55 gallon:  6 neon tetra, 5 platies, 2 blue opaline gouramis(m/f), 2 gold opaline gouramis(m/f), 1 oto, and an abundance of snails.

5 gallon:  1 beta.

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.

Lenny V. a/k/a GoldLenny

PINNED TOPIC - A to Z of Fish Keeping:"How-To", Training & Information Page For New Fish Keepers & Experts alike.

Clickmy BlogButton below for BETTER rules to replace the 1" per gallon FISH KILLING rule.

65 G Goldfish:3 - Fancy Goldfish (3-4" each - body), 1 - 10" Common Pleco (Liposarcus Pardalis)

20 G Tropical:1 - Blue/Opaline Gouramis (3"), 2- AlbinoBuenos AiresTetras (2 1/2")

10G: Plants and ramshorn snails

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

OR

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

Thanks,

Brandon

150 Gallon- 3 Glowlight Tetras, 1 Dwarf Gouramis, 12 Platys, 20 Guppys, 10 Five Banded Barbs, 1 African Dwarf Frog, 3 Kuhli Loaches, 6 Corydoras, 2 Upsidedown catfish, 2 Australian Rainbows, 1 Blood Parrot Red Cichlid, 1 Halfback Angelfish, 3 Silver Dollars, 1 Firemouth Cichlid (Under Constuction)

10 Gallon- Lots of Guppy's

10 Gallon- Empty

1 Gallon- Betta

1 Gallon- Betta

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. 

___________________

Repeat after me, slowly:  

I don’t need another tank… I don’t need another tank… I don’t need another tank… I don’t need another tank… I don’t need another tank… I don’t need another tank      

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

or

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

[]

fish the stress releiver of life

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.

FISH ROCK~ ~ ~ !!!