# Sugestions on species suitibility for a 10 gallon?



## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

Hi Guys,

my question is, im looking for a species of fish that would be suitable for a 10 gallon, i would like something that i can admire when im up in my room about to sleep or just relaxing.

is there a species like maybe a neon tetra or something that small enough to live well in a tank like this and still be able to be active?

I would appreciate any suggestions,

even maybe like a single centerpiece type fish might be nice.

(Below for those who want to read is a background of myself in the hobby)

i'm new to the Forum, It looks like a great place to get advice.

im 19 and I have been keeping fish for about 4 or 5 years now, and have two tanks a 10 gallon hex i got for graduation and a 55 gallon. In the 55 I have about 7 Electric blue Cichlids (forget the scientific name) and about 12 youngins (the adults reproduce like no other, we just had to give 6 full grown away, because the tank is getting so crowded) 2 electric yellows, a very large pleco who isn't bothered because of his size, and a few redtails that we are storing for friends. all the fish in the tank seem to get along well, except for the odd chase between retails.


I currently have a 10 hex aquarium in my room, right now it has a smaller redtail who was picked on and a small electric blue who just happened to end up with the bigger ones that where stored in the tank earlier. They are about to be moved back to the bigger tank so I would like to figure out what fish would be nice to put in there next

Thank you for your time
Greg


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

A mix of tetras would make for a good color managerie. I have neons and an albnio glo lite and they school together, or at leats did before the tank became so overgrown. I think neons, glo lites and others that stay small would be cool in a 10 gollon and should provide good entertainment.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

In a 10 Gallon Hex, I'd go with a Betta and 5 of the smaller cories, probably C. guapore or C. pygmeus, and an Otto or 2.

Alternately, a pair of Sparkling Gouramis might be neat, maybe with a shoal of Microrasboras. (M. maculatus, f'rinstance).


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi and welcome.
i was going to say male guppys,plenty of colour.
however,if you want relaxing,don't know about them then
as they are always on the go.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Another possibility, if you think you're up to making sure that you always have some pond snails and other live or frozen food on hand, would be a pair or trio of Dwarf Puffers. Just make sure you have no more than one male (neat trick, that).


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

Are dwarf puffers hard to take care of? ive seen them around and there pretty neat, but never really looked into the species? the other thing is i heard they are agressive, and there isnt much room to run in a 10 gallon.


Will Tetras or rasboras mix well with a male beta? I love the sparkling gouramis but ive never seen them and LFSs around me.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Dwarf puffers require an absolutely 100% cycled tank. TheWater must be pristine and well filtered. They are messy eaters, so you need to clean up after them regularly. They are very aggressive. It's a 3/4" fish that absultely requires at least 3 gallons of tanks space, more for males. Sooner or later, they will kill any fish put in with them with the exception of ottos (and even ottos will get the occasional nipped fin). DPs will not eat flake or pellet food - it has to be live or frozen. They do eat snails, whole, breaking them out of the shell. They must have snails at least twice weekly because their beaks grow their whole lives, and if they are not worn down with snail shells, eventually they will grow to the point that the puffer cannot eat properly. However, because of the small size of the fish, the snals need to be quite small as well. I have been told that, as a rule of thumb, the size of the puffer's eye. So yes, they can be a little challenging to keep, and they do require a species tank. With that said, google "dwarf puffer" and you'll find whole pages devoted to learning about how to keep them properly.

As for Bettas and small schooling fish, it really depends. Some species of tetra will nip a betta and stress it to death. Some won't. I have hear that neons can go either way. On the other hand, it really depends a lot on the betta. Some of them will share their tank, others will not. If I were going to do this, I would plant one quarter of the tank very heavily, and half the rest a bit more sparsely. I'd go with microraboras or ember tetras if I could lay hands on them because they would have the least issue finding room to swim in a 10 gallon hex, and the least issue with bioload vs school size. Even neons, with 6 of them (a minimum school) probably don't have enough room to swim in a 10 hex.

So if you want to go that way, get the tank cycled and planted, add the tetras or rasboras. Leave them in there for 3 to 6 months, then add a betta. Be prepared to take the betta out and house him separately if he gets aggressive or beaten up. watch him closely for a couple of days. He will chase the little fish for a while. Give them enough foliage to get away from him. It could work out fine, or you might have to try and talk you lFS into trading for a different betta if that one is to intolerant.

That's my 2¢. Try not to spend it all in one place. :wink:


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

Wow, ive never seen an ember tetra but they are beautiful for such a small fish! is the ember tetra fairly common I dont see them much.

As for Microrasbora (corected dont i feel dumb ) is there a colourful species that looks nice? or are they mostly plan like most of the pictures i see of them?

I think a school of embers would be great for the 10 gallon! maybe with a pair of Sparkling guaramis or Dwarf goramis (Do they work well in a 10?) as the centerpeice?

my problem is the selection of species in my area is rather sparse, most stores only carry the popular well known species at substandard care, when i buy them i have to be careful and nurse them back to heath. The one shop that does carry a decent stock is very small, and they took stick to the popular stuff.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

GregV said:


> Wow, ive never seen an ember tetra but they are beautiful for such a small fish! is the ember tetra fairly common I dont see them much.


Depends on the Law of Supply and Demand. I find them uncommon though compared to several tetras that I had kept.


> As for microrasenbra's is there a colourful species that looks nice? or are they mostly plan like most of the pictures i see of them?


Microrasbora would be the correct spelling. _Sawbwa resplendens_ are quite nice but are not very common so you have to watch out for stocks.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

I saw someones 5 gallon hex tank and I really liked it, It had 2 beta's both female.

I have kept betas before, but I was wondering if A male and 2 females would do alright in a 10 gallon hex in your opinion? i know 2 females most likely wouldn't have a problem, 

but i know males will harass a female, will haveing more then 1 female deter this at all?

I think it would be also neat to try and breed them thats why im wondering about this setup, because i could also have the 2 females chillin in the 10 and put the beta in the 35 until they are ready to breed.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

nvm i have reserched more and found out that a male with them is a bad idea until they are ready to spawn. but 2 females would be nice still

im undcided on 2 female bettas or 2 sparkling goramis

i would probably add a few cories and an otto aswell.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Based on researching just this (what to do with a 10 gallon tank), I have found that it's best to keep female bettas alone or in groups of 6 or more. 6 would fit in a 10 gallon tank with a pair of ottos.


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## chucky's_mom (Aug 5, 2007)

This is not a fish, but you could get a newt. I have a paddletail newt, and he does just fine in his 10 gallon tank. He is a great pet to me, because he's entertaining but relaxing at the same time. However, with paddletail newts, I wouldn't suggest putting two in a 10 gallon tank, because they are very terretorial. If you do want to get some kind of newt, this is a good site to go to for info: http://www.caudata.org


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

Wow now there is something I did not know, 6? that could make for a beautiful tank!

then maybe a pair ottos for the bottom?


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

The otos would be fine but make sure the tank is very well cycled and preferably has some algae growing first. They are very picky eaters right after you get them and often times they starve to death before they realize an algae wafer is food. I would also provide them with some sort of cave or small tunnel to hide in as they like to utilize these places to congregate.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

If it helps for suggestions heres some pictures of the Tank.


















And the little one in there now


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

Once you move that wee guy out like you were saying, I'd put in a betta and some snails. That's what I've got in my 8g and I love watching them.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

With a really tall tank like that, a male beta is probably your best bet, maybe with a Mystery Snail or two. Based on the surface area, I don't know if you would have swimming space for 6 females, and maybe not oxygen for 2 ottos.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

yeah, sucks to get stuff as a present. its a nice tank! but its just awkward for fish.

I think i will probably just put a sponge over the filter intake and use it as a fry tank/ breeding tank.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Celestial pearl danios. A bunch of them.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

herefishy said:


> Celestial pearl danios. A bunch of them.


Way Too Small for danios. Danios need at least 24", preferably 30" or 36" of swimming space. They're really active.

(Actually, Danio choprae stays small enough that I might consider them in a standard 10 gallon, but not in a 10 high hex. That tank was basically built for a betta.)


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

yeah, my friend has a tank like this, and i know what happens when the fish do not get enough room, they will actually sit on a 80 degree angle facing the bottom of the tank, 

As for oxygen levels, I do have a biowheel filter in it, plus the water level sits a bit lower to help airate the tank, and way back when i have kept 6 fish in it before, but i would still be concerned.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

The waterfall filter with a bit of a drop will help, but Oxygen absorbtion is a function of surface area, so agitation will only go so far. 

You seem to be pretty much on top of all of this at this point. I'd say your choices were Male Betta and Mystery Snail and/or 1 African Dwarf Frog OR small school of microrasboras or very small tetras and some ottos OR a pair of sparkling gouramis (or licorice, but those positively require live food) OR 1 male and possibly 1 female dwarf puffer OR 2 Dwarf frogs and 2 Mystery snails.

There may be other choices, but they'll be unusual. There's a site -- http://minifische.de/minifischeE.html -- devoted to fish for small aquaria. This is the English translation site of a German site, so I recommend cutting and pasting the scientific names into google to find fuller descriptions.


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## GregV (Aug 10, 2007)

alright thanks tophat and thanks everyone else for the help


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

The reason lowering the water level works to help airate a tank is easy to explain I hope.

When a tank's water has not ripples, waves or commotion the surface area is pretty close to exactly what you get when you measure it. For example: Length 20 inches, width 10 inches, surface area is 200 inches. 

Now take the same tank and add waves and a waterfall and you can possible quadruple the surface area to 800 inches or possible 10x the area for 2000 inches which increases the rate of exchange for oxygen and CO2. 

I hope that made sense. This is why I have been able to turns off all my air pumps even in warmer temps because I always have some surface disturbances to help exchange oxygen.


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## dennymc (Aug 18, 2007)

*ember tetra*

http://www.azgardens.com/schooling_fish.php
these guys got the ember tetras


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