beginnerfishlover

Does anyone know of any small fish? I mean small...under two inches. The thing is, I'll only be able to afford a 10 gallon tank (sniff, sniff) and I wondered what small fish would be good. I know most freshwater fish (except for betta, of course) do better in schools, but I haven't seen any one or one and a half inch fish! Thanks for the help. And, is it bad to go a couple inches over the amount of gallons. Say, for instance, you had six two inch fish in a 10 gallon tank. Is it bad to be two inches over gallons?

Lucy

Hi beginnerfishlover,

There are several kinds of fish that are about 1.5 inches.
You could have a small school (6) of neons or serpae tetras.
I have 4 neons and 4 serpae, so I am 2" overstocked in a 10g.

Guppys grow to about 2 inches, but from what I've read here you should have only males or females, as they reproduce rapidly.

Endlers are pretty, I don't know much about them, only what I've read here.

If you go here, there are links on the left that describe different species.

http://www.fishlore.com/

Good Luck with your tank!

beginnerfishlover

Yes, I have seen neon tetras. I have heard they are harder to keep from getting sick and dying. Is that true?

Lucy

I've heard that too, of course that was after I bought them. But really, I haven't had that much trouble.

I started out with 3 and added 2 more with out quarantining them, there was some fin nipping going on and 2 died, not sure if they were sick or just picked on too much.
I have since added 1 more but made sure to quarantine it first
and they are doing great.

A couple of things you want to be sure of if you decide to get them is make sure your tank is cycled, all the neons in the tank at the store have vibrant colors and are swimming normally.
Accumulate them slowly to your tank....I think I did mine over the course of an hour.

beginnerfishlover

What do you mean quarintine them?

Lucy

When you bring home new fish, it's recommended not to put them in with your existing fish for a while.
That way if the new ones are sick you're not infecting your entire tank.