specific community question

[jaredross]

I have a new 10g set up. I just set it up last night. After much reading, this newb wants to try a specific collection of fish. I have some nice fake coral and a few fake plants. I would to get some kind of rock cave for safety but here comes the real question.


I want to put in a male and female beta, a red tail or bala shark, 2 or 3 cories and 2-4 cardinal or blood fin tetras.

I understand personalities matter most but that aside, is this theoretically possible?

[Lucy]

Welcome to FishLore
I'm sorry, but you cannot put a male and a female betta together, one of them will be seriously hurt or killed.
Bala's get way to big for a 10g. I'm pretty sure you should avoid the red tail shark also.
You might want to look at guppies or some sort of small tetras like neons or glow lights.

Good luck

Edit: Also before adding any fish, please cycle your tank.
Here's a good link to learn about starting a new tank.
Beginners

[raff]

No, this really isn't possible.

Firstly, I'm not sure if the bettas will coexist, but check with someone who keeps them.
Secondly, a red-tail or bala shark will become WAY too big for a 10g tank. The red tail apparently gets 6in from its fishlore profile, and bala sharks can get up to a foot from memory. As well, they need swimming room.

For a 10g, you could do 3 smaller cory species, and maybe 4 cardinals, although that could be pushing it, I'm not all to familiar with the bioload of those tetras, but you could do the cory with say 6 neon tetras in your 10g.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Beaten to it by Lucy

[ilikefish]

You could stock your 10g with 5 cardinals and you'd be done... or 3 small cory species...

neither the rainbow or the bala shark would be happy in there... dont give it up though!

Like your setup? A 30-50g could be bought on Fijiji or Craigslist for relatively cheap.

[jaredross]

From every thing I have read the females will be fine due to the heavy planting, as long as they can hide they should be fine. So far so good on that. About the sharks though, I eventually will get upwards of a 55g, for now its the 10 and it will be onto the 20g within a few weeks. I'm sure ill be putting about 5 or 5 glolights in with the cories but for now its a bamboo shrimp keeping them company. Oh I almost forgot, my ladies are very aggressive and they seem to stand up to the big boy just fine. In fact, I saw they larger female nip at him from the bottom while he was eating. I think their temperments should be compatible but who knows

Thanks for all the help but one more question. Anything I should worry about with my shrimp? He won't get off my heater, he just keeps moving around it? So far he only spent a few minutes on the bottom. Should I be doing anything to make him more comfy in there?

[aquarist48]

Welcome to Fish Lore Jared and congrats on the new aquarium. Here is a link to the Nigrogen Cycle that is crucial to fish keeping. Your aquarium profile states that you are not aware of it:
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

As for Red Tail or Rainbow Sharks, 10 gallons is way too small not only because of the size they reach as adults but also because they are so territorial. You could be risking the lives of your other fish. Too, even in larger tanks it's not recommended to house more than 1 per tank.

I'm sure another member will chime in about your shrimp. Best of luck. If you have any questions by all means feel free to ask.
Best wishes and enjoy the site.
Ken