# Fish for 10 gallon tank



## Guest

I have been thinking about what fish I should put in my 10 gallon tank after I cycle it. I am going to put one of my male bettas in my 10 gallon tank to cycle it and then once it is cycled I want to put some fish in it. I was thinking neon tetras, zebra danios, guppies, or some other fish that stay small. I would like to put some hatchet fish in it but they tend to jump if there are any openings in the top. 

So my questions are what fish would be good to put in my 10 gallon tank when I get it fully cycled? How long does it take to cycle a 10 gallon tank?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions on fish that stay small.


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## grogan

Depending on your fish store availability there are several nano fish options. 

Galaxy rasbora
Scarlet bada bada
Peacock gudgeon 
Neon flame goby 
Thread fin rainbow

these are just a few nano fish I keep. Good call on going with small fish. You can put so much more in a smaller tank.


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## emc7

Tanks all take the same time to 'cycle', but you need to pay special attention in small tanks as it is easier to 'kill the cycle' with an ammonia spike and force you to start over.


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## lmb

Since you are doing a fish - in cycle with your betta, I would recommend that you add a bacterial additive (Such as Tetra SafeStart, I recommend it the most) to help along the way. Why I recommend adding the bacterial additive is so that you don't have to keep doing water changes (To keep the ammonia and nitrite down for the betta) or possibly kill the betta, but instead make the conditions liveable for the betta. Usually when you add TSS (Tetra SafeStart), it will take around a total of 10 days or a week to two weeks to cycle, but don't test your tank or do any water changes until the 10 days after the addition passes (Just read the directions). 

Make sure to have a test kit as well so that you can test your tank every so often when it is cycling. Also, make sure that you have a liquid test kit, not testing strips as they are highly inaccurate and give false results each time (I personally recommend going out and getting the API Master Freshwater Liquid Test kit - worth it's money). Once your tank is done cycling, you should have the following parameters: 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5 - 20 Nitrate and 6.0 - 8.0 pH.

It really depends on how long it takes a tank to cycle. If you seed the tank, it will generally cycle faster than it originally does or instantly cycles if added enough. Same goes for bacterial additives.. it speeds up the cycle (But they need to be added with fish). Generally from my experience, most fish out cycles tank up to 3 - 5 weeks to cycle. 

Once your tank is finally cycled, you may presume to adding some fish. Do you plan on keeping the betta in the tank, or are you just using it to cycle? If you are planning on keeping it in there, then it may depend on if you can have tank-mates, but always make sure to have a backup plan if anything goes wrong. If you plan on taking it out, there are many choices to a 10 gallon tanks such as: Neon Tetra, Ember Tetra, Red Cherry Shrimp, Crystal Red Shrimp, Pygmy Corydora, Honey Gourami, etc. Just a side note as well, make sure not to add too many fish at a time (3 - 6 fish per every two weeks after adding fish before).


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## Guest

lmb: I plan to just use the betta for the cycling of my ten gallon. Since they are hardy fish and can survive in just about any condition, I figured that it would be a good choice. 

I plan on adding fish sometime next month when I have the money. I will look for sales on the fish that stay small and get about 6 if I can find some for 99 cents at the petstores here in Bremerton, WA. 

I like the neon tetras, emerald cories; I saw some white clouds but I am not sure if they stay small, do they?; 

I have BettaSafe, will this work at speeding up the cycling of the tank with the betta?


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## lmb

I'm not really sure what betta safe is exactly..?

Emerald cories don't belong in a 10 gallon aquarium. Cories are just too active for the footprint of a 10 gallon, plus, being one of the larger cories they need a bigger tank (Just as a 30 gallon aquarium).

White clouds are great for a 10 gallon aquarium, but sadly they are a temperate fish (Coldwater).


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## Guest

What cories would be good for my 10 gallon tank? 

BettaSafe is like a water conditioner, makes the water safe for bettas. Also I can use it for all ornamental fish, so it says.

I think that I will think about what fish I want in my 10 gallon as I am cycling the tank. Any more suggestions on fish that stay small would be greatly appreciated.


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## lmb

The only cories that would be able to fit in a 10 gallon aquarium are Pygmy Corydora, but they are a little harder to keep than normal Corydora and need a well established tank before that addition of them (Meaning the tank has to be past it's cycle - with stable parameters - prior to adding them). Other Cories, on the other hand are just way too active for the foot print of a 10 gallon. 

After some research on BettaSafe, it's only a water condition for any fish. But it will not help with the cycle because it's only a water conditioner, not a bacterial additive.


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## Fishpunk

Don't get zebra danios. They may look suitable for a 10 gallon tank but they require a LOT of swimming space as they are very active fish.

In my small tanks (10 and under) I have Dario dario, rice fish, bumblebee gobies, desert gobies, Least killies, guppies, Pachypanchax playfairii (a non-annual killie), and a betta, Not all in the same tank.

Least killies (heterandria formosa) are ideal for small tanks as they stay tiny and are pretty robust. By the way, they are mis-named livebearers.

Also, neons tend not to do well in hard water.


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## Guest

Fishpunk: Will you post pics of your fish that are in your 10 and under gallon tanks? I would like to see them. Maybe I will be interested in getting a few for my 10 gallon tank.


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## Guest

Thank you lmb, I will be doing frequent water changes then. I know that bettas can handle twice a week water changes. Does this sound good to do? Or how often should I change the water when I am cycling the tank? I am not able to get the Tetra SafeStart at this moment.


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## Guest

Fishpunk: I have stress coat and stress zyme to put in the 10 gallon tank if I choose neon tetras. I would like to go with an unusual fish that will stay small and I can have a school of them.


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## ZebraDanio12

Zebra Danios were my first fish and ive kept them in both 20 and 10 and they are fine. Never had any problems and only two have died sense getting them a year ago. Guppies are nice until the multiply. I have whiteclouds now and they are beautiful. I love to see them display their fins. Neons are cool. Really its up to you, but all you have suggested, in my experience, are good.


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## Guest

Yeah I am getting a general idea of what would be good in my 10 gallon because I don't want to overstock it and I want fish that stay small and would be good to have.

Thank you for all your suggestions, I have a lot to think about. This is going to be a very hard decision, but worth it. I will look at the petstores and see what they have and such.


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## overland54

endlers and cherry shrimp or otos? white clouds with a hillstream loach. Killifish are awesome too


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## lmb

I would be doing at least a partial water change a day. I know, it's a lot of work by its either that or dead fish. One water change a week won't be enough to keep the ammonia down for long.


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## Fishpunk

Angelclown said:


> Fishpunk: I have stress coat and stress zyme to put in the 10 gallon tank if I choose neon tetras. I would like to go with an unusual fish that will stay small and I can have a school of them.


I can do that but probably not until next week. Although, if you look left you will see a desert goby.


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## Fishpunk

ZebraDanio12 said:


> Zebra Danios were my first fish and ive kept them in both 20 and 10 and they are fine.


We had this same argument about goldfish in a bowl for 6 years. Fine is not the same as optimal.


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## Obsidian

Zebra Danio Optimal Conditions: Streams in India and similar countries. They will be fine in a 10, just don't get a ton of them. Obviously bigger is better. But that is true regardless of the size of tank you get regardless of the fish. Imagine taking a reef fish and putting it in a little aquarium. You just took the entire ocean away from them. 

I had Zebra's in a 10 and Zebra's in a 100ga (the same Zebra's). In the 10 they bred, in the 100 they did not. In the 10 they enjoyed each others company. In the 100 they did not. In the 10 they swam around a lot. In the 100 they swam around a lot. I kept them in a 5.5 and they were good in there. I had them breed in there to raise the fry. Then back into the 10.


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## Guest

Fishpunk said:


> We had this same argument about goldfish in a bowl for 6 years. Fine is not the same as optimal.


This is true about fine being not the same as optimal. I want optimal because I want to enjoy the fish for its whole life not just part of its life.

Yeah goldfish are not for bowls. If a person wants to keep a fish in a bowl, they should get a betta. Bettas are the only fish that I know of that can survive in a small space and without a heater. Goldfish cannot survive in a small space, but they can survive without a heater.


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## phlyergirl

I've also successfully kept a small group of zebras in a 10g. They were happy, believe me. Their life was food, playing and sex. :lol: Who wouldn't love that? I think sometimes things become conventional wisdom because people hear an opinion, think it makes sense, and repeat it often as gospel truth while having no experience with that particular thing. Such as NO SALT WITH CORYS EVER EVER EVER!!! Don't change lots of water when cycling! Tosh. I've salted to .3% with corys and they did fine, no change in appetite, behavior, no illness, no deaths, nothing. I cycled with fish doing 90% water changes every day and it didn't take any longer than normal. I've kept zebra danios in a 10g and they did great. Maybe I'm just a dummy that got lucky with these things, but maybe not. :lol: I also keep 4 goldfish in a 55g and 2 in a 40g and can't imagine them confined to a bowl or even a 10 gallon. In fact, seeing goldfish stuffed in a bowl makes me really sad. 

Remember years back when the "conventional wisdom" was that you could keep bettas in a vase with a peace lily and they would eat the roots so you didn't need to feed them? How about one inch per gallon no matter what kind of fish? And don't forget to change those filter cartridges once a month! Yeah. Don't believe everything you hear.

No offense to you Fishpunk and I know from reading your posts that you absolutely know what you're talking about, just thinking in general about this kind of thing lately.

Sorry to hijack your thread Angelclown. :chair:


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## Guest

That is okay phlyergirl. Not a problem.


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## Guest

lmb: Stress zyme+ contains live bacteria. It says that it contains millions of live bacteria that speed the development of the biological filter to eliminate ammonia and nitrite. Can I use this to cycle my 10 gallon?


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## lmb

Stress Zyme may work, but I don't guarantee (Since I have personally never used it).

Go ahead and use it, read the directions and then tell us how it goes.


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## Guest

Ok. I will let you know how it goes with it. Thank you for being so kind everyone.


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## Fishpunk

phlyergirl said:


> No offense to you Fishpunk and I know from reading your posts that you absolutely know what you're talking about, just thinking in general about this kind of thing lately.



I'm not always right, butmost of the time I can back up what I say with a reference when it's not a fish I keep.


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## emc7

TFH has an article on stocking a 10 gallon tank this month.


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## Guest

Please provide me the link so that I can look at it.


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## Fishpunk

TFH is a subscription online magazine or a paper magazine you can get at Petco or PetSmart.


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## Fishy friend2

Angelclown said:


> lmb: Stress zyme+ contains live bacteria. It says that it contains millions of live bacteria that speed the development of the biological filter to eliminate ammonia and nitrite. Can I use this to cycle my 10 gallon?


Stress zyme never worked for me.


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## Fishy friend2

Take a look at this, angleclown
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/116208-recommendations-for-a-10-gallon/


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## Guest

Thank you Fishy friend2. I will look for endlers, I like the color and I will look for pygmy cories. That way I have some bottom feeders and they can keep my tank clean as well. I hope that I can find endlers here in Bremerton, WA. There are only three pet stores here, so I hope that I find some endlers.


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## emc7

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/blogs/2011/12/16/stocking-a-10-gallon-community-tank/

Maybe this is what I saw. Often you can get one free digital issue. I know I can get 14 days of a bunch of publications on my nook.


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## overland54

I got my endlers from pet pourri in everett, a bit impractical for bremerton but its an awesome pet store if you ever feel like going on a drive


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