# stocking a 10 gal



## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

I have recently setup a 10 gallon planted tank, but i need suggestions for what kind of fish and how many to stock it with. i am going to shop for fish tomorrrow. what is a good list?


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## Jonno (May 22, 2005)

well i always think tetras look great in a planted tank really brings out the colour and maybe put a few cherry shrimps in there!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

What about a betta?


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## DUSTIN323 (Sep 21, 2005)

I have a 10 g with a betta and twin bar platies


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

Is the tank cycled? What kind of fish have you kept before, if any?


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## cucci67 (Aug 3, 2005)

That is very true, the tank must be cycled before any fish are put in, unless you want to do a fish cycle.


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

i put some cycle in it, and ive been told that plants take care of the ammonia in the tank.

"Putting the plants in first means you may not even need the cycle...plants consume ammonia after all...some planted tanks never cycle at all because the plants consume just as fast as the fish can create"


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

i'm pretty sure that this one is true guys, I think I remember simpte talking about it. The plants help with nitrites too (i think). Cycle doesnt really work as great as bio spira, how long have you had the tank setup with the filter running?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Plants will help with the NH4 and No2 but remember, they may or may not be able to handle your bioload. (3 plants cant use up enough Nh4 that 2 oscars would produce). You should still add slowly.


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

a small tetra school would look good or maybe 2 honey gouramis. Or a paradise fish and a apple snaill to clean up


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

its been running since monday. I cant get bio-spira around here...


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

what about seachem stability?


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

havent seen it... right now i just did a ammonia and nitrIte test, both are at 0. I dont have a nitrAte test yet. also PH is 7


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

About the plants' ability to absorb ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate: it depends on
(a) the number of plants you have in the tank
(b) how fast the plants grow
(c) the bioload of your tank

If you have lots of fast-growing plants, like hygros, vallis, hownwort, Mexican oak-leaf and floating plants, and you don't add too many fish at once, you won't have a problem. But very few people who are new to fishkeeping start out with anything like enough plants, or the right type. Experienced planted tank owners like Simpte know exactly what to plant and how to grow them, and he probably doesn't even get ammonia readings in a new tank!


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## waynside (Aug 21, 2005)

how about:
(6) cardinal tetras or black neons
(2) otto's
and a few shrimp

If I were to do a 10 gal...thats what I would do...good luck to ya!


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Just in case you're still looking for ideas, I have a 10 gallon tank with
2 full sized apple snails (Pomacea bridgesii)
1 small apple snail (Asolene spixi)
about a dozen 3mm pest snails
6 neon tetras
I will add some cherry shrimp, maybe abother neon or two, and probably put one of the big snails somewhere else, and that will be the final tank.


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## Lara (Sep 4, 2005)

It would make a lovely home for a single beta and some cories or a bristlenose pleco. Otherwise how about a pair of dwarf gourami's? There aren't many fish that will be happy in or stay small enough for a 10 gallon. 

Good luck


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

What about one dwarf gourami, a school of small fish (tetras, danios, or small non-agressive barbs), 1-2 otos, and some ghost shrimp? You need to make sure you don't add all those fish at once, though. Just add a few at a time.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

cycle is crud... whoever sold you it either A) was trying to make a buck, or B) didn't know what they were doing... if you baught the cycle on your own, don't feel bad, it happens, but stability is a lot better at cycling a tank than cycle is, and Biospira is in a league of its own. Plants alone don't ALWAYS work, especially for someone who doesn't know what plants to put in, how to get them to grow properly (lots of light, co2, and ferilizer), and most of the time when people add plants and don't know what they are doing they get a fouled up system because the plants die adding to ammonia and then the fish die too.


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

well i still dont know what to do... wait longer or get fish? ammonia is 0 and nitrite is 0


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

If you're not adding a source of ammonia (fish, ****tail shrimp, or pure ammonia) of course your ammonia and nitrite will be 0!

Unless you're a fairly experienced planted tank person (that is, you know which plants are fast-growing and you know how to take care of them to make them grow fast), I would recommend against relying on your plants helping you through the cycle.

The way I see it, you have three options:

If the list of fish you want to add includes really tough ones, like danios or small barbs like cherry barbs, then buy two or three of them and do a fishy cycle. After the cycle is over add the remainder of whatever (danios or cherry barbs) to make a school. 

If not (your list only only includes tetras and gouramis, for example) then do a fishless cycle by adding a dead raw ****tail shrimp or pure ammonia.

Find some Seachem Stability or Bio-spira and add whatever fish/critters you want.

Your choice!


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Huh... I though people who were writing pea**** instead of pea c o c k (for example) were just being silly, but I see from my above post that it's done automatically. Is there any way of turning this off? People here are pretty sensible and won't be using these 4 letters as a dirty word, but will be using it as parts of sensible words, like c o c k tail or pea c o c k. And if they do use it as a dirty word, they'll get jumped on by the other posters for using bad language!


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

alright, silly me though cycle was good...  the stores around here suck, they carry anything but the good stuff. alright i'll go for a few fish to cycle


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

I bought 3 zebra danio for the cycle and a nitrate test kit


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Good, if the nirates are slightly above zero then you are on the right track to having a balanced aquarium.


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

Cichlid Man said:


> Good, if the nirates are slightly above zero then you are on the right track to having a balanced aquarium.


i tested it and it said zero nitrates haha.. so ive got no ammonia,nitrites or trates


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

hmmm.......if I was you i'd just keep the 3 danios for now, and once your nitrates start to build up, (but not your ammonia), then you can start adding more fish.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Also, make sure your nitrite levels stay down, if they increase then do regular water changes.


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

Cichlid Man said:


> hmmm.......if I was you i'd just keep the 3 danios for now, and once your nitrates start to build up, (but not your ammonia), then you can start adding more fish.


i plan on that. the danios seem to be having fun in the plants


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

how well would cherry barbs do in the tank? or rasbora heteromorpha?


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

10 g is too small for cherrys, but how about a school of 6 guppy males and an apple snail? or you could put amano shrimps instead of the snail.


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## Lara (Sep 4, 2005)

Yes, you could do Harlequin raspora (_Trigonostigma heteromorpha_) or dwarf (spotted) raspora (_Boraras maculatus_), both of these are very cool fish and it would be OK to have a small school in a 10g, they prefer acidic (6.5) water though so this will influence what else you keep with them


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

osteoporoosi said:


> 10 g is too small for cherrys, but how about a school of 6 guppy males and an apple snail? or you could put amano shrimps instead of the snail.


I like the guppy idea but i dont know if i can find a snail around here. plus, i read if you have plants not to buy a snail because they eat the leaves


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## cucci67 (Aug 3, 2005)

You should be able to get snails from any LFS. Most stores carry either apple or mystery snails. Also if you want a smaller snail, you can just ask for Malaysian trumpet snails and they should give it to you.


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

how long should it take for nitrates to start to show up?


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Some snails eat plants, but most don't (in my experience). The real offenders for eating plants are some of the varieties of apple snails. Pomacea canaliculata and Marisas (giant Comumbian ramshorn) eat plants, Pomacea bridgesii don't. Look to 
http://www.applesnail.net
for info on how to tell them apart.

(In the US, generally P. canaliculata are called apple snails and P. bridgesii are called mystery snails. Here in the UK P. bridgesii are called apple snails and I've never seen any others for sale in shops.)

And your ideas of what you could have in the tank after cycling depend on you giving away the zebra danios; you don't have enough space for two schools in such a small tank.


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## Lara (Sep 4, 2005)

Just be wary with apple snails. I think they're super cool but they're big waste producers and you don't really want that in a small tank. I've had a few and they never ate my plants, mind you they did have plenty of algae wafers to steel off my bristly's! Got rid of them in the end due to waste issue.


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

I'd get 3 DPs and a oto/some shrimp


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

after 3 days of fish in the tank, and after 5 days of plants in the tank(they all seem healthy) ntrates,nitrites and ammonia are at zero. could the test kits be old and no good? or does that sound right?


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## AprilRain (Aug 10, 2005)

Sounds like you are having what the planted tank folks call a "silent cycle". If the tank is heavily planted and the bio-load is light, then there will often be no spikes at all.  

-April



pgm30 said:


> after 3 days of fish in the tank, and after 5 days of plants in the tank(they all seem healthy) ntrates,nitrites and ammonia are at zero. could the test kits be old and no good? or does that sound right?


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## pgm30 (Sep 29, 2005)

AprilRain said:


> Sounds like you are having what the planted tank folks call a "silent cycle". If the tank is heavily planted and the bio-load is light, then there will often be no spikes at all.
> 
> -April


ah i see. i take it that is a good thing? there are about 5 or 6 plants in there. i think it looks real nice


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## AprilRain (Aug 10, 2005)

I think so! LOL I love live plants. I HAVE to plant up every tank (1/2 gallon-55 gallon) I have. I've even managed to successfully plant my mbuna tank! hehehehe I wish I had a camera. ::sigh::

-April



pgm30 said:


> ah i see. i take it that is a good thing? there are about 5 or 6 plants in there. i think it looks real nice


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

*All* of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate are 0, with only 5 or 6 plants? No, that doesn't sound right. I would guess that there's something wrong with your tests. Nothing wrong with what you've done so far though: setting up the tank, adding some plants, and then 3 zebra danios is a very good way to start off a tank!

As for apple snails, yup they are big waste producers, but I love 'em! The tank I have them in is very densely planted, including lots of fast-growing floating plants, and I think that helps deal with the waste they produce.

But apple snails don't go with all fish. My neon tetras are wonderful companions to them, as they completely ignore them. Danios have a repuations for nipping badly at the antennae, but people at aplesnail.net report having the rasboras with them successfully.

Shrimp sound cool too. I don't have any yet, but I will soon (as soon as I can find some to buy!).


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