Need Help Transitioning 10 Gallon Betta Tank (rip) To A Small Community Tank

my dear boy Augustus is on his last leg and I believe he's at the point of no return, laying on the bottom of the tank occasionally trying to swim up only to drift back down to the bottom. he's had tumors growing along his back for the past year and they've finally swallowed him up I believe. a burial at "sea" is planned, there will be a few words said, a toy gun three-volley salute, and a recording played of taps during the flush. it's just a matter of waiting for the swim reaper to come and take his spirit from me now.
I knew this day would come but I was hoping it wouldn't be so soon only ten days after his 2nd birthday. but I had been saying for a while, when he does pass, I wanted to dedicate his tank to be the Augustus Bloop Academy for Small Fishies (any suggestions for where I can get a small plaque engraved?), a small scale community tank, but I haven't the slightest clue what to put in a 10 gallon other than shrimp and snails. worse come to worse I may just get a small female betta and name her augustine, daughter of bloop.

anyway, what I also need advice on is the transition itself. I have a pretty standard 10 gallon tank with a lighted hood, there's two settings besides "off", there's the nice white lights and then the fancy blue lights that's probably meant for glo fish. I have a small heater in the tank, and it's filtered by a fluval aquaclear 30 power filter with a baffle to prevent too much surface disturbance. I also have a little airstone that supplies effects to a volcano shape. two pretty big decorations that provide hiding places, a marimo moss ball, and some fake plants that I intend to toss out and replace with real plants (suggestions please), and I plan to replace 1/2 the gravel and give a good rinse to the rest to cleanse but still retain a bit of the good bacteria that's been built up over the years. I recently changed the sponge and charcoal in my filter, would it be recommended to change the bio media as well? I plan to let the tank run for a couple weeks or so before adding new tennants, checking the parameters to make sure it's safe first.

I work at one of the big chain pet stores so i'd prefer fish I can buy with my employee discount.

TL;DR
I need stock recommendations for a 10 gallon heated tank
I need live plant recommendations for said tank
I need to know how to transition a tank that a fish died in to a tank that new fish will thrive in

 

Could get pair of kribs or breeding pair dwarf gourami or a guppy tank you could even turn the tank into a shrimp tank with some african dwarf frogs
Plants you want slow growing plants like anubias

 

Have you checked out the 10 gallon stocking list? It is a pretty exhaustive list of fish that are suitable for your tank. Here's a link
Stocking options for 10 gallons

I would recommend a school of 8-10 celestial pearl danios or ember tetras or chilI rasboras. Along with some shrimp and snails.

As for plants anubias nana is always a good choice for small tanks. Java fern, java moss, salvinia and water lettuce are good too.

 

First off, you're an amazing person and I'm so sorry about your betta.
Secondly, if you want to try something different, look into fairy shrimp, clam shrimp, and triops.
A small school of nano rasboras, eight or so, some Asian stone catfish, two ADF's, and some cherry, fairy, or clam shrimp

 

Have you checked out the 10 gallon stocking list? It is a pretty exhaustive list of fish that are suitable for your tank. Here's a link
Stocking options for 10 gallons

I would recommend a school of 8-10 celestial pearl danios or ember tetras or chilI rasboras. Along with some shrimp and snails.

As for plants anubias nana is always a good choice for small tanks. Java fern, java moss, salvinia and water lettuce are good too.

yes thank you I was looking for a list like that and could not find it !!

 

Finding options suitable for a 10 gallon AND available at the big chains can be challenging. The big chains don't usually carry nano fish like CPDs, ember tetras, or chilI rasboras. If your store is a Petsmart, they often carry endler guppies or even endlers, which are like guppies but smaller and do great in small tanks. Or you could do something like 3 male platies in different colors/patterns, or 5 male guppies. If your store is a Petco, guppies or platies are again options, or you can order fish through the aquatics desk, so you might be able to get nano fish that your store doesn't normally carry that way.

 

Finding options suitable for a 10 gallon AND available at the big chains can be challenging. The big chains don't usually carry nano fish like CPDs, ember tetras, or chilI rasboras. If your store is a Petsmart, they often carry endler guppies or even endlers, which are like guppies but smaller and do great in small tanks. Or you could do something like 3 male platies in different colors/patterns, or 5 male guppies. If your store is a Petco, guppies or platies are again options, or you can order fish through the aquatics desk, so you might be able to get nano fish that your store doesn't normally carry that way.

I actually do work at petsmart and I was leaning towards guppies.. I don't spend much time at the fish wall so I don't know our exact stock but I know sometimes when I have to cashier I see people buying these gorgeous little sunburst guppies and I definitely want some of those. I like the idea of platys growing up my parents had a fish tank stocked with "mickey mouse" platys and they were cute. however i'm leaning away from platys and more towards something like 6 danios (seems to be the minimum school size according to my research thus far) and 3 male guppies? and maybe like 5 ghost shrimp and two mystery snails? but i'm not sure if that's trying to cram too many folks in a small tank.

 

Could get pair of kribs or breeding pair dwarf gourami or a guppy tank you could even turn the tank into a shrimp tank with some african dwarf frogs
Plants you want slow growing plants like anubias

I would not recommend doing some of these options. I would say that kribs need 29 gallons and dwarf gourami need 20 gallons.
I would say a guppy or shrimp or dwarf frog tank is the way to go.

 

I just wanted to say that you should never flush a fish or throw them in any body of water, dead or alive. If he's sick with anything contagious, or has parasites, it can spread to other fish.

 

I actually do work at petsmart and I was leaning towards guppies.. I don't spend much time at the fish wall so I don't know our exact stock but I know sometimes when I have to cashier I see people buying these gorgeous little sunburst guppies and I definitely want some of those. I like the idea of platys growing up my parents had a fish tank stocked with "mickey mouse" platys and they were cute. however i'm leaning away from platys and more towards something like 6 danios (seems to be the minimum school size according to my research thus far) and 3 male guppies? and maybe like 5 ghost shrimp and two mystery snails? but i'm not sure if that's trying to cram too many folks in a small tank.

Danios are very active and need a lot of swimming room so not the best choice for a 10 gallon. You'd be better off getting 6 neon tetras or glowlight tetras--people generally recommend more than 10 gallons for these too, but at least they're smaller and less active than danios. Do see if your store carries endlers or endler guppies (a hybrid of endlers and guppies) though.

 

I just wanted to say that you should never flush a fish or throw them in any body of water, dead or alive. If he's sick with anything contagious, or has parasites, it can spread to other fish.

oh dear I never knew that. well I will give him a humble land burial then flush some rose petals in his honor.

Danios are very active and need a lot of swimming room so not the best choice for a 10 gallon. You'd be better off getting 6 neon tetras or glowlight tetras--people generally recommend more than 10 gallons for these too, but at least they're smaller and less active than danios. Do see if your store carries endlers or endler guppies (a hybrid of endlers and guppies) though.

oh see I thought it was the opposite and that neon tetras were too active for a 10 gallon.

 

Danios are very active and need a lot of swimming room so not the best choice for a 10 gallon. You'd be better off getting 6 neon tetras or glowlight tetras--people generally recommend more than 10 gallons for these too, but at least they're smaller and less active than danios. Do see if your store carries endlers or endler guppies (a hybrid of endlers and guppies) though.

Celestial pearl danios are not super active. Anyway they only get to less than an inch long. A standard 10 gallon tank is 20" long so is more than 20 times their length so they have more room to swim than say tiger barbs in a 20 gallon for example.
Neon tetras need a bigger tank than 10 gallons.

 

Celestial pearl danios are not super active. Anyway they only get to less than an inch long. A standard 10 gallon tank is 20" long so is more than 20 times their length so they have more room to swim than say tiger barbs in a 20 gallon for example.
Neon tetras need a bigger tank than 10 gallons.

Sure, celestial pearl danios. If her store has those by all means get them--probably more than 6. Since she was replying to my comment about fish available at Petsmart/Petco, I thought she meant zebra danios (or glofish danios, same species) which are the only kind I've seen at those stores. Well, I think I've seen giant danios at a Petco, but those are even less suitable for a 10 gallon! I agree that neon tetras ought to have a bigger tank, but they'd do far better in a 10 gallon than zebra danios would.

augustusbloop, if you meant celestial pearl danios then they are certainly a good choice. I've just never seen them outside of specialty fish stores. Sorry for any confusion.

 

thank yall for the all suggestions, I will probably try to get my plants, guppies, and snail from my store for the sake of discounts, and then venture out to the local specialty fish shop to find the cpd's and perhaps some more interesting types of shrimp (my store only stocks ghost shrimp but i've seen some quite fancy varieties on the store's instagram). i've been meaning to check them out anyway, I just hadn't had a reason until now !

 

thank yall for the all suggestions, I will probably try to get my plants, guppies, and snail from my store for the sake of discounts, and then venture out to the local specialty fish shop to find the cpd's and perhaps some more interesting types of shrimp (my store only stocks ghost shrimp but i've seen some quite fancy varieties on the store's instagram). i've been meaning to check them out anyway, I just hadn't had a reason until now !

I would try to do 8 celestial pearl danios and 1 male guppy. Another option instead of celestial pearl danios would be gold ring danios.
If you get ghost shrimp make sure they are ghost shrimp and not whisker shrimp which can catch and eat small fish.

 

and I plan to replace 1/2 the gravel and give a good rinse to the rest to cleanse but still retain a bit of the good bacteria that's been built up over the years. I recently changed the sponge and charcoal in my filter, would it be recommended to change the bio media as well? I plan to let the tank run for a couple weeks or so before adding new tennants, checking the parameters to make sure it's safe first.

You have received lots of good suggestions so I won't comment on that but did want to say a few things about the transition.

Since you have recently changed the sponge and charcoal and plan on removing and replacing some and cleaning the rest of your gravel it wouldn't be a good idea to also change the bio-media. By doing what you already have done and plan on doing you will be taking out a lot of the bacteria. Some lives on the gravel and every other surface in the tank but the majority lives on the media in your filter.

If you are going to leave the tank for a couple of weeks with no livestock in it you will need to add an ammonia source to continue feeding the bacteria or it will start dying off.

 

You have received lots of good suggestions so I won't comment on that but did want to say a few things about the transition.

Since you have recently changed the sponge and charcoal and plan on removing and replacing some and cleaning the rest of your gravel it wouldn't be a good idea to also change the bio-media. By doing what you already have done and plan on doing you will be taking out a lot of the bacteria. Some lives on the gravel and every other surface in the tank but the majority lives on the media in your filter.

If you are going to leave the tank for a couple of weeks with no livestock in it you will need to add an ammonia source to continue feeding the bacteria or it will start dying off.

Thank you for the tip! What would be a safe way to add ammonia? Should I maybe add some ghost shrimp to start with while I get the cycle going? I don’t want to add anything I’d miss too much if it died

 

Thank you for the tip! What would be a safe way to add ammonia? Should I maybe add some ghost shrimp to start with while I get the cycle going? I don’t want to add anything I’d miss too much if it died

Ghost shrimp are super sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, so they would just die.
Look into maybe borrowing a fish (my LFS does this woth convict cichlids) or getting a hardy fish like a rosy red minnow and leaving it in for a month

 

Thank you for the tip! What would be a safe way to add ammonia? Should I maybe add some ghost shrimp to start with while I get the cycle going? I don’t want to add anything I’d miss too much if it died

Dosing pure ammonia daily would be the best option imo

 

Thank you for the tip! What would be a safe way to add ammonia? Should I maybe add some ghost shrimp to start with while I get the cycle going? I don’t want to add anything I’d miss too much if it died

As long as you don't strip this tank down and totally restart it I have to assume that it is cycled right now. If at all possible you could get a bottle of pure ammonia and use it to continue feeding your cycle. Your little betta friend is doing it right now but if he swims under the Rainbow Bridge his ammonia will have to be replaced with either more fish or another ammonia source.

Lots of folks have found Pure ammonia at Ace Hardware or they use Dr Tims ammonium chloride. Just make sure the ammonia you get has no additives in it. If you shake it and the bubbles don't dissipate quickly then it has soap and you don't want that.

 

my dear boy Augustus is on his last leg and I believe he's at the point of no return, laying on the bottom of the tank occasionally trying to swim up only to drift back down to the bottom. he's had tumors growing along his back for the past year and they've finally swallowed him up I believe. a burial at "sea" is planned, there will be a few words said, a toy gun three-volley salute, and a recording played of taps during the flush. it's just a matter of waiting for the swim reaper to come and take his spirit from me now.
I knew this day would come but I was hoping it wouldn't be so soon only ten days after his 2nd birthday. but I had been saying for a while, when he does pass, I wanted to dedicate his tank to be the Augustus Bloop Academy for Small Fishies (any suggestions for where I can get a small plaque engraved?), a small scale community tank, but I haven't the slightest clue what to put in a 10 gallon other than shrimp and snails. worse come to worse I may just get a small female betta and name her augustine, daughter of bloop.

anyway, what I also need advice on is the transition itself. I have a pretty standard 10 gallon tank with a lighted hood, there's two settings besides "off", there's the nice white lights and then the fancy blue lights that's probably meant for glo fish. I have a small heater in the tank, and it's filtered by a fluval aquaclear 30 power filter with a baffle to prevent too much surface disturbance. I also have a little airstone that supplies effects to a volcano shape. two pretty big decorations that provide hiding places, a marimo moss ball, and some fake plants that I intend to toss out and replace with real plants (suggestions please), and I plan to replace 1/2 the gravel and give a good rinse to the rest to cleanse but still retain a bit of the good bacteria that's been built up over the years. I recently changed the sponge and charcoal in my filter, would it be recommended to change the bio media as well? I plan to let the tank run for a couple weeks or so before adding new tennants, checking the parameters to make sure it's safe first.

I work at one of the big chain pet stores so i'd prefer fish I can buy with my employee discount.

TL;DR
I need stock recommendations for a 10 gallon heated tank
I need live plant recommendations for said tank
I need to know how to transition a tank that a fish died in to a tank that new fish will thrive in

Put in tetras of all kinds

 

I would not do that. There are a select few tetras suitable for a 10 gallon aquarium, none of which will be found in a petco or petsmart.
I suggest guppies, as a personal favorite.