Stocking A 10G

[XeroTolerance]

Hello everybody . I'm wondering if this would be a good idea. I'm currently cycling my 10gallon tank with 2 mystery snails and I am thinking about stocking options when it is done. Here are some of them

2x Cherry Barbs
6x Neon Tetra
2x Mystery Snails
1x Ghost Shrimp

I was talking in the IRC today and somebody said I could so this

6x Cherry Barbs
5x Neons
2x Mystery Snails
1x Ghost Shrimp

The second one seems a little crowded. I was wondering your ideas about this. I read on this site that they are okay in pairs. I know that they are better with more but for the size of my tank I'm not sure if I could afford it. Thanks for your help .

 

[This Old Spouse]

I think a 10g is too small for cherry barbs, but you could bring the neon count up to a dozen. Problem is, neons do much better in a well-established tank, at least 6 months or more.

If you have any interest in platies or guppies or mollies, they might do all right in your setup. And get a couple extra ghost shrimp. They don't add to your bio-load. All are reasonably priced.

EDIT: I just did some more research on cherry barbs, and they might not be a bad choice after all, especially if you get a group of 6 or more. But I really would stay away from the neons.

 

[XeroTolerance]

Thank you so much for your quick and informative reply . Also do you think if I add two small 1.5 inch (max) guppies that would be okay?

5x Cherry Barb
2x Mystery Snail
3x Ghost Shrimp
2x Guppies

I also thought of this set-up too. I'll keep the temp around 75F.

5x Cherry Barb
2x Mystery Snail
2 or 1x Ghost Shrimp
1x Molly or Guppy or Platy ( Which species would be best? Im thinking a black molly would look nice.)

 

[minnnt]

Lol!! How many more lists?

As I said to you in the other topic, guppies and neons tend to be a bit weak these days so wouldn't be suitable to add to a newly established aquarium. Now that you have mentioned Molly's and Platy's then I would suggest a nice Platy. They're hard fish so would cope with any undesirable tank conditions better than neons and guppies.

Cherry Barbs would be good to add as first fish, but don't expect them to shoal anything like a neon would. They need their own space. if adding 6 then you should try to ensure 2 males and 4 females. This way each male will have 2 females to chase, also they will show off to each other but there shouldn't be too much aggression.

Personally, if it was my first tank I would be considering:

6 cherry or checker barbs
Or
8 harlequin rasboras
3 platy's 1m 2f
2 snails (seeing as you already have them)
3 pitbull plecs.

 

[XeroTolerance]

I'm just worried that 6 cherry barbs may be too much. Do you think that five would be okay (2 males and 3 females)? Also I could add a platy like you mentioned .
The set-up would be like this

5x Cherry Barb
2x Mystery Snail
1x Platy

Are there any type of platy that you recommend that does well by itself? If not do you know any other fish that does? All I have is my local petsmart to buy fish from and they dont have that much a variety. Thanks for all your help . This fish stocking is a hard business .

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'm just worried that 6 cherry barbs may be too much. Do you think that five would be okay (2 males and 3 females)? Also I could add a platy like you mentioned .
The set-up would be like this

5x Cherry Barb
2x Mystery Snail
1x Platy

Are there any type of platy that you recommend that does well by itself? If not do you know any other fish that does? All I have is my local petsmart to buy fish from and they dont have that much a variety. Thanks for all your help . This fish stocking is a hard business .

I think when minnnt suggested "a nice platy" it was in reference to the fish type, not the quantity!

You should have several.

 

[XeroTolerance]

Ahh lol that's what he meant . I was thinking that they were good in groups. Do you think 1 black molly would suffice? I read that they do okay alone.

5x Cherry Barb ( 3 male, 2 female)
2x Mystery Snail
1x Black Molly
Maybe = 1x Ghost Shrimp

 

[This Old Spouse]

I have one gold dust molly, and he kind of sulks around the tank since all his mates died (he killed 4 of them!)

And go ahead and get more ghost shrimp. They really don't add to the bioload of your tank and help keep it nice and tidy. And toss in some nice plants and wood and rocks so there are plenty of hiding places for everyone.

 

[minnnt]

Something like the sunrise or sunset platy would be my choice, really like them. I would have a trio of one kind, 1 male and 2 females. This way when you get fry (because you will!) You can sell them as one type rather than a cross.

I would add three once cycled first off. You could always rehome them if you don't like them.

 

[XeroTolerance]

So I'm looking at

2x Mystery Snails
5x Cherry Barbs
3x Ghost Shrimp
1x Sunset Platy ( I would prefer a little bit of a smaller fish. Do you have any ideas. Here is the link to what I can buy).

Was this what you guys meant? Thanks a ton for all of your patience and help lol .

 

[Caprichoso]

So I'm looking at

2x Mystery Snails
5x Cherry Barbs
3x Ghost Shrimp
1x Sunset Platy ( I would prefer a little bit of a smaller fish. Do you have any ideas. Here is the link to what I can buy).

Was this what you guys meant? Thanks a ton for all of your patience and help lol .

You can add more shrimp. How about some Ember Tetras? Small, bright and lively! You could have 5-6 and I would opt out of getting the platy.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Or instead of the Platy, get some male endlers. Tiny, fast, curious and a lot of fun IMO.

 

[vanhireunitedk]

It will be better, if you search more on search engines & will be able to gather much relevant info. All The Best !!

 

[willowstwin]

ahh the toying of ideas of stocking smaller tanks. I have that problem... currently have 5 neon tetras in there, ready to add another 5 later on Ive always loved neons, so they were a must for any tank I had, and I'd build the community around them.

I'm currently waiting on a) my lfs to get some java moss in stock (if he doesn't have it this week I'll order online) and b) my tank to mature a little more and then I shall be stocking with cherry shrimp (I have black gravel and soon to have a black tank backing, so they'll go a nice deep red) and I'd like a dwarf or honey gourami. Although (as with your multiple lists) I was wondering if I could have a small school of either halequin rasboras or red phantom tetras instead of the gourami.

basically:
1 x gourami
10 x neon tetras
a few cherries

or:

7 red phantom tetra
7 neon tetra
A few cherries

*shrugs* it's harder (IMO) to plan to stock a smaller tank unless you want a betta

 

[XeroTolerance]

Thank you all for all of your great ideas. I was thinking earlier that I was going to buy some fish on the internet, but after looking at the prices ( 40 USD for 1 fish) I decided I wouldn't. Instead I took you Ember Tetra idea and decided to buy 5 or 6 Flame Tetras because my LFS had them. What sexes should I buy? 1 male and 4 females or 2 males and 4 females. My setup will look something like this

2x Mystery Snails
5 or 6x Flame Tetra
3x Ghost Shrimp

Once again thanks for all of your help .