Cant Decide On Last Fish!

mwood2 · Jan 7, 2009

First off sorry for another 10 gallon thread but we are so close to finishing and we cant agree.

well my tank is almost fully stocked. As soon as the molly fry are given away in a month or so we will get the last fish for the tank but me and my gf have been to the store multiple times and cant come to a decision. From what I know she doesn't like:

Gourami
Zebra Danio
Guppy
Ballon Molly (she wants a longer lifespan then a 1-2 years it seems)

and I would prefer to remain away from live bearers since when we bought her first molly it gave birth 2-3 times with no males in the tank...Should have researched they keep sperm for 9 months.

Besides those we cant think of anything else. The pet store doesn't offer much of a selection at the moment and still haven't asked. With a current stocking of:

5 Oto
1 Molly

We are thinking:

Galaxy Rasbora
Ember tetras

but its unlikely we will find either one. Same for endlers or many less common fish. I am maybe close to getting a job at petsmart so who knows, I may be able to change there selection for once. The options of both of those we have are:

Neon Tetra
Black Skirt tetra
Bleeding Heart Tetra
Harlequin Rasbora

and that's about it. She also likes catfish but I don't think we have any room for more at this rate.

again, sorry for another 10 gallon thread.

Spishkey · Jan 7, 2009

most of the fish you have listed really should be kept in groups of 6+. is it just one fish you are wanting?

mwood2 · Jan 7, 2009

no, we are looking for whatever we can find to fill in the last of the tank, groups of smaller fish would be nice since its fun to watch the molly fry school together right now while there still small. We would like tetras or rasbora first since thats something we agree on but the molly is a lytail one so we cant have fin nippers and most of the fish sold at petco and petsmart (the only LFS I will drive to at this time) are 1-2in tetras and rasbora. We are looking for anything that could fit the rest of the room if those cant work out and it can be anything, we just need more options then we can think of right now.

Are there any catchfish that work? We saw bumblebee, upside down and pictus but from what I know none of those work. Since we have 5 oto I am guessing that we have used up the last of the bottom layer of tank.

Spishkey · Jan 7, 2009

most catfish will grow too large for a small tank, what about a small group of pygmy corys if you can get hold of some?

some nice cardinal tetras in a small group are bright and fun to watch. or a small group of colourful male guppys? you could even add some shrimp to your tank, they are low waste producers so wouldnt really affect your stocking levels

edit - ah sorry just saw you have 5 otos so maybe the corys arent such a great idea, sorry! otherwise you'd have all your fish at the bottom and nothing in the upped layers!

LauraFrog · Jan 7, 2009

Whatever you do, don't buy black skirts. They are very nippy and will harass the molly, especially in such a small tank.

If you can get them, my vote is on any of the smaller rainbows. The blue eyes (Pseudomugil species) - P. signifer the pacific blue eye, P. gertrudae the spotted blue eye and P. furcatus the forktail blue eye are the only ones usually available outside Australia. In a pet store they are plain and grey, but with good feeding and time to settle, they become very attractive. You could also have Melanotaenia praecox, sometimes called the neon or dwarf rainbow. The true dwarf rainbow, M. maccullochi (sp) is rarely available overseas. There's also the threadfin rainbow, Iriatherina werneri, but be warned, although it is beautiful it is difficult to feed.

But yeah, if you can get them, they are ideal for small tanks, schooling and peaceful.

If you wanted colour, you could put a male betta or a few females in the tank.

mwood2 · Jan 7, 2009

well I dont see much in terms of rainbow fish in the store, but I know they have cardinal tetras which may appeal to my gf, it wont be for another 1-2 weeks at the minimum until we grab out last fish so we are still looking for other options.

Spishkey · Jan 7, 2009

LauraFrog said:
Whatever you do, don't buy black skirts. They are very nippy and will harass the molly, especially in such a small tank.

If you can get them, my vote is on any of the smaller rainbows. The blue eyes (Pseudomugil species) - P. signifer the pacific blue eye, P. gertrudae the spotted blue eye and P. furcatus the forktail blue eye are the only ones usually available outside Australia. In a pet store they are plain and grey, but with good feeding and time to settle, they become very attractive. You could also have Melanotaenia praecox, sometimes called the neon or dwarf rainbow. The true dwarf rainbow, M. maccullochi (sp) is rarely available overseas. There's also the threadfin rainbow, Iriatherina werneri, but be warned, although it is beautiful it is difficult to feed.

But yeah, if you can get them, they are ideal for small tanks, schooling and peaceful.

If you wanted colour, you could put a male betta or a few females in the tank.

i wouldnt put a male betta in a tank with a lyretail molly.
also female bettas need to be kept in groups of 5 or 6 at least, would so many fit in a 10 gallon? im not sure how much space is required for them?

smegforbrains · Jan 7, 2009

A ten gallon tank would be fine for 6 or 7 female Bettas, but not with the current stock.

I would not put a male Betta in either with the current stock.

The only really safe bets as tank mates for Bettas are Corys, Plecs and other small Catfish.

You will not be able to house a Pictus in a 10g or Asian Bumblebee Catfish. Both require a lot more space and grow in excess of 6" long. The Pictus should be kept in a group of 4 minimum.

South American Bumblebee Cats only grow to about 2.5" (60mm) but beware that you may not see them for weeks on end as they are nocturnal.

Upside-Down Catfish grow to about 4" long and need to be kept in groups of 4-6 ideally. They too are nocturnal so you will not see much of them. Also beware that there are several species sold as 'Upside-Down' but the one you should look for is Synodontis Nigriventris - this is the true upside-down cat.