How Many In A 10 Gallon Tank?

[latashalaine]

Hi! I was curious to know how many fish I can have as I have realized it can be very limiting in a 10 gallon. I have 1 male and 1 female platy currently. When my tank finishes cycling, I plan to add maybe 1 more female platy and some guppies. How many would be suggested?

 

[Wills]

Live bearers are not always the best option for a small tank as they will multiply - keep these two for now but your better off looking to other types of fish.

Basically if it has the words micro, dwarf or pygmy in the name you should be okay - though I would avoid Dwarf Gourami as they can be problematic, but things like Pygmy Gourami, Micro Rasbora, Pygmy Cories, Mini Anchor Catfish and Dwarf Rosy Loaches would be nice Though not all of them but a fair amount to choose from. Ember Tetras and Badis fish are nice as well

Wills

 

[latashalaine]

Ok thanks so much for the suggestions. But I still need to know what the ideal number for the fish I named would be if I decided to to go that route..

 

[Tuxyu3]

things like Pygmy Gourami

I am awfully sorry to threadjack you but i must ask, is that the same as a Sparkling Gourami?

I see you are fairly new, welcome to the forum!

 

[khial]

hi, i use this website it also helps with compatibility of fish and suggest what could work for you, i have set up the checker for you at the bottom of the page, you just need to edit what filter, tank size and capacity

hope this helps

 

[latashalaine]

hi, i use this website it also helps with compatibility of fish and suggest what could work for you, i have set up the checker for you at the bottom of the page, you just need to edit what filter, tank size and capacity

hope this helps

I didn't see the website. It sounds very helpful

Ok thanks so much for the suggestions. But I still need to know what the ideal number for the fish I named would be if I decided to to go that route..

Any Suggestions??

 

[khial]

im not this dumb all the time haha http/thinkfish.co.uk/fish/platy.html thats the link i was talking about sorry

 

[KrystaK]

Well you could use the very basic guideline - and I emphasize very basic (Because most people disagree with it) of 1 Inch per Gallon. In other words, for every one inch of adult fish you need one gallon of water.

So your average Platy gets to be around 2 Inches, which means that you have about 6 inches worth of fish you can get. Out of that list and from other lists for 10 Gal tanks I've seen I would say some of your tank options could be: (Note all options include 2 Platys)

Option 1
2 Platys
4 Pygmy Corys
4 Ember Tetras
---|>The thing with this option is that the other two types of fish I mentioned are both schooling fish and do better when kept in groups of 5 or more. Also, I've only rarely seen Ember tetras, so they're hard to come by (In my area anyways).

Option 2:
2 Platys
5 (Or so) Guppies (Preferably all one gender - Males are better, they're brighter and they cant be brought home pregnant)
10 (Or so) Cherry Shrimp.
This one looks better to me, as it ill be more colorful, the fish won't be sad because they don't care so much about schooling and the Shrimp are great bottom feeders and they are much lighter on the Bio-load.


Option 3:
2 Platys
5 Neon Tetras
10 (ish) Cherry Shrimp
---> The thing with Neons is that though they are small, they are active, and really (In my opinion) They need to be in larger groups in larger tanks. Though it is possible to keep them in smaller groups in smaller tanks, they just (To me) look nicer in a group of 20 in a 50 Gal tank.
Note: Any smaller Tetra, like an Ember Tetra can be substituted in.

Those are just some options, some may disagree with my numbers.

 

[latashalaine]

Well you could use the very basic guideline - and I emphasize very basic (Because most people disagree with it) of 1 Inch per Gallon. In other words, for every one inch of adult fish you need one gallon of water.

So your average Platy gets to be around 2 Inches, which means that you have about 6 inches worth of fish you can get. Out of that list and from other lists for 10 Gal tanks I've seen I would say some of your tank options could be: (Note all options include 2 Platys)

Option 1
2 Platys
4 Pygmy Corys
4 Ember Tetras
---|>The thing with this option is that the other two types of fish I mentioned are both schooling fish and do better when kept in groups of 5 or more. Also, I've only rarely seen Ember tetras, so they're hard to come by (In my area anyways).

Option 2:
2 Platys
5 (Or so) Guppies (Preferably all one gender - Males are better, they're brighter and they cant be brought home pregnant)
10 (Or so) Cherry Shrimp.
This one looks better to me, as it ill be more colorful, the fish won't be sad because they don't care so much about schooling and the Shrimp are great bottom feeders and they are much lighter on the Bio-load.


Option 3:
2 Platys
5 Neon Tetras
10 (ish) Cherry Shrimp
---> The thing with Neons is that though they are small, they are active, and really (In my opinion) They need to be in larger groups in larger tanks. Though it is possible to keep them in smaller groups in smaller tanks, they just (To me) look nicer in a group of 20 in a 50 Gal tank.
Note: Any smaller Tetra, like an Ember Tetra can be substituted in.

Those are just some options, some may disagree with my numbers.

Thank you so much KrystaK...that was very helpful.

What about an aquatic frog? would he do well with shrimp?

 

[phungi11]

If you're talking about an african clawed frog, it def will consume the shrimp.