joycey1221

My parents are getting me a 10-gallon aquarium for my birthday, and I was wondering what type of equipment and fish to put into it. The only fish I have had are bettas and I keep them in one-two gallon tanks.

ThisGuy

Welcome to Fishlore.


What size were you thinking? 5-10-20? The size will determine what type of fish and equipment to get.

sirdarksol

Welcome to Fishlore!

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...ngbeginner.htm
A little shameless plug here. This article contains way more information than I can write in a post (there are a total of five chapters, links at the bottom lead to the next chapter)
Other than that, here we go.
ThisGuy's right. One thing we need to know is aquarium size.
If you show your parents one thing, it should be this line:
For a first aquarium, bigger is easier.
There is a limit, of course, but 10 is better than 5, 20 is better than 10, and 40 is better than 20. The reason is that water chemistry is easier to maintain in a larger tank.

Some things you'll need:
A tank (duh )
Filter (specifics on this will depend on aquarium size)
Heater (unless you've got a big tank with goldfish)
Substrate (gravel, sand, etc... This is determined by expense as well as the inhabitants of the aquarium)
Decoration (this could be anything from live plants, rocks, and driftwood to resin statuaries. Most fish need something to hide in/behind, however, so you should have something)
Clean bucket that has been used for nothing. Buy a new one. If you have a 10g or bigger, get a 5g bucket from a hardware store, otherwise, you can get smaller ones at pet stores.
Water change equipment (usually a simple tube with a wider attachment for vacuuming gravel)
Net (needs to be appropriately sized for the fish)
Fish food (This will depend on the fish, too)
Water conditioner (we suggest Prime or Ultimate around here)
Water testing kit

One last thing, and this is covered in my article:
Please please please please please, for the sake of the fish, cycle the tank fishless.
My article covers it, as does this article http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

You'll probably want to pick up a 10g tank kit. That will get you the lighting and filter. Then you'd want to add a good heater (like Visitherm stealth) and maybe aeration.

Look for fish that grow to about 1-2" max and you could fit a little school of them in the 10g tank. 10" adult size would be the limit for a safe bioload.

Red wag platy

And get a camera so you can send us pics

angelfish220

Welcome to Fishlore

Since sirdarksol covered the equipment aspect here are some common stocking lists that work well for ten gallons and beginners.

1- 1 betta and 3 ottos

2- 5 neon tetras and 1 honey gourami

3- 10 male endlers

4- 5 hatchet fish

5- colony of ghost or cherry shrimp

There are more but I wont list anymore unless no of those are to your liking.

Calab

As another newbie, I've got a few suggestions that I've picked up over the last few weeks.

#1 - CYCLE YOUR TANK FISHLESS! When I started my tank I did not know about this. I ended up losing a fair number of fish.

#2 - Get a heater that is LARGER than you need for your tank. A 10 gallon needs a 50watt, so buy at least a 75watt. If you end up with sick fish, you may need to turn up the temp and the 50watt just won't do it.

#3 - If you will be using an air pump, do not go cheap. A Tetra or Rena pump isn't much more than the cheap pumps and are VERY quiet. Also consider going slightly oversize.

#4 - Remember the 1 inch per gallon rule. Since you are getting a 10 gallon tank, you can have 10 inches of fish in it. The measurements are for the FULL GROWN fish, so if you buy young ones, you need to count how large they will be full grown.

#5 - Invest in a water testing kit with drops, not strips. I just picked up an API kit for $26 yesterday myself. You need to monitor your water quality to ensure your fish are healthy, as well as to monitor your tank cycle before you add fish.

...I'm sure that there's more, but you should read this forum and see just what goes on with folks and their fish.

Lucy

Depending on the fish, you wouldn't want 1 5" fish with a huge load in a 10g. tank, a gold fish is a good example of this exeption.

BoSox Fan7

Get Cherry Barbs that are great.

Coryd55

I don't completely agree with that. If you get a good heater like a Visi-Therm Stealth then they have close to exact temperature adjustment(plus or minus one degree) that gets fairly high and the max that I would put your tank up to for sick fish is 83 degrees and the Stealth of proper size can do that.

Just my opinion. I have only had to up the temp for a sickness(ich) one time and I used the recommended size Visi-therm stealth and it worked just fine.


Also on the 1"/g. Remember that is just a general rule of thumb by no means should you base all your fish purchases on that. Like Lucy said you wouldn't want a 10" fish in your 10 gallon tank it would barely fit. Just be sure to ask on here or do research on the internet, etc. before you buy a fish unless you are positive that it will fit in your tank at full size.


Hope that helps you some more added to what Calab said.

Cory