10 Gallon Tank Stocking

[Malachi Muthiah]

Hey everyone! I have a 10 gallon that I want to set up but first need to know what to stock in it. Right now I have a 20 gallon tall with 3 honey gouramis and 10 neon tetras as well as a 20 gallon long with cherry shrimp. All three are planted tanks. Right now I am interested in cockatoo cichlids, kuhli loaches, and pygmy corydoras as options for fish. Maybe a pair of cockatoo cichlids and a couple kuhli loaches or pygmy corys. What does everyone suggest? Are there different dwarf cichlids that I could use instead? Thanks.

 

[JuiceBox52]

What are the GH and PH of your source water?

 

[Malachi Muthiah]

Or should I try to switch the cherry shrimp into the 10 gallon and have the cockatoo cichlids in the 20?

 

[Malachi Muthiah]

PH is 7 and GH is around 4 or 5

 

[Crispii]

Or should I try to switch the cherry shrimp into the 10 gallon and have the cockatoo cichlids in the 20?

That would be a better alternative.

 

[CassCats]

do the shrimp in the 10 as you have more stock options for the 20 gallon than you do the 10 gallon.

Now...

The kuhli loaches need a group of 6 minimum and need a 20 gallon minimum.

The pygmy cories though, can be in the 10 gallon, a group of 10. Even with your shrimp!

 

[Byron]

Agree with post #6. In addition, pygmy cories need a soft sand substrate (kuhlii loaches do as well). My group of pygmies came much more "out and about" when I moved them into a tank with upper fish, very small characins; they had previously been in the 10g on their own, spawning regularly but not all that visible. However, I would not put them in with cichlids or gourami. They would do well in with the neon tetras, and both have near-identical temperature requirements, and 10 neons in a 10g is pushing things.

 

[utahfish]

10 is too small for a pair of cockatoo cichlids.
Id go no smaller than 20.

 

[Malachi Muthiah]

Ok. Is that the same for kribensis?

 

[Essjay]

Yes it is.

Research fish on https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ That will tell you the minimum tank size, water requirements, suitable tank mates etc. if they use a unit of measurement you are not familiar with, there's a calculator on here to convert them.

 

[Malachi Muthiah]

Ok. So if I want a breeding pair of kribensis, are there any fish that could go in the 20 long with them. I've done some research and it seems like the kribensis get very rowdy and territorial. So, would that mean that there wouldn't be any other fish I could put in that tank except for maybe something like otocinclus or kuhli loaches? Maybe some corydoras?

 

[Malachi Muthiah]

Or is there something that could swim in the upper water column that wouldn't bother the kribensis and make them mad?

 

[Crispii]

If you want to successfully breed and raise Kribensis, then there shouldn't be any fish. The parents may attack other fish or the fish may try to eat the fry.

 

[Guyb93]

I personally would get a few pea puffer

 

[BelaSmith]

If I had a 10 gallon fish tank, I would stock a couple of pygmy corydoras and some guppies. Kuhli Loach needs to live in at least 20 gallon tank.