# (Another) 10 Gallon Tank: African Dwarf Frogs + Shrimp + ?



## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes, yet another 10 gallon tank. I definitely want:

- 2 African Dwarf Frogs in there

- 1 or more Shrimp

- Some kind of sucker fish (like an Otocinclus, for both algae control and variety)

But I'm unsure about the compatibility here or what fish I should get. I would like to go for tropical fish, though.

I'd also like to add some live plants. This will be new to me, as I've always used plastic plants and have never dabbled with live plants or tried to seriously plan out a small aquatic community before.

Any suggestions?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Not sure about danios, they seem a bit hyperactive for them. Guppies might work, I dunno if the dwarfs are dumb enough to try grabbing their fins. Maybe rasboras or tetras?


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## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

I've been considering Guppies. If I do get Guppies, can I put different types and colors of Guppies together with one another, instead of others of the same type and color?


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

I'd go for a top dweller myself as opposed to the guppies, as you'll want to prevent too much food competition for the slow eating frogs. Two honey gourami would work, or one gourami of a more territorial species.


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## gunmetal (Mar 26, 2008)

if you do plan to stock different guppies you may want to have all the same sex as any fry will typically have little or no color. these ones can make good feeders though...


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## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

Hmm. Indeed, I concur. I think it's an important consideration. I'm glad I found such a helpful place!

So, so far the criteria dictate the fish must be:

- suitable for a ten gallon tank

- tropical

- hardy (enough for a beginner)

- top dwelling

- peaceful, non-aggressive


That should cut down on the number of candidates, no? What would be a good way to look this up and compare fish?

I would also like to mix the above fish an algae eating fish, a snail and a shrimp, if possible. I've been looking at the aquascapes, and I'm leaning towards emphasizing plant life more than I had previously considered.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Plants are great, they're a completely different facet of fish keeping which I love. You should plan your substrate carefully as a slightly more expensive one designed for planted tanks will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. As for narrowing down the fish, unfortunately your guidelines doesn't narrow it down as much as you may think. Fortunately, you've already decided on some fish, so we can narrow it down further by the water parameters those fish require.

For the snail, what kind were you thinking? Unfortunately most of the really big ones are voracious plant eaters, as are many others. The only snail I can name off the top of my head that is truly plant safe are Malaysian Trumpet Snails, which are quite pretty, but not very large or varied.

Technically, ADF's are subtropical, which means they do best in temperatures slightly lower than most tropical fish like. However, there are lots of great fish who also prefer this temperature range that are often sold as tropical fish. For instance, white cloud minnows would look great in that tank.


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## SST (Nov 17, 2007)

Not all varieties of apple snails, or mystery snails, eat plants. Pomacea bridgesii (or brigs, for short) will not eat plants. Brigs come in a variety of colors. Their bigger cousins, the Pomacea canaliculata (cana) will grow huge and eat all your plants. Just be careful at the LFS at which one you're purchasing. 

You can find more information at: http://www.applesnail.net


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## bhone20 (May 4, 2008)

arren't apples better and less bio producing at cleaning than plecos,I thought snails will clean your plastic plants, is that true?


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## teh13371 (Dec 10, 2007)

A good plant to have (it may grow a bit fast and large, though) and is also my favorite plant is java fern. it grows fast, so snails wont affect it so much, and I think it looks cool.


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## teh13371 (Dec 10, 2007)

Oh, and I would vote for guppies for the fish. I really like the colors and they wont be too fast


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## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

okiemavis said:


> Plants are great, they're a completely different facet of fish keeping which I love.


You can say that again. It looks like I'm also going to need special florescent lights...


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Yup! Check out the one I've got for my planted 10 gallon. You'll have to change out the actinic bulb for a freshwater bulb, but it's crazy awesome:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...wattpowercompactfixturesinglestripwlunarlight

Pygmy chain swords are great, they'll fit really well in the 10 gallon.


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## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

Thanks for the info, okiemavis. However, I think the plants are going to have to do with something less... expensive. I'm not willing to spend so much money. I set myself an initial setup budget limit of $100, and getting a lamp like that would exceed my budget by a bit.


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## loachking (May 21, 2008)

a good fish to put with the frog would be a 3-5 marble hatchetfish or 3-5 (Nannostomus marginatus) or dwarf pencilfish, those are some fish that can give your tank a little uniqueness. and there not really greedy eaters, a good claener fish would be some ottos, a pair of clown pleco, or a pair of brisltenose plecos. or some shimp, if your want to go with snail i sugest freshwater nerite snials, they wont eat plants and there good algea eaters, anyways good luck with the tank.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I have 10 gallon with 2 ADFs and Harlequin Rasboras and they get along great. It's planted with Anubias Nana, Crypt Wendtii and Java Fern. It's a nice little tank although I'm fighting with hair algae right now.


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## Seamoe (Jun 2, 2008)

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I finally got my tank set up plants and two African Dwarf Frogs, but I still can't for the life of me choose the fish, and the plethora of great suggestions only makes it harder!


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