10 gallon stocking suggestions?

[FyaNyan]

Hi FishLore!

I have a 10 gallon tank that I will be cycling soon! I am fairly new to fish keeping (as well as this forum), so I'd appreciate some ideas on what to put in the aquarium when it is finished. I am not picky when it comes to what fish I wish to keep! There are so many species I like But just to narrow things down I'll list a few snippets of what type of tank I am trying to create.

• I am open to making either a small community tank or a species-only tank. However I really want more than one fish (so not just a betta, for example).
• It can be a fish only or fish+invertebrate tank.
• Fine with cold-water or warm-water setup.
• I am not interested in a planted tank right now.
• As for aesthetics and colors, I've got two substrate options: blue/pink/white gravel or brow/gray/natural gravel (I inherited a stash of aquarium supplies from someone). I will also be using fake plants and possibly small flower pots for hides.
• I want to go light on the stocking and bio-load.

Thanks for listening to my ideas. I am very excited to begin an aquarium! Please leave some suggestions, tips, and pros/cons on various species that you've had experience with and would go nicely color-wise with what I've got!

P.S. Last time I checked, my water tested very alkaline and very hard. Is this something I need to correct? If so, how exactly?

 

[wateriswet]

As far as your water, it's much easier to pick fish and inhabitants that will do well in your water as-is rather than try to change your water (unless you're going to invest in a reverse osmosis system or commit to only buying bottled water).

If I were you, I'd look into getting some male endlers. They're a smaller, colorful cousin to guppies and won't over populate the tank of you only get males. A nerite snail would be fun too and they don't reproduce in fresh water.

 

[FyaNyan]

As far as your water, it's much easier to pick fish and inhabitants that will do well in your water as-is rather than try to change your water (unless you're going to invest in a reverse osmosis system or commit to only buying bottled water).

If I were you, I'd look into getting some male endlers. They're a smaller, colorful cousin to guppies and won't over populate the tank of you only get males. A nerite snail would be fun too and they don't reproduce in fresh water.

Yes, those are very beautiful fish! So the males can be housed together safely? Is that typical of fish in the livebearer classification?

 

[Cody]

I would agree with Endlers

I would also suggest Ember Tetras or Celestial Peral Danio/Galaxy Rasbora(can be found under both names) these are both a nano fish that. 10gallon could support a nice school.

I have a 10g planted tank with a school of Ember tetras and a Candy Koi Female Betta in my daughters room and it’s one of my favorite setups!

 

[CrackerboxPalace]

Yes, those are very beautiful fish! So the males can be housed together safely? Is that typical of fish in the livebearer classification?

yep! there's very little harmful male aggression. Sometimes my male guppies would nip a bit, but if you keep the water very clean it shouldn't lead to infection.

 

[Cody]

yep! there's very little harmful male aggression. Sometimes my male guppies would nip a bit, but if you keep the water very clean it shouldn't lead to infection.

I would agree with this! I do personally feel like guppies tend to me a little more aggressive than Endlers in and all male tank.

But keep in mind that’s aggressive relative to livebearers which is hardly existent.

 

[The2dCour]

Hi FishLore!

I have a 10 gallon tank that I will be cycling soon! I am fairly new to fish keeping (as well as this forum), so I'd appreciate some ideas on what to put in the aquarium when it is finished. I am not picky when it comes to what fish I wish to keep! There are so many species I like But just to narrow things down I'll list a few snippets of what type of tank I am trying to create.

• I am open to making either a small community tank or a species-only tank. However I really want more than one fish (so not just a betta, for example).
• It can be a fish only or fish+invertebrate tank.
• Fine with cold-water or warm-water setup.
• I am not interested in a planted tank right now.
• As for aesthetics and colors, I've got two substrate options: blue/pink/white gravel or brow/gray/natural gravel (I inherited a stash of aquarium supplies from someone). I will also be using fake plants and possibly small flower pots for hides.
• I want to go light on the stocking and bio-load.

Thanks for listening to my ideas. I am very excited to begin an aquarium! Please leave some suggestions, tips, and pros/cons on various species that you've had experience with and would go nicely color-wise with what I've got!

P.S. Last time I checked, my water tested very alkaline and very hard. Is this something I need to correct? If so, how exactly?

Neolamprologus multifasciatus — Seriously Fish might do ok in a 10 with just a pair, fun shell dwellers used to hard water and not much plants.

 

[FyaNyan]

I would agree with Endlers

I would also suggest Ember Tetras or Celestial Peral Danio/Galaxy Rasbora(can be found under both names) these are both a nano fish that. 10gallon could support a nice school.

I have a 10g planted tank with a school of Ember tetras and a Candy Koi Female Betta in my daughters room and it’s one of my favorite setups!

Thanks for all the suggestions! This is super helpful and exciting. The CPDs are very much my style of fish. If I were to do an Endlers tank or a CPD tank, how many would fit comfortably in a 10g respectively? Also, what about Zebra Danios? Do those need a bigger tank or different water conditions?

 

[andy305mia]

10 gallon can be a mission to maintain but that's subjective. If it were me I would plant the heck out of it, which should not be too costly since it's small. I'd get a school of ember tetra and a female Betta. Or a beautiful male Betta and nothing else. Good luck

 

[CrackerboxPalace]

Rerio danios are quite active, they make my 35g look too small. I've never kept CPDs but I believe they're smaller and less active, so maybe eight or so.

I will always advocate for the sparkling gourami in ten gallon tanks. They are such a wonderful little fish to keep, and they might breed for you too! You could get around 4-5 IMO.

 

[Cody]

I would say 8-12 would be a good number for CPD given their size an bio-load. Regular ample water changes and/or plants make it easier to push it to the 12 number. I find with nano fish the issue is the tendency to over feed and having excess food cause problems more then the bio load of the fish being the issue.

In my 10g I have 12 embers and a female betta but it’s fairly well planted, over filter and it gets weekly 50% water changes and I manage find without issue. But I will likely be scolded for admitting that. Lol

Zebra Danios get a bit bigger and would be better served in something bigger. I’m sure the min tank size is debatable but I think you would want a 20g long to maximize their desire to dart around the tank.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

I’ll, uhhh fourth the Endler suggestion lol


They are very active little buggers.

 

[FyaNyan]

Yeah, I’m really liking the idea of either a school of Endlers or CPDs. Are there any vertebrates that go well with those? Snails? Shrimp?

 

[CrackerboxPalace]

Snails and shrimp should work great with both species, baby shrimp probably won't survive unless there's decent plant cover though.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

Yeah, I’m really liking the idea of either a school of Endlers or CPDs. Are there any vertebrates that go well with those? Snails? Shrimp?

Well, that asks the next question (with Endlers) lol I keep mine in both freshwater (outdoor pond) and saltwater/high brackish (1.018-1.022) They are very, very hardy fish. I have blatantly done things wrong such as moving fish from salt to fresh and vice-versa with no acclimation. Literally net and dump. Result? They just don’t care. My only mortality issues have been water temp related moving fish outside too early in the season.

Patches here jumped between fresh and salt, hot and cold multiple times. Not sure if that had anything to do with his tail development (he is part guppy) he’s the only one in my colonies with this style tail. I suspect it’s just guppy DNA, but who knows. I’m not exactly operating within nature here lol


How do you plan to keep them? Freshwater? The world is your oyster. Pick your plants, shrimp, snails etc…. They get on great with everything.

Brackish/salt? Your world is oysters lol Full saltwater opens up more options in terms of macroalgaes etc… However, Endlers are little piggies. No joke, mine ate over a foot long by approx 8 in wide piece of Ulva in under a week. Bladderwrack (a firm, brown algae) lasted s bit longer, maybe ten days. They love seaweed. However, they get along just fine with my hermit crabs. Malaysian Trumpet Snails do well in fresh and high brackish water. Sone see them as pests, I say meh. Even have a couple small welks in there with acorn barnacles (until the hermits eat those)

 

[FyaNyan]

Well, that asks the next question (with Endlers) lol I keep mine in both freshwater (outdoor pond) and saltwater/high brackish (1.018-1.022) They are very, very hardy fish. I have blatantly done things wrong such as moving fish from salt to fresh and vice-versa with no acclimation. Literally net and dump. Result? They just don’t care. My only mortality issues have been water temp related moving fish outside too early in the season.

Patches here jumped between fresh and salt, hot and cold multiple times. Not sure if that had anything to do with his tail development (he is part guppy) he’s the only one in my colonies with this style tail. I suspect it’s just guppy DNA, but who knows. I’m not exactly operating within nature here lol
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How do you plan to keep them? Freshwater? The world is your oyster. Pick your plants, shrimp, snails etc…. They get on great with everything.

Brackish/salt? Your world is oysters lol Full saltwater opens up more options in terms of macroalgaes etc… However, Endlers are little piggies. No joke, mine ate over a foot long by approx 8 in wide piece of Ulva in under a week. Bladderwrack (a firm, brown algae) lasted s bit longer, maybe ten days. They love seaweed. However, they get along just fine with my hermit crabs. Malaysian Trumpet Snails do well in fresh and high brackish water. Sone see them as pests, I say meh. Even have a couple small welks in there with acorn barnacles (until the hermits eat those)

Thanks for the details! For this tank I will be doing strictly freshwater. Maybe some day I’ll start a saltwater tank, but that’s gonna be further down the road lol. What are some favorite freshwater snails? Any particular species of intrigue?

Neolamprologus multifasciatus — Seriously Fish might do ok in a 10 with just a pair, fun shell dwellers used to hard water and not much plants.

Yes, these are pretty cool fish! But I’m thinking I want a larger school of fish that inhabit more than just the bottom...however, shell dwellers would be cool to keep at some point! Great idea

Rerio danios are quite active, they make my 35g look too small. I've never kept CPDs but I believe they're smaller and less active, so maybe eight or so.

I will always advocate for the sparkling gourami in ten gallon tanks. They are such a wonderful little fish to keep, and they might breed for you too! You could get around 4-5 IMO.

Sparkling Gourami are pretty neat! What ratio of males/females do you suggest if I go that route? Are males of this species mean like other Gouramis?