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10G stocking help

Started by poisson, April 14, 2017, 08:25:24 PM

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poisson

Hi all,

I'm going to be redoing my 10 gallon tank soon (tomorrow?). It will be dirted, planted, and have black gravel and sand top substrate. Now, I really wanted to put some (~6) salt-and-pepper (or maybe pygmy) corys in it, but my grandparents have requested colorful fish that are big enough for them to easily see. They are missing the barbs that have since moved to my room.

I was considering going with a happy medium by just getting a relatively bright centerpiece/mid to high-level swimmer, but the options I've seen (dwarf gourami, betta, honey gourami) apparently prefer calmer water. This is the opposite of what corys apparently prefer and what I currently have, so I don't think those species would be too happy.

Does somebody have other suggestions? I was considering getting a few (3? not much of a school...) bright male guppies instead of a single centerpiece fish, but I'd prefer to lean toward being understocked rather than overstocked. If anyone has any other suggestions or has any opinions on the options I've listed (guppies, dwarf gourami, betta), I'd be grateful for the help!


Thanks,

poisson

rivermuse

I was thinking of the same for my 10 G planted, my 4 year old wants to see different colors, than same patterned schoolers. So I'm considering Male Endlers (various colors, as pastel as possible) or Male Guppies.

Male guppies may be a better choice in your case as they are larger than endlers.

Will see if anyone else have other suggestions.


poisson

Quote from: rivermuse on April 15, 2017, 06:07:38 PM
I was thinking of the same for my 10 G planted, my 4 year old wants to see different colors, than same patterned schoolers. So I'm considering Male Endlers (various colors, as pastel as possible) or Male Guppies.

Male guppies may be a better choice in your case as they are larger than endlers.

Will see if anyone else have other suggestions.


Thanks for the suggestion! I didn't consider endlers. I like the reduced bio-load that would come with the smaller size...

Gilbotron

Instead of large and colourful fish you could go with a good tight schooler which would be highly visible - ember tetras, neon/cardinal tetras, or chili rasboras would all be very striking with the dark substrate.  Not very active and teeny tiny so you could have a good number of them.  Croaking gouramis are also tiny and bright, but don't really school IME.

If you want lots of action, zebra/leopard danios are fun.  Not the brightest colours but you can always see them them from across the room due to their constant zipping around high in the tank. 

A pair of Peacock Gudgeons (I just added 2 to my 10), or Balloon Rams (hard to find) would make nice small centrepieces in addition to a school of any of the above (or endlers/guppies).  Maybe a German ram?  I've never kept them but I think they stay small and might be ok in a 10 (more research req'd).




rivermuse

Danios, Thanks! yes, people overlook these these days. During the ovas auction I saw some Ruby Danios (I think thats the name) that were on sale, they were beautiful and super active inside the plastic bag! Do you know if Danios can be mixed or they need to be a school of same pattern?. If they can be mixed, you could put 4-5 danios of various colors. There are rubies, golden zebras, regulars etc., may be hard to find varieties though. But you will need to find if they can be mixed like guppies and endlers.

(When I was a kid I had a community tank with just one zebra danio and he seemed happy and lived quite a long life, back then I had no idea about schooling fish etc.,)

poisson

Yes, after looking at my tank again and seeing how much space is taken up by the substrate and driftwood, getting smaller schoolers does seem like the way to go. I think pygmy cories will also be happier than salt-and-pepper cories.

Those chili tetras look rather cute. And the dwarf croaking gouramis do as well, though I think that they wouldn't be bright enough. I'll look into ruby danios as well. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Gilbotron

Danios aren't exactly directional schoolers (i.e. move as a single unit like harlequin rasboras or ember tetras), but they're so active that they sometimes appear to be, especially in a smaller tank like a 10.  Not sure about different species schooling together, but I don't think it would matter much in that size tank - they'll be all over the tank all the time.  They do fin nip each other and for that reason I don't recommend the hi-fin ones as they tend to look tattered rather quickly when in a smaller tank or in a smaller school. 

Croaking gouramis have a really nice sparkle once they colour up, but they aren't very active and tend to hide in the plants most of the time, so they won't be visible from across the room like danios or the bright tetras would.  But at least you would hear them from across the room...