au01st

Ok, to start with, I'm not really a beginner, but I've never had a tank this small. My parents always had 20-30 gallon tanks with guppies, swordtails, anglefish, etc, and I mostly took care of them. When I was in high school, I had a nice 55 gallon with cichlids which my dad now takes care of. I'm off at college and have my own place. I have a 10 gallon tank that I used for baby turtles til they graduated to their 30 gallon tupperware tank and finally, most recently their plastic swimming pool. This left a nice space on my counter (removing the tupperware tank) to set up the 10 gallon for some simple tropical fish.

I wouldn't say my tank is cycling yet, but the filter is running. I may be missing some necessities; don't have an in tank heater yet. Being a poor college student I have to keep my place around 85 degrees to keep the power bill from being $250 a month, so I think the water temp is fine. I also have a Marineland Biowheel 200 that was filtering the turtle's tank (did a fine job at that) and it's running now on the little 10 gallon, lol. Don't have a hood/lamp, aeration stones, or anything like that. I do have some large river rocks in the tank that already have algae on them, don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, as well as some gravel that also has algae on it.

What kinds and how many fish can I fit in this setup safely? I know the old 1" per gallon, so I was thinking of 2 Juli Cory's, a few tetras, and I really want something else, despite the limits...any suggestions on basically getting some simple attractive fish in there? Not looking to drop too much money, just fill some counter space and have something look nice.

Thanks in advance, and this is a great site!

peacemaker92

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!!

You can probably get 3 Glowlight Tetras (my favorite) or 3 Cherry Barbs. They're very nice. If you really like the Corys, you could get two and 1 Betta and that's all. 10 gallon isn't very big and is good for 1 Betta. The other Fishlore members probably have better ideas. I have a 15 gallon with 6 Glowlights and 3 Cherry Barbs.

Well, if I had a 10 gallon, I'd just put two Corys and 1 Betta.

Having algae on rocks and gravel isn't really good. I mean stuff would probably grow on it. I'm not so sure so wait until the more experienced who knows a lot about algae help you.

Maybe you could get some photos of it. It's hard to imagine what it looks like. Good luck!

au01st

Thanks! I actually just got a reply on something on Craigslist. A 20gallon, stand, hood, filter, rocks, heater, etc, $10!!! If I get that tomorrow, I may keep the 10gallon as a quarantine tank or some shrimp, or a beta. Never realized how much I missed having a fish tank til I had it set up with the filter running, it's just very relaxing, even though it's empty, lol.

Here's a pic with the current rocks, no plants. As I said, I had turtles, so the filter is overkill, and I have no problem doing daily water changes, lol.

Lucy

Congratulations on the 20g deal, nice! Are you going to use both in your dorm room?

I'd agree with peacemaker and go with a betta, not sure how big the corys get...what about 2.5"?

Since tetras are schooling fish you wouldn't have enough room for a good school and being at college, you'll want to keep the tank manageable

Good luck.

joy613

You got a great deal on your 20 gallon!! You could go for one paradise fish in your 10 gallon and nothing else. I think they are beautiful but they are jumpers and territorial.

Martinismommy

A 10 gallon looks really nice with one Betta fish in it.....Here's what I have in my 10 gallon.....(Actually it's my Granddaughters tank and fishy)

Attached Images

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HatchetHaven

You would need 6 Glowlights since they are schooling fish! You should NOT have them in trios...

A Betta would be nice, 4 male platys/guppys would be pretty neat, or a mix of nano fish like Ember tetras and Pygmy gouramis.

Little Cherry Barb

I just got a 12 gallon that I have been setting up (and taking things out, and re-setting up, and changing my mind again...) and I've been interested in Dwarf Puffers. They are freshwater puffers that are very small, but they aren't community fish at all. They eat live food, such as snails and bloodworms. I think they are super cute and interesting.

Other than that, I think a betta would be good. It's probably a good feeling to bring one home from a little cup and give it so much space. I think the females are really pretty.

If you get the 20 gallon, how about a school of something? Like 8 cherry barbs (or neon tetras, or platies, or mollies, or guppies...) I really love watching big schools of fish interact.

There I go, pushing my personal fish agenda on others.

Anyway, good luck with the tank with whatever you do. That was a good deal for the 20 gallon.

au01st

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm really not a fan of betas. I was wondering, since my filter is rated for 50 gallons on my little tank, and I have no trouble with water changes, would it be okay to overstock if I went with a school, to like 12"-13" of fish? I really want a dwarf gourami, but with current problems, that's a no-go. My other though would be to add 3-4 Julli Cories, and a dwarf puffer, since they are pretty cute.

The deal just fell through on the 20 gallon. We were e-mailing yesterday and this morning he said one of his friends offered him $30 for it, so, oh well.

I'm not in the dorms, I have my own 3br place now and it's empty with no roommates, just my kitten and my turtles. I'm going to keep an eye on Craigslist for something 30 gallons or larger, hopefully in the next month or two

I was up til 5am looking at fish online, lol. Never thought I would miss having a fish tank around...

HatchetHaven

How on earth can you not like Bettas?!
Well, if you overstock by 2" you are safe! Depending on your situation, most of the time over 5" is trouble brewing.

angelfish220

be careful with gouramis and such as they dont really like much of a currant, and you will have a BIG currant in that tank.

MissMTS

You could put a pair of cockatoo cichlids in your tank They are personal favorites of mine.

au01st

Thanks for the info! That's one of the reasons I asked; I never would have known (at least, haven't found it through reading about them) that gourami don't like currents. I guess it's looking more and more like it's going to be a puffer! Also, plenty of live plants and caves

Does that sound okay? 4 Julli Cory Cats and a puffer with live plants? Any chance I can get an invertebrate or two in there? Crawfish, shrimp, frog, etc?

And is that filter really okay? I'm going to have to get a hood anyways, so I don't mind spending a few more dollars to get a smaller filter and save that one for a bigger tank. I'm just impatient and wated to get the tank up and running to get it cycled.

platy ben

Puffers and powerful filters do not go! i know from experience, i had a young south american puffer called franklin, and sadly he got stuck to the bottom of my filter which killed him .

R.I.P Franklin

angelfish220

I would invest in the smaller filter. It will be easier to get a hood that fits, and the currant will be more suitable.

Be careful Puffers are nippers. the only thing that they can live with is ottos and sometimes that dosent work out.

Devon

LOL Hatchet... that is exactly what I asked when I read that... well, to each his own fishes.

Sorry you didn't get the tank you were after... but from the sounds of it, you're already starting to catch the MTS bug... can't wait to see what you end up with, since it means we will probably get... that's right! Pictures!

Shawnie

a gourami in a 10 gal tank with other fish is asking for trouble period..they are too territorial for that small of an area....puffers are also agressive in nature..and they like prestine water conditions...so its alot of work for a new tank to keep these cute buggers....platys or guppies would do great in a 10 gal

au01st

I don't know, I just never liked them, they seem too delicate to me.

OK, so, smaller filter, no cories, what's an otto? I read that they seem to leave shrimp alone, so that's maybe an option, too. And lots of live plant coverage. With my rocks, do I need to add, or mix in a layer of sand or smaller rocks, or just remove those rocks completely and put in sand? I was thinking I'd pull up about 1/2 of the rocks so it would leave about 1/2" on the bottom, and cover that in dark sand. And I guess this means I could have 2 puffers!

How much does that Bio-Spira cost, again, lol, I'm getting impatient. Of course, working across the parking lot from a PetCo and having to drive past it every afternoon/evening doesn't help.

Please keep coming with the feedback, I want to be as ready as possible so when the cycle's done I can get them in there asap, lol.