10 gallon population

HI all, long time reader, first time post. Ok, back in July my wife and I got a ten gallon tank from our neighbors. It is in really good shape, however, we are both really new to the hobby. All through my life my parents had a 30gal tank going, so I'm familure with the maintanice and patience that is required, but with having a small tank I just wonder how big of a community can you have? So, after a month we have gone from just water doing its thing to adding two fish as tester fish. We had started with two zebra dions and I call them pixy and trixy. Obvously we still have them and they are quite the charactors with their swiming fast and just being like little kids in a way. Since the zebras past our test on the water we also have put two black mollys and two swordtails in there with them and had a bottom feeder. Sorry I'm rookie here but I think it was called a poly something, I do know it started with a p, but he died about two weeks ago when we had an issue with the water turning greenish yellow. Looked horrible. I got a vacuum thing from petco and cleaned the gravel. Just from reading these forums I learn that we probably were over feeding the fish. Once I cleaned that and put new water with the solution in the tank the water cleared up. Yesterday I decided to put a real plant in the tank, just so it would add some more air to the water. I also added two neon tetras and kind of or really want to add more, but with the tank being a ten gallon and having eight fish and still needing a bottom cleaner, does this mean I need to stop adding fish and just enjoy what I've got? Thanks

 

I assume you mean zebra danio, and the p word is plecostamus. So let me get this straight, so far you have:

2 Zebra danio
2 black mollies
2 swordtails
2 neon tetras


You are already right on the cusp of being overstocked, so I would suggest against adding anything to it. Also, you may want to see if the store will take back/switch fish with you, or think of getting another tank. Zebra Danio are schooling fish that should be kept in groups of 5-6 or more. Neon tetras 5-6 or more for their schooling also. Since you have no space to add more, just suggesting that you switch/take back the fish that need to be schooling fish. (or perhaps take back the danio and add 4 neon tetras.) The bottom feeder, I am assume to be a plecostamus also has some info to be shared. A common plecostamus gets to a foot in length and needs something absolutely no smaller than a 55 gallon tank. If you plan to have an algae eater I would suggest an otocinclus or 'oto' for short. They stay fairly small and eat more algae than the plecostamus tend to, if you compair body size to algae eatting ratio.

Also, with the amount of fish already in there you should have good filtration. Just mentioning to be on the safe side.

 

Thankyou Chief and yes it was plecostamus and yes they are zebra danio. I just couldn't remember the names. I also saw that a corydone(sp) would coexist well with the mollies and swordtails. Will the tetras and danios just die if they aren't schooled together if I have to keep them? I know that the mollys and swordtails are livebearers and if they have babies and I catch them before the mother eats them I have a real problem with a lot of fish? I guess in a way its a fun problem, one thing is for sure I have to stick with the size of the tank we have already. The boss(wife) said so

 

No, they shouldn't die from the stress. They will just not be as happy as would a school of them. Best of luck with them.

 

well, I would get rid of the pleco asap...18 inches full grown is way too big for your tank
if your going to keep the livebearers, you will probably end up with a ton of fish...I would recommend trading your swordtails and mollies in for 2-3 neons and 2-3 zebras
for a cleaner, there are freshwater shrimp called ghost (glass) shrimp, they clean so much, they don't count against your bioload (1 in. per 1 gal.) you might also want some shrimp that are true algae eaters
here is a good link that will give you some great info on shrimps


hope i've helped!

 

thanks Kevin for the link. The pleco is gone and I guess it a good thing in this case. For the last couple of weeks we have just enjoyed looking at the fish in the tank. I really like the Mollies and the swordtails the most and would hate to part with them. The zebras were just test fish so I really don't value them as much besides they are fun to watch. The neons are pretty small but are neat looking and look kind of lonely, even though I just got them yesterday. The swordtails have been acting funny at night. The male hides under a plant while the female sits there next to him above the gravel. Are they sleeping? They only do this at night and during the day they are pretty active. Again thanks.

 

well, if you don't really care about the zebras, I would trade them for 2 neons
your swords are probably just resting, since its hard for fish to see in the dark

 

2 Zebra danio
2 black mollies
2 swordtails
2 neon tetras

HI F1Indy2000....

I have a 10 gallon, too, so I wanted to share with you what I have in my tank. It might be good for you!

10 gallon...
3 balloon mollies (1 male - 2 females)
1 dwarf gourami (male)
3 otocinclus (not sure of the sex)
1 ghost shrimp
1 adult guppy (female), 1 juvenile guppy (female), and 4 guppy fry. (The guppies put me way over the limit for my tank.. but they are being arranged... lol)

SO! Here are my suggestions....

I LOVE my mollies. Would not give them up for anything. They are really a fun fish. I would actually get yourself another female so the one female that you do have doesn't get too stressed out by your... frisky male!! (They are known to be extra frisky... I know MINE is!) Now, you usually have to think of 2" per molly. So if you had 2, that adds up to 4" of your 10 taken... if you got one more, that would be 6". Now, they probably will have fry (babies).. Mine haven't, but as you saw up top, my guppies (also livebearers) multiplied! You can leave them in the tank when they are born and let nature take it's course. Most of them will get eaten, a few might survive. What I do is try and snatch them, put the babies into a breeding net in my 10 gallon tank, and when they are big enough (almost adult), give them to a petstore. You just have to call around and figure out who will take them. ;D

Otocinclus or "otos".... they are kind of hard to keep at first. Most people have to take extra care of them during the first few weeks... if they survive after that, you're golden. They like to live in groups. I have 3 of them.. and they are a GREAT algae team! You have to think of them as about 1" per oto. So I would get at least 2. That's actually what I planned on it, but I ended up with three!! And don't worry about them mating. They are hard to breed in a tank so if it DID happen, it would be a "special" problem! lol

I used to have swordtails. My first fish (they have since died) but I loved them so much. I was heartbroken when they died. One of them jumped out of the tank and died. Jumped out into an empty wheat thins box sitting on the heater. :'( I found her much too late. They are the same as the mollies though... it's better to keep them 2 females to 1 male... but I think you could get away with keeping just the ones you have.

Here is my final advice for you tank... lol (I know this is long... I had too much caffeine!!)
Keep the mollies, keep the swordtails. Return the rest.
I would have 2-3 mollies, depending if you think the female is getting a lot of harassing.... 2 swordtails. Now that right now would be 8" to 10". And the otos, 2 of them, 2" total. And a ghost shrimp would be good, too. They help eat extra food that hasn't been eaten.. and some poop. lol They hide a LOT so you will barely see it.

So!!

2 mollies = 4"
2 swordtails = 4"
2 otos = 2"
1 ghost shrimp... hardly any bioload so don't add it in. 4" + 4" + 2" = 10". That would be a great tank... and if you went 2 inches or so over the 10 inches you have to get another female molly or swordtail... that's okay as long as you stay on top of your water maintenance!!!

Good luck! Let me know how it goes!!

 

Hey, welcome to fishlore. check out: https://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm and start getting numbers from an API test kit to chart the cycling progress. Prime would be a super water conditioner to use. Once you can get the tank cycled, things will be less rocky. I'm partial to the livebearers in that tank.

 

I agree with everything this smart guy just said....

 

I agree with everything this smart guy just said....

I think you should agree with what I said instead of the smart guy.

 

lol... I take it back....

 

the only problem w/ what amanda said is that swordtails get up to 4"...some just 3"

but definently don't listen to flbc (dave)...he has no idea what hes talking about...especially when it comes to bettas :;jk

 

Excellent and thankyou Amanda for you very insiteful post. Ok, what is a balloon mollie? um, mine are black and are kind of football shaped. I've seen pictures of Sailfin and other mollies, but haven't seen what a balloon looks like. I assume that is what I have? Yah I really like them. They seem to be the Alphas of the tank. Everybody seems to stay clear of them. The swordtails just mind their business doing whatever they want until night time when they go into hiding. I have noticed little black dots on the female swordtail. Could that mean she might be on the nest?

My next question is taking pictures. I don't have the greatest cammera. Its just a hp 443 photosmart, yada yady, but it takes pretty dececnt pictures, however, when I take pix of the fish tank I keep getting my reflection off of the glass or the lighting isn't right or I just don't know what I'm doing. Any suggestions? I have tried to attach a picture of my swordtails and mollies together. and hopefully it works.

I want to thank everyone else for their help and suggestions. I find this to be a good way to learn even if I know nothing about bettas I'm sure Dave will tell me all about them. HA, Have a good one and I'll let you know what we do about the fish. I'm kind of leaning on getting rid or finding a new home for the little guys.

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well...if your swordtails are spawning you might have to get rid of everything but them...I have no experience w/ livebearers, but I do know that the female gets gravid spots when she is pregnant...keep us updated
if her belly gets any larger, that's pretty much a sure sign of pregnancy

 

but definently don't listen to flbc (dave)...he has no idea what hes talking about...especially when it comes to bettas :;jk

hmm.. "delete member" button..

A balloon molly or balloon platy (we have 4 of those) are bred to have extreme scoliosis and the curving of their spine makes them balloon-like in shape.

 

hahaha...id better go post a bunch more so I'm as high a rank as you

 

I believe 4000 posts is the highest rank now, since mike added more ranks.

 

It sounds like you have regular mollies. If you click the "My Tanks" link under my post I have pictures of my balloon mollies in the post so you can see what they look like!

Thank you for correcting me.. I was mistaken before, I have never owned SWORDTAILS... I had PLATYS. lol Which is why I gave some wrong information. When I originally bought the platys, the store told me they were swordtails.... but as they grew, I knew they weren't swordtails. So sometimes I have a little brain fart!

Let us know how it's going!

 

no prob...hope I didnt make you feel stupid, I felt mean having to correct you when you're like the queen of livebearers

 

So sometimes I have a little brain fart!

a little brain ginger-ale will clear that up in no time. :;a2

 

It sounds like you have regular mollies. If you click the "My Tanks" link under my post I have pictures of my balloon mollies in the post so you can see what they look like!

Thank you for correcting me.. I was mistaken before, I have never owned SWORDTAILS... I had PLATYS. lol Which is why I gave some wrong information. When I originally bought the platys, the store told me they were swordtails.... but as they grew, I knew they weren't swordtails. So sometimes I have a little brain fart!

Let us know how it's going!

I see your mollie and it look nothing like mine, so I guess I have regular ones. The balloon mollie looks a bit like a crappie. Cool pictures too and Thanks.

 

one of my neons is swimming vertically. Well its not really swimming it just looks like its just out of it. Is it sick?

 

Yeah, I would say it sounds like he's got some swim bladder issue.

 

do you have a pic of that neon? swim bladder disorder is likely. is he eating? what's the water chemistry?

 

it's too late, the neon died and it was the last one. I got to reading around this site about the neons and what I found out that they don't care for salt in the water. I believe I only put a teaspoon of aquarium salt in the water for the mollies. Oh well I decided to move on and got another female mollie just so my male(chester) will let the other female(molly) have some space if she is pregnant. She appears to be. This new molley is tiny compared to the other two and is kind of shy. They seem to have introduced themselves to her but she stays away from them and everyone else for that matter. So I have two swordtails, three mollies, two zebra danios and a otto and am quite pleased with the tank. two weeks ago I did add two ottos. One died the next day and the other is still doing good. I know my tank is maxed out and don't plan on adding anymore. I'm just keeping an eye on the water and chiming in on the forums for help to let everyone know how my new hobby is working out. I do appriciate everyone suggestions and help. Thanks again

Mike

 

yea, salt is really best for certain illnesses and tends to build up over time. we're sorry to hear the neon didn't make it.