and respect for all living things.  Both my older boys have pets of their own that they love and take care of.  They still need reminding sometimes, but as they mature, they get better and better about their duties to their pets.  

Have a fantastic week.

Liane

[Huntress]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

I totally agree that introducing children to fishkeeping is a wonderful way for parents and children to interact with one another in a healthy and educational way.  My daughter has had her tank in her room since she was born.  I originally started it up because I thought the water running in the filter would be a calming influence. :)  

It's been empty for the last few months due to something going horribly wrong and the mollies that were in there died.  I'm guessing it was bad stock introducing disease into the whole tank.

Now she wants guppies and we are going to the fish store over the weekend to make our purchase.  We also went over together the process of cycling the tank.  Let me tell you it's difficult to put that kind of concept into 5 year old terms but I think we managed.  She also knows that if she takes care of her fish to the best she can and shows responsabilty we'll be shopping for a rabbit when she turns six.  That and cleaning her room and keeping track of her toys. lol

That tank looks great and I'm definitely going to use it for some ideas once I get the fish and switch out the fake for real plants.

[Noosh9057]

Re: My 6 yr. old's planted guppy tank

Yes it is great to kids getting in to keeping fish. Mt mom got me a fish tank when I was about 15 years old and I am now 44 years. In all thos years I have never been with out a fish tank. I love this hobby.


Roger