10 Gallon Tank: What's a good community/school set up for a 10 gallon tank?

[ricktavious]

Originally Posted by Shawnie

3 male gups and 4 neon tetras ....but i wouldnt add anything until you can afford a test kit and find out where your tank stands ....smaller fish have a harder time to adapt to tanks that arent up to par..especially guppies n neons ....good luck!

Need to find the little tubes....got the kits though, might run by the store to pick one up later today if I can't find it.

[ilikefish]

Or instead of neons you could get cardinals. They are just a tad bigger but they are even more colorful and are hardier. They look basically the same though so their cool.

[Shawnie]

Originally Posted by ilikefish

Or instead of neons you could get cardinals. They are just a tad bigger but they are even more colorful and are hardier. They look basically the same though so their cool.

if you go cardinals, I wouldnt add the guppies and id go with 4-5 cards...they are bigger and in a 10 gal, you might be pushing it with the cards and guppies

[jdhef]

You could get a school of about 5 or 6 Dwarf Neon Blue Rainbowfish.

[bolivianbaby]

Originally Posted by jdhef

You could get a school of about 5 or 6 Dwarf Neon Blue Rainbowfish.

I must respectfully disagree on this. Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish should have a minimum of 30g for a school.

[jdhef]

From my research on them, they are supposedly fine in a 10. They only get to be about 1 1/2".

[bolivianbaby]

They get to at least 2-2.5" and they require swimming space to be happy. A 10 gallon is just too small for them.

[TFA101]

i somewhat agree with bolivian on this one. granted they are active schooling fish, and I wouldn't limit their activity to a ten gallon, but if your tank is longer than it is taller, you could make it with the rainbows.

[jdhef]

Thanks for coming to my defense, but actually, I think BB is correct. I went looking for the info I found in the past that claimed that you could put a school in a ten and couldn't find it. But everywhere else I looked it said that a 20 was the prefered minimum size. Good job keeping me in line BB!

[bolivianbaby]

Originally Posted by bolivianbaby

They get to at least 2-2.5" and they require swimming space to be happy. A 10 gallon is just too small for them.

I just realized how "dry" and arrogant that post sounded. I'm sorry. I really need to make sure I take advantage of all the fabulous smilies we have here.

Originally Posted by jdhef

Thanks for coming to my defense, but actually, I think BB is correct. I went looking for the info I found in the past that claimed that you could put a school in a ten and couldn't find it. But everywhere else I looked it said that a 20 was the prefered minimum size. Good job keeping me in line BB!

We're all in the same side. All we want is what's best for the fish, right Combined knowledge and experience is one of the many things that make this forum so great

[jdhef]

I hope your not feeling bad about correcting me. I didn't take it as dry or arrogant. I'm just glad you were there to correct me so someone didn't mistakenly take my (bad) advice.

[bolivianbaby]

Originally Posted by jdhef

I hope your not feeling bad about correcting me. I didn't take it as dry or arrogant. I'm just glad you were there to correct me so someone didn't mistakenly take my (bad) advice.

I don't feel bad about correcting your information, I just don't like the way I phrased it. I could've phrased it better. You're good people and a good fishkeeper

[jdhef]

Aww, now you're making me blush!

[ricktavious]

nitrate 5-10, the rest 0s....this was after a 50% change though. Not sure what to think

[bolivianbaby]

Sometimes fish just pass on and we don't always know why. We have no way of knowing the conditions they come from, how they were bred, etc.

I would say that with your readings, the tank is holding it's cycle, so you could re-stock it. Just add two fish, check your readings for a week or two, if your ammonia and nitrites stay at 0, add two more, check your readings for another week or two, etc.

If you have any ammonia or nitrite readings, do daily water changes with Prime until your bacteria catches up.

[navyscuba]

If you have a few plants in the tank My vote is for 6 or 8 Neon Tetras. Mine love their tank.

[ricktavious]

Originally Posted by bolivianbaby

Sometimes fish just pass on and we don't always know why. We have no way of knowing the conditions they come from, how they were bred, etc.

I would say that with your readings, the tank is holding it's cycle, so you could re-stock it. Just add two fish, check your readings for a week or two, if your ammonia and nitrites stay at 0, add two more, check your readings for another week or two, etc.

If you have any ammonia or nitrite readings, do daily water changes with Prime until your bacteria catches up.

Thanks for the advice and kind words....I had read that BN plecos usually live 7-10 years....losing him before two made him the first fish I've ever had that passed young. All other fish I've had, though, are bettas that have lived a pretty long life. I really appreciate the kind words.

Question for feeding the tank while no fish are in it: how much do I "feed" the tank?

[TFA101]

I fed mine a small pinch of flakes twice a day... i also used inexpensive "trial sized" fish food.