Suggestions for a 10 US gal tank

[Timkatt]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some fish suggestions for a 10 gal. tank. First let me give
you the local water break down

pH:7.6
GH:140ppm
KH:120ppm
no live plants, there's a castle, and a few other decorations. I was
thinking of going possibly with a pair of gourami's or Blue Rams or maybe a
pair of some Apistogramma species. I'm looking for something colorful that
will not out grow the tank.

Thanks,

-The Timkatt

[Sue]

With those water parameters the fish that spring to mind are either male
guppies or Shelldwelling cichlids.
( you can't mix these)

Five female bettas could be another option.

The tank is too small for Rams & most smaller apistos would prefer softer
conditions.

[NetMax]

"Sue" > wrote in message
...
> With those water parameters the fish that spring to mind are either
> male guppies or Shelldwelling cichlids.
> ( you can't mix these)
>
> Five female bettas could be another option.
>
> The tank is too small for Rams & most smaller apistos would prefer
> softer conditions.


I'm not sure you could find 5 females (Bettas ;~) who would get along in
a 10g tank.

How about 4 Golden White Cloud minnows, a Black Paradise fish and an
Apple snail. That might be a combination where everyone keeps themselves
amused. Replace the Golden WCMs with same number of Harlequin rasboras
if that's your taste.

As always, ymmv, so start with a *small* Paradise fish.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Elaine T]

Timkatt wrote:
> Hey everyone,
>
> I'm looking for some fish suggestions for a 10 gal. tank. First let me give
> you the local water break down
>
> pH:7.6
> GH:140ppm
> KH:120ppm
> no live plants, there's a castle, and a few other decorations. I was
> thinking of going possibly with a pair of gourami's or Blue Rams or maybe a
> pair of some Apistogramma species. I'm looking for something colorful that
> will not out grow the tank.

I wouldn't try blue rams in your water. They're hard enough to keep if
you're lucky and have soft tap water. Apistogramma caucatoides are less
picky about water conditions than most other dwarf cichlids so I'd look
for those if you want South Americans. There's a colorful "triple red"
strain. Dwarf gouramis would be a good choice, although the females
really aren't very colorful. You've also got water that would be well
suited to fancy guppies, if you like those.

Another thought is N. ocellatus "gold". They're aggressive little
gold-colored shell dwelling Tanganyikan cichlids with fascinating
behaviors. They don't have quite the color of guppies or gouramis but
they make up for it in personality and would be very likely to spawn in
your tank. You would want to add some crushed coral to bring your pH
and hardness up quite high for the ocellatus.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Timkatt]

Thanks, Elaine T,

One other question, can I add crushed coral to into my filter or would I be
better off using it as a substrate?

[Elaine T]

Timkatt wrote:
> Thanks, Elaine T,
>
> One other question, can I add crushed coral to into my filter or would I be
> better off using it as a substrate?
>
>
Either works very well. I like darker colored substrates so I tend to
add it to my filter. Some filters don't have much extra room, so then
mix it with the substrate. N. ocellatus love to excavate around their
shells, so they're more fun to watch with coarse sand rather than gravel.

This is a *very* aggressive little fish. Be sure to offer plenty of
Neothauma shells - 2-3 per fish is good. Also put some rocks or plastic
plants in for cover and to mark territory boundaries. I would try a
trio with one male and two females, but you may lose one of the females
depending on where the territory lines end up being drawn.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[danny]

i KNOW from past experience you should not put any type of guppy and no
neon tetras, these fish are so sensative, i put guppys in as my first
fish and they died within a week
i would proberbly have phantom tetras or platys
nothing sensetive for the first 4 weeks until the tank is fully cycled
this usually takes about 30 days i would reccomend putting hardy fish
in to start.

im sorry if anyone dissagrees with me

[danny]

i missed this out in the last post,
zebra dianos they are prtetty hardy
or rummy nose tetras.

[lgb]

In article . com>,
says...
> i would proberbly have phantom tetras or platys
> nothing sensetive for the first 4 weeks until the tank is fully cycled
> this usually takes about 30 days i would reccomend putting hardy fish
> in to start.
>

What's wrong with good old household ammonia? It's very hardy :-).

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[coolchinchilla]

danny wrote:
> i missed this out in the last post,
> zebra dianos they are prtetty hardy
> or rummy nose tetras.
>

Can I put in a plug for a fishless cycle again? Much more humane.
Think of the ammonia and nitrites burning the gills of these starter
fish. They survive but they don't thrive.

fishless cycle explained:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html

coolchinchilla

[JG]

Go with a planted tank of Poecilia endlers.
"Timkatt" > wrote in message
...
> Hey everyone,
>
> I'm looking for some fish suggestions for a 10 gal. tank. First let me
> give
> you the local water break down
>
> pH:7.6
> GH:140ppm
> KH:120ppm
> no live plants, there's a castle, and a few other decorations. I was
> thinking of going possibly with a pair of gourami's or Blue Rams or maybe
> a
> pair of some Apistogramma species. I'm looking for something colorful
> that
> will not out grow the tank.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -The Timkatt
>
>

[danny]

sure but putting fish in helps kickstart the cycle

[danny]

lol

[sophie]

danny said this:
> sure but putting fish in helps kickstart the cycle

no more so than adding a pinch of fishfood daily, as I understand it.
>



--
sophie

[danny]

really?
thanks sophie
i can keep this in mind when i set up my next tank so the fish dont
have to suffer

[sophie]

danny said this:
> really?
> thanks sophie
> i can keep this in mind when i set up my next tank so the fish dont
> have to suffer
>

the thing that feeds the filter bacteria is decomposing organic matter;
whether it comes out of a fish or not doesn't make a lot of difference. Might
take an extra couple of days without fish as fish produce ammonia directly.
When you set up your next tank you won't need to cycle it as such; you can
add the bacteria directly by squeezing out your filter media from the
original tank into the new tank. Just make sure your old tank is disease-free
first :-/

--
sophie

[sophie]

sophie said this:
> danny said this:
>> really?
>> thanks sophie
>> i can keep this in mind when i set up my next tank so the fish dont
>> have to suffer
>>
>
> the thing that feeds the filter bacteria is decomposing organic matter;
> whether it comes out of a fish or not doesn't make a lot of difference. Might

> take an extra couple of days without fish as fish produce ammonia directly.
> When you set up your next tank you won't need to cycle it as such; you can
> add the bacteria directly by squeezing out your filter media from the
> original tank into the new tank. Just make sure your old tank is disease-free

> first :-/
>
>

and, a thread above reminds me, don't add loads of fish at once.

--
sophie