manda2753

My daughter and I will be starting a fish tank soon. I already have a ten-gallon tank, and will go ahead and stick with that size to keep my start-up costs down for now. For her sake, the fish need to be colorful and fun to watch, for my sake easy to take care of and hardy! We'd like to have as many fish (hopefully more than one species) in this small tank as we can (which I know will require smaller fish) or if less fish something interesting enough to make up for the lack of numbers. Does anyone have any good specific suggestions of easy-to-find fish and combinations of fish that I can put in this tank and suggestions on what I will need to best care for them? Thanks so much!!

lilsoccakid

have u read about the aquarium nitrogen cycle? its on this site in the beginners guide. make sure u understand this.

the fish of choice for your daughter is definetly the neon tetra. these fish arent very hardy, but can be kept without much of a problem if you understand the time and effort needed to maintain the water. these are schooling fish and need to be kept with at least 5 which leaves you room for u and ur daughter to have about 2 more small fish.

if u hav any questions feel free to ask!

Isabella

Yes, it's best to learn about the Nitrogen Cycle before getting any fish.

A 10 gallon tank is indeed small, but that doesn't mean you can't have some pretty fish in it I recommend a school or two of some very small and peaceful fish like Neon Tetras. Whatever the fish you buy, research it first and see if it will be compatible for and happy in a 10 gallon tank. If you also want an algae eater, you'll probably be better off with only one school of fish.

You could get some live plants to make the tank pretty and provide hiding spaces for fish

Good Luck!

lilsoccakid

i would suggest some plants like a "micro sword", then get 5 neons and maybe 2 oto's.

COBettaCouple

you could put a Betta in there with a few otos (we love our bettas.. lol) or at least 3 male platys since the platys are pretty hardy and come in a variety of colors and patterns including the mickey mouse tails.

Amnagrla

welcome!!

My first fish as a kid were mollies.

If you're looking for the most fish to fit in there, everyone is right... tetras are a good choice. They come in many different colors.. and as long as you keep up your tank care, they'll be fun!!

However, if you got 2 females and 1 male platy, they are a LOT of fun!! You can also get them in different colors but they are bigger fish. Make sure you get 2 females to one male. They're pretty frisky!!

With both options, I'd say get 3 otos. (otocinclus) for your algae cleanup crew!

Good luck!! Oh, and nice name...

-Amanda

COBettaCouple

good suggestions, just keep in mind that the male platys tend to be smaller and any male/female combo will give you pregnant females. even bringing home just female livebearers usually means at least 1 pregnant one.

if you can find zebra otos those are my favorites, but any otos are fun to watch as they zip around and work hard to keep the tank clean.

Amnagrla

ooooh good point. I LOVE OTOS! :-) Love them. Zebra otos, I wish I found them, I have the normal ones.. and I just think they are the cutest things. Zippy and fun and the CUTEST little bellies!! Like little beer bellies!!

manda2753

So this is what I'm thinking now...

a small school (5 or 6) of some small schooling fish (does anyone have any suggestions besides neon tetras on this?)
2 zebra otos
a few ghost shrimp

Will these work together? Is this a good number for the tank? Which/how many should I add first to help finish cycling the tank?

Thanks so much everybody!

ecnaj143

I have a 10gal, I have 8 Neons and 2 guppies and just added a pleco. Their all as happy as can be. If you want school fish, you could go with a certain tetra or barbs. Cherry Barbs are pretty and only grow to about 1.5 or 2 inches

Amnagrla

I'd like to point out that most people do not/can't put plecos in 10 gallon tanks. They get up to 18"... at full adult size they are 8" too big for a 10 gallon alone.... I just don't want you to go to the store and see them being little and put them in and get into trouble later. Ecnaj knows what he is doing, I don't want you to think I don't believe that. He's awesome!

I'm just looking out for you!

COBettaCouple

yea, plecos need 55g or more to grow properly to their 18" adult size and they output a lot of waste.

Amnagrla

tru dat, home diggity.

manda2753

went "window" shopping last night and didn't see anything called a coto or cotocinclus, do they have another name? they're not the same as a cory?

Amnagrla

You're so close!!!

Oto, Otocinclus!!!

manda2753

Oh, oops, I knew that!! Didn't see any of those either, lol

As much as everyone talks about them it doesn't seem as if they'd be hard to find, but this was a store with a pretty nice size selection of fish and not an oto in site!

Amnagrla

Otos are one of those things that a store might have or not...

We have like 10 PetCos and PetSmarts in the area. When I bought mine, I called of them first to see if they had any. Seeing as they are supposed to be kept in groups, they sell out pretty fast.

If there is only one store in your area, you can always ask and they can order you some.

COBettaCouple

true.. we had to wait weeks for the store to get some in.