Aquarium and fish ratio

[Ashkay]

Just wondering how many fish will a 10?gallon tank hold? I’ll mostly have platy and tetras

 

[Essjay]

No platies, 10 gallons is too small.
Tetras - a shoal of one of the very small tetras. Even tetras like neons need a tank at least 2 feet long.

The two fish you list come from different types of water so they could not be kept together even in a larger tank. Platies are hard water fish while tetras are soft water fish.
Before choosing any fish you need to find out how hard your tap water is. Look on your water provider's website - you need a number and the unit of measurement rather than words, which can be misleading.
Once we know the hardness we'll be able to suggest fish that suit your water and a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Ashkay]

I’m about to go to a 13 gallon idk if that’ll make a difference but I know it’ll be a little while til I can cycle the tank

 

[Essjay]

What are the dimensions of the 13 gallon? Swimming length is the important dimension.

But you still need to find out how hard your water is. If it's soft, you can't keep platies in any size tank; if it's hard you can't keep tetras.

Fish need to be chosen to match the water as well as tank size.

 

[Ashkay]

I’m about to go to a 13 gallon idk if that’ll make a difference but I know it’ll be a little while til I can cycle the tank

What are the dimensions of the 13 gallon? Swimming length is the important dimension.

But you still need to find out how hard your water is. If it's soft, you can't keep platies in any size tank; if it's hard you can't keep tetras.

Fish need to be chosen to match the water as well as tank size.

 

[Ashkay]

Actually I’m not sure I’m getting it today. And I had no idea about the tetras and the soft water. I’ll definitely make a change quickly. I was told differently from the beginning I’m assuming my water isn’t too hard or soft. They’ve been living together for almost 2 months.

 

[Ashkay]

Actually I’m not sure I’m getting it today. And I had no idea about the tetras and the soft water. I’ll definitely make a change quickly. I was told differently from the beginning I’m assuming my water isn’t too hard or soft. They’ve been living together for almost 2 months.

They don’t seem stressed the platy just had some fry and the tetras swim like they do when I first got them. Or from what I can notice in May be wrong though.

 

[Essjay]

I didn't realise you already had the fish. Which species of tetra do you have? Some can live in small tanks, others need large tanks.

Please try to pin down your hardness.

 

[Ashkay]

Neon tetras

 

[Essjay]

Seriously Fish is the best website for researching fish and they give the following details:

Platies - minimum tank size 24 x 12 x 12 inches; hardness range 10 to 30 dH
Neon tetras - tank with base dimensions 24 x 12 inches or larger; hardness range 1 to 12 dH.

The hardness ranges over lap slightly but we should aim to keep fish which have our tap hardness in the middle of a species' range not at one extreme end.