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RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:29:19 GMT

Yes, your mom is right. The list is just fish species choices that can be safely kept in a 10g tank, but you can only pick a few fish from the list. Schooling fish are particularly tricky for small tanks because they require a group of six or more of their own species, which would usually fully stock a 10g tank with one species. So basically, if you want one of the fish listed as schooling fish to stock a 10g tank, you should keep just that one type of fish in the tank (unless it is one of the smallest species like neon or ember tetras, microrasboras, celestial pearl danios, etc, in which case you could probably keep another small fish or two like a dwarf gourami or something else that doesn't mind being alone or in a small group). Does that make sense?

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Tigress — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:08:05 GMT

I think I had misunderstood the fish capacity that was posted. I had figured that someone was trying to say that all the schooling group fish species(which consists of 6 or more) were all meant to be in 1 10 gallon tank and so after mom looked over the list she verified for me that I was mistaken that what everyone meant was that you don't 144 species of all the schooling fish in 1 10 gallon tank becuz that would be wall to wall fish and take up too much space. She said that what she thinks was meant by the list is that you put 6 or more of a few scpecies in the tank. That made more sense to me. Hope my gibber gabber didn't confuse anyone.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

climid — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:52:56 GMT

i know this post is old but i just wanted to add about the bioload: bioload doesnt work well by inches of fish. some fish like plecos make 8 times as much waste as similar size fish while other fish like khlui loaches dont use up the 4 inches theyre suppose to grow too (mine are stable at 3 inches and theyre fairly old).

the type of fish you have are indicators about how much waste and water chanes have to be made. i have kept a clown plco in a 10 gallon and he was probably very happy there in his little cave. however all the waste in the aquarium was to much for me to bear. if your up for weekly poop cleanup by all means get a pleco or other poopy fish (fish with lots of waste).

there are countless of species of fisah possible for a 10 galon aquarium: lots of dwarf cichlids that live in snail shells, badis, celestial pearl danio and the glassfish to name a few.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

jfish13 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:50:35 GMT

yes.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Squid — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:47:02 GMT

would 6 Rummynose Tetras work instead of the above Flame tetras?

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

math-only aquarium — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:37:10 GMT

Danios, as well as a few of the livebearers and many of the cyprinids, are sometimes called "random schoolers" because their tendency to form a shoal is diminished when they coexist in a small environment. For most species, shoaling is a defensive behavior that owes its effectiveness to the strength of the group. Thus, the less secure the fish feel, the more they tend to shoal. In a large environment, the fish feel a little uncomfortable and thus shoal more strongly, but small enviroments feel "secure" and the result is that fish that would shoal under oridinary conditions do not when placed in a small container. However, that does not mean that they cease to require the company of their own species--that's an entirely different matter.

Also, I agree with Hailey on this one. Danios are better suited to a twenty-gallon long than a ten-gallon due to their activity level.

Another stocking setup for a ten-gallon would be:

6 Flame Tetras

1 Female Betta (Females tend to fair better than males in community tanks)

3 Bronze Cory Catfish

According to the inch-per-gallon rule this wouldn't work (you'd be about 9 inches over), but if you take the comparativly small biomass of these fish into account this stocking setup is quite safe so long as you add them incrimentally (you'd be 24% under the bioload capacity of an average ten-gallon).

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

johnny chimpo — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:37:39 GMT

i was asking b/c the topic kind of came up in this thread.....although it was for my 45G (which is 36" long). i had 3 zebra danios in there originally and you suggested adding a few more. a little ways back i took a chance that the glowfish would work (my kid loved them in the store of course) and bought a couple. it's hard to say if they're "schooling" right now. i may need a couple more, but i'm not doing anything with my tank until i get this ich outbreak under control!!!

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

fredburger999 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:19:01 GMT

I have a zebra danio, leopard danio, albino zebra, and a long finned zebra. All of which are brachydanio rerios. They school fine.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:23:22 GMT

I agree. And since zebra danios and "glofish" (genetically modified zebra danios), as well as leopard danios are all the same species, I believe they probably will all school together. The school would be kind of ugly IMO though because of the very different looking fish. And danios are very active for a 10g tank...I don't recommend them for anything under a 24" long tank.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

math-only aquarium — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:37:11 GMT

I'm not Hailey, but I'll be her answer would be something like this:

Schooling species only school with members of their own or very similar species. Thus, the best idea is always to go with 6-10 fish of the same species when buying a school of fish. Also, the prefereed term is shoaling fish--as opposed to schooling fish (whichever you like).

So, as long as the fish are the same species you should be alright.

Actually, I have no clue what Hailey would say, but that is what I would say.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

johnny chimpo — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:24:27 GMT

hailey, would the danios all have to be the same type.....or could you mix and match? I.E. would 3 zebra danios and 3 glowfish (still zebra danios) constitute a school of 6?

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:16:45 GMT

Whiteclouds, neons, and danios are all schooling fish and should have a group that is a minimum of 6.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

pufferfreak — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:52:18 GMT

2 dwarf gouramis
2 khuli loaches
4-5 whiteclouds
or instead of white clouds 4-5 neons
3 zebra danios(excluding the whiteclouds or neons)

thats somewhat similiar to my first tank

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

pufferfreak — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 17:49:30 GMT

for a ten gallon tank you could have

2 dwarf gouramis
3-4 whiteclouds

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Genga — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:07:37 GMT

I would get neon tetras. I would get eight neons and two ghost shrimp. Both are fairly easy to keep and small which is what you need!

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:53:19 GMT

I agree with the above in terms of neons and glowlights, but not cardinals for the reasons I mentioned already.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

fredburger999 — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:38:00 GMT

I'd say you could get a school of 5 cardinal/neon tetras and 5 glowlight tetras (Their color combo is beautiful) or 2 peppered cories, a betta, and 6-8 of the tetras I mentioned.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 05:27:29 GMT

Kissing gouramis are a definite no-no IMO. I've seen specimens that were more than 8 inches. I have found dwarf gouramis to be too territorial (the males at least) to keep a bunch in a small tank though, so I'm not sure about those either. I know that one male and 2-3 females works well, but females are not as pretty so people don't often want them and stores tend to not carry them.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

David Lass — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:38:47 GMT

Not so sure about kissing gouramis. They get to be about 6", and not only would they be the only fish you could keep in your 10, but they would outgrow it very soon.

If you like gouramis, why not a school of 6 or 7 dwarf gouramis, or honey gouramis.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

AcesHobby91 — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:57:43 GMT

a few dwarf puffers in planted tank would do excellent.

6+ schooling fish along with maybe a some kind of small catfish(cory's maybe).

You could try and get a pair of Kissing Gaurami started.

You can keeping a lot of different combinations of fish even in a 10 gallon just make sure to do plenty of water changes, water paraments and you could have many fish in there for many years to come.

Happy fish keeping!

~N

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:15:20 GMT

Cardinals get too big IMO for a 10g (nearly three inches long)...neons are a safer choice. That stocking list is better suited to a 20g-25g tank. I'm not saying this to pick on you...it's just that this is an informational thread designed to give people ideas of what fish are appropriate, and I don't want people getting the wrong ideas. It may work for you, but it probably isn't something that beginners should attempt.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

MistressAlphaFemale — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:50:06 GMT

1 clown pleco

4 Otto Cats

6 Cardainal Tetras

Did I metion some nice plants

Im not a HUGE fan of the 10 gal but makes a great "Growing" tank for the baby fish that keep poping up (AGAIN !! )

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Tubby — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:38:19 GMT

climid (6/18/2007)

what bout bumblebee gobies? couldnt you put those with 2 dwarf puffers to mkae a neat brakish tank?

There are a few brackish water puffers but the Dwarf Puffer is not one of them. They are 100% freshwater. But a pair should be okay in a 10gal.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

climid — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:29:27 GMT

what bout bumblebee gobies? couldnt you put those with 2 dwarf puffers to mkae a neat brakish tank?

also add the blue paradise fish, same order as the bett, a friend from work has a planted display tank for them.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Tigeroo — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:56:22 GMT

I wouldn't add a pleco of any kind to anything smaller than a 20 gallon. They tend to be VERY messy.

In my 2 10 gallons I've got:

Number one: 1 Crowntail Betta (Male), 4 glofish, 2 albino cories, 1 oto, and 2 ghost shrimp (the shrimp are food for the betta)

Number 2: 6 Neons, 3 skunk cories... A Dwarf Gourami used to be in there but got sick and is now in the hospital tank.

BTW... be careful with finding a male and female dwarf gourami if you go that way.... MOST dwarf gouramis in the LFS are MALES (males are brighter in color and sell better.)

-Susan

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

princessotfu — Sun, 13 May 2007 15:00:08 GMT

rubbernose plecos get to be something like 8" long and are not appropriate for a 10 gallon, IMO.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

fishboy5575 — Sun, 13 May 2007 06:17:18 GMT

I would try getting them in Schools

Cherry Barbs

Neon Tetra

Black Neon Tetra

Harlequin Rasboras

Red-Tailed Rasboras

Only Get 6-8 of of one species.

I would only pic one species of fish in groups of 6-8.

Start with a cycled tank.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

andy the racer man — Sun, 06 May 2007 14:51:19 GMT

[]My prefence would be:

4-6 threadfin rainbows, 1 miniture spotted rubbernose pleco,4 amano shrimp,2-3 amazon sword plants, piece of wood

4-6 celebus rainbows, 1minired marblebushynose pleco,4 amanoshrimp, some plants and wood

[]

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

MillieFish — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:04:22 GMT

Just a remark:

If you are thinking about using this list to start a larger tank, say, a 20 gallon tank, you can increase (double) the groups of some of the sociable or schooling fish listed above, but do remember that some fish must be kept alone no matter how large the tank gets. Do not get two or more of the fish listed under “Non-schooling fish so you can have just 1”, especially male bettas. You are still limited to one male betta only.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

princessotfu — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:13:41 GMT

I think bristlenose plecos should be added. They only get to be about 3-4 inches, not the monsters that get to be. Only one or two in a 10 gallon though. And not much else.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

AquariumBrandon — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 11:23:46 GMT

I agree with everyone elses opinions; however if your looking for EASY fish to keep I would recommend Guppy's and Platy's. To my knowledge these are some of the most HARDY fish and easy to take care of as they can handle wide PH, dH, and temperature range.

Also Dwarf Gourami's are nice and easy to keep; however, their temperature requirments are alittle more narrow.

Also keep in mind the more fish you have the more difficult it is to keep.

I would do:

4 Guppy's (4 females) if you want no babies - If you want babies do 1 male and 3 females.

1 Dwarf Gourami

3 Platys and 1 Dwarf Gourami.

Just my suggestion. An upside down catfish would be nice to, but you would have to cut back on some of your other fish

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

goldlenny — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:02:06 GMT

Hailey's updated 10G stocking list with Betta stocking tips.

You want to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches and are slow moving or at least not terribly active (that rules out things like tiger barbs...almost all barbs in fact, danios, most rainbows, etc).

Schooling fish appropriate for a 10 gallon:
(remember to keep schooing fish in groups of 6 or more)
neon tetra
black neon tetra
gold neon tetra
green neon tetra
ember tetra
red eye tetra
glowlight tetra
silver tip tetra
green fire tetra
black phantom tetra
red phantom tetra
cochu's blue tetra
blue emperor tetra (Inpaichthys kerri...not to be confused with the emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri)
emerald eye rasbora
harlequin rasbora
black harlequin rasbora
golden harlequin rasbora
red axelrod rasbora
dwarf rasbora
pencilfish
black winged hatchetfish
marbeled hatchetfish
threadfin (or featherfin) rainbowfish
blue-eye rainbowfish or forktail rainbowfish of the pseudomugil genus (many different kinds...all small schooling fish, but some are semi-aggressive, so research carefully)

Semi-schooling fish (they like 6 or more, but can be kept with just 2+ and be alright, though more is always better):
cherry barbs (not most other barbs)
emperor tetras (Nematobrycon amphiloxus, not the "blue emperor tetra", Inpaichthys kerri)
kuhli loaches
corydora catfish (good scavenger)
pygmy corydora (smaller version of the same)
otocinclus (good algae eater)

Non-schooling fish so you can have just 1:
dwarf gourami (can also be kept one male and one female)
or
betta spelendens*
or
betta imbellis*
or
betta smaragdina*
(never mix the above fish and never keep two males of any in one tank)
platy
guppy
endler
(the above three prefer more of their own kind but are alright alone...if you add more than one make sure they are all male or you will have tons of fry being born all the time.)

Invertebrates and other non-fish tankmates:
(these would be good with anything that doesn't get big enough to eat them)
amano shrimp (best algae eater I have ever seen)
cherry shrimp (good algae eater)
blue shrimp (good algae eater)
redfronted shrimp (good algae eater)
tiger shrimp (good algae eater)
bumblebee shrimp (okay algae eater)
ghost shrimp (basically useless but can be a help as a scavenger)
apple snail
mystery snail
malaysian trumpet snail (very helpful as a sand sifter to keep anaerobic pockets from developing in sand substrates)
ramshorn snail
[Note: all snails breed rapidly and can overpopulate a tank quickly if over fed. Keep feeding to just what the fish need...the snails will find enough that the fish miss during feedings to live on]
african dwarf frog (not to be confused with the african clawed frog, which will get far too large and aggressive for a 10 gallon tank)

Species tank fish:
(keep only them, with nothing else)
dwarf puffers (1 male only, 3-4 females)
german blue rams (male/female pair)
sparkling gouramis (one male and 1 or more females)
licorice gouramis (male/female pair)
(the gouramis can be kept in very sedate, peaceful community tanks but do best in species tanks because they are so shy)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') brevis (male/female pair)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') multifasciatus (1 male, 2-3 females)
(the above tanganyikan cichlids must be provided with plenty of small shells that they can fit in, since they are shell dwellers)

Remember to try to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more...this makes it hard to stock a small tank, but if you get only one school of something you can do it, or if you stick to the tiniest schoolers like ember or neon tetras, and then add some non-schooling fish like a gourami, platy, betta, etc.

*Bettas can be particularly tricky to keep with other fish, so I thought it best to elaborate on the subject of proper tankmates for bettas. Some good tankmates for bettas include corydoras, otocinclus, small, peaceful tetras and rasboras like the ones on this list (some others may not be appropriate), kuhli loahces, pencilfish, snails, african dwarf frogs (only one in a 10 gallon), and occasionally shrimp, if the betta doesn’t eat them. Avoid fish of the same color or shape (especially with long fins), fast swimmers (which I didn't put on the list anyway because they don't do well in 10 gallon tanks), labyrinth fish, or fish which occupy the top of the tank like the betta. This rules out gouramis, guppies, hatchetfish, any species of long finned tetras, and various other fish depending on the color of the betta you choose.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

geckomatt — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 18:16:35 GMT

I know this isn't what you were after, but wouldn't it be cool to have a couple of dwarf clawed frogs in the tank? maybe that's just me though

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

harleychick — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 22:26:37 GMT

Get some puffers, they're so cute! Perfect personality for "work-fish!" I know I'm a dork...don't rub it in.

RE: stocking list for a ten gallon?

Hailey — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:49:05 GMT

Here you go...

You want to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches and are slow moving or at least not terribly active (that rules out things like tiger barbs...almost all barbs in fact, danios, rainbows, etc).

Schooling fish appropriate for a 10 gallon:
(remember to keep schooing fish in groups of 6 or more)
neon tetra
black neon tetra
gold neon tetra
green neon tetra
ember tetra
red eye tetra
glowlight tetra
silver tip tetra
green fire tetra
black phantom tetra
cochu's blue tetra
blue emperor tetra (Inpaichthys kerri...not to be confused with the emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri)
emerald eye rasbora
harlequin rasbora
black harlequin rasbora
golden harlequin rasbora
red axelrod rasbora
dwarf rasbora
pencilfish
threadfin (or featherfin) rainbowfish
blue-eye rainbowfish or forktail rainbowfish of the pseudomugil genus (many different kinds...all small schooling fish, but some are semi-aggressive, so research carefully)

Semi-schooling fish (they like 6 or more, but can be kept with just 2+ and be alright, though more is always better):
cherry barbs (not most other barbs)
emperor tetras (Nematobrycon amphiloxus, not the "blue emperor tetra", Inpaichthys kerri)
kuhli loaches
corydora catfish (good scavenger)
pygmy corydora (smaller version of the same)
otocinclus (good algae eater)

Non-schooling fish so you can have just 1:
dwarf gourami (can also be kept one male and one female)
or
betta spelendens
or
betta imbellis
or
betta smaragdina
(never mix the above fish and never keep two males of any in one tank)
platy
guppy (which should not be mixed with a betta)
endler
(the above three prefer more of their own kind but are alright alone...if you add more than one make sure they are all male or you will have tons of fry being born all the time.)

Invertebrates and other non-fish tankmates:
(these would be good with anything that doesn't get big enough to eat them)
amano shrimp (best algae eater I have ever seen)
cherry shrimp (good algae eater)
blue shrimp (good algae eater)
redfronted shrimp (good algae eater)
tiger shrimp (good algae eater)
bumblebee shrimp (okay algae eater)
ghost shrimp (basically useless but can be a help as a scavenger)
apple snail
mystery snail
malaysian trumpet snail (very helpful as a sand sifter to keep anaerobic pockets from developing in sand substrates)
ramshorn snail
[Note: all snails breed rapidly and can overpopulate a tank quickly if over fed. Keep feeding to just what the fish need...the snails will find enough that the fish miss during feedings to live on]
african dwarf frog (not to be confused with the african clawed frog, which will get far too large and aggressive for a 10 gallon tank)

Species tank fish:
(keep only them, with nothing else)
dwarf puffers (1 male only, 3-4 females)
german blue rams (male/female pair)
sparkling gouramis (one male and 1 or more females)
licorice gouramis (male/female pair)
(the gouramis can be kept in very sedate, peaceful community tanks but do best in species tanks because they are so shy)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') brevis (male/female pair)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') multifasciatus (1 male, 2-3 females)
(the above tanganyikan cichlids must be provided with plenty of small shells that they can fit in, since they are shell dwellers)

Remember to try to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more...this makes it hard to stock a small tank, but if you get only one school of something you can do it, or if you stick to the tiniest schoolers like ember or neon tetras, and then add some non-schooling fish like a gourami, platy, betta, etc.

stocking list for a ten gallon?

Slroo — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 21:16:29 GMT

Can someone please post a list for stocking a ten gallon? I know I have seen one on here, but I can't seem to find it now. Just pulled an old tank out of the basement and gonna set it up in my office.