10 gallon (90cm) stocking

April_ht · May 19, 2026

So I’ve finally got my 10 gallon river/stream type tank up and running, has been cycling for a month or two and it’s finally ready to stock! It’s an unusual build, 90cm long (3ft) x 21cm x 22cm, it was a custom I picked up for free with a cracked side panel that I’ve fixed up. I know my options are limited by the low water volume, but I’m hoping the large footprint will be on my side here.

I’m running a Seachem Tidal 55 and plans for a wave maker to replicate a strong river flow. Currently I only have vallisneria nana, so any suggestions on plants that can handle strong currents would also be appreciated!

As for fish, I’m an absolute sucker for loaches, garra and things of the catfish variety. My dream would be Hillstream loaches (or Borneo suckers - I’m unsure of the difference but heard borneos are smaller?), panda garra, panda loach or really anything similar to these, but I’ve found conflicting information as to the minimum tank size for these guys. Along with an algae eater of sorts, I have plans to include Celestial Pearl Danios, Redfin/Orangefin Danios or another sort of danio, which, from my research, are able to handle high flows happily? Side note: I’m Aus based, so my options are slightly more restricted to what we have available here.

Any and all advice is welcome! More handscape and plants to come before I acquire any fish.

elephantnose3334 · May 21, 2026

Hi @April_ht, fellow Aussie here.

Bit late to this but since it is a 90cm long 42L aquarium, I'd recommend a species-only setup of CPDs with no other tankmates. At least a group of 10 or more is a good point because a group of 6 is technically possible, but I don't think it's recommended doing 6 fish, especially with more skittish shoaling species. The bigger the group the better. AqAdvisor is a good source for calculating stock levels in the tank, but I would recommend doing a good amount of research before getting CPDs.

Crypts are a good plant for tanks with strong currents, but I don't have experience with crypts, so I don't have anything else to add. A bit more plants near the back of the tank would make fish feel more safer in the tank.

https://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?AquTankName=&AquListBoxTank=Choose&AquTankLength=91&AquTankDepth=21&AquTankHeight=22&AquListBoxFilter=Choose&AquTextFilterRate=N%2FA+&AquListBoxFilter2=Choose&AquTextFilterRate2=N%2FA+&FormSubmit=Display+only+suitable+species+for+your+tank&AquFilterString=&AquTextBoxQuantity=&AquTextBoxRemoveQuantity=&AlreadySelected=&FilterMode=Display+all+species&AqTempUnit=C&AqVolUnit=L&AqLengthUnit=cm&AqSortType=cname&FilterQuantity=2&AqJuvMode=&AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple

Whitecloudminnowguy09 · May 24, 2026

For plants, Dwarf Sag, Crypt wendtii red, and/or pennywort (in the substrate) are some ideas. You could could wendtii, not wendtii red. I am not sure if you could get your hands on this, but I have this plant, limno aramitca mini. Very easy. Stays short. Mid ground plant, if you could find it near you.