Starter 10 Gallon

[laxzilla123]

In theory what would be a collection of fish for a ten gallon tank. The only thing I would really like to have are Cory cats; other than that im open to suggestions.

 

[KittyKat]

* 6-8 dwarf or pygmy Corys
* 8-10 small mid-water schoolers of one species (espei rasboras, Boraras species, dwarf danios, etc)
* shrimp

That's a good start, with option to increase group sizes later.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

+1...

I would go with the dwarfs over the pygmys... the dwarfs spend more time on the bottom, and will help make the tank look fuller without having too big a bioload.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd just like to say that if you want Corydoras, you should really have a sand substrate rather than gravel. There are two reasons for this; the first is that part of their natural behavhiour is to dig and root about in the substrate with their noses; they can't do that on gravel and it seems a bit unfair to not allow them to do it, not to mention the fact that it can wear away their barbels.

Second, gravel allows alot of old bits of food etc to fall between the gaps and rot, and this can lead to infections and other health problems for the cories.

 

[laxzilla123]

Is sand any more difficult to care for? I've herd it's much harder on your filter and you'll need a filter for double your tank size.

 

[fluttermoth]

Sand isn't difficult to care for at all; in a lot of ways it's easier because the dirt sits on top where you can get to it instead of getting lost in the gaps. You don't need bigger filters or anything like that; you just need to make sure that your filter is switched off if you're doing anything that's likely to kick the sand up, like planting, as you don't want sand getting into the impeller chamber. Apart from that it's no trouble at all

 

[laxzilla123]

Alright awesome I think I'll seriously consider it then because I do really like the corys.

 

[KittyKat]

+1, sand is at worst no different, at best easier, unless the filter flow is directed at it and too powerful.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sand is also ridiculously cheap by comparison. Play sand works well (just be sure to clean it thoroughly - which is actually very easy - but other than that its great). I love my sand and my new corys started digging in it about 2 minutes after I put them in the tank.


(Of course, we are getting a little off track. Are you even considering corys?)

 

[laxzilla123]

Yea id really like to get a couple assorted corys and then a middle swimming schooling fish.
I was thinking something like 6 corys and 8 of either zebra danios or neon tetras in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm a few questions:

Are you planning on keeping the molly, guppy and cory you have at the moment?

If so what species is the cory?

Are the molly and guppy male or female and what type of molly is it...regular, balloon, sailfin etc

A few notes:

Corys do better in a species only group to be honest, sometimes they shoal together in mixed groups... sometimes they stay seperate and just hide all the time. If your corys isn't one of the smaller species of corys then I'd suggest rehoming it to someone who has a group of that species already and then buying yourself a small group of one of small species (like the dwarf/pygmys or possibly panda)

Personally I don't like to see danios in anything less than a 2ft long tank, and pref in a 2.5ft tank (I know quibbling over .5ft may seem silly but you have to draw the line somewhere and 0.5f is almost 3x the zebra danios body length). Danios are super active fish, so giving them the space to really move is always best for getting the most out of them.

I reckon neons might go nicely in there though. From my experience they don't tend to shoal that tightly unless threatened so tend to just meander round the tank (if they feel safe).

 

[laxzilla123]

Hmm a few questions:

Are you planning on keeping the molly, guppy and cory you have at the moment?

If so what species is the cory?

Are the molly and guppy male or female and what type of molly is it...regular, balloon, sailfin etc

A few notes:

Corys do better in a species only group to be honest, sometimes they shoal together in mixed groups... sometimes they stay seperate and just hide all the time. If your corys isn't one of the smaller species of corys then I'd suggest rehoming it to someone who has a group of that species already and then buying yourself a small group of one of small species (like the dwarf/pygmys or possibly panda)

Personally I don't like to see danios in anything less than a 2ft long tank, and pref in a 2.5ft tank (I know quibbling over .5ft may seem silly but you have to draw the line somewhere and 0.5f is almost 3x the zebra danios body length). Danios are super active fish, so giving them the space to really move is always best for getting the most out of them.

I reckon neons might go nicely in there though. From my experience they don't tend to shoal that tightly unless threatened so tend to just meander round the tank (if they feel safe).

So i got the molly and guppy from a friend when he "gifted" me the tank... Sooo im not sure whether there male or female but i do believe the guppy is male. I will keep them in the tank but im not sure how long there going to live. Honestly if they make it another month or so ill be pretty impressed. I think hes had them for about a year and they are all he had left.
Also my current Cory is a regular cory.

Oh and also its a regular black molly.

Ive included images to hopefully help

 

[KittyKat]

The molly is also male. Female livebearers have anal fins, males have gonopodiums.

Corys do better in a species only group to be honest, sometimes they shoal together in mixed groups... sometimes they stay seperate and just hide all the time. If your corys isn't one of the smaller species of corys then I'd suggest rehoming it to someone who has a group of that species already and then buying yourself a small group of one of small species (like the dwarf/pygmys or possibly panda)

+1, single species is best. I would recommend dwarf or pygmy Corys.

Personally I don't like to see danios in anything less than a 2ft long tank, and pref in a 2.5ft tank (I know quibbling over .5ft may seem silly but you have to draw the line somewhere and 0.5f is almost 3x the zebra danios body length). Danios are super active fish, so giving them the space to really move is always best for getting the most out of them.

+1, 3 ft tank is smallest I would consider. Please think about rasbroras, galaxy danios (much smaller species than zebras and also not as active) or a small tetra species instead. Again, single species is best..