Ten-Gallon Tank Mates for Guppies

[claire’s_lil_gups]

Hello,
I recently bought a ten-gallon tank, and I am currently keeping two female guppies in it. I want to know what kind of other fish species would fit in the tank. I really love cardinal and neon tetras, but I think a group of five or six would overstock the tank. I was also looking into dwarf rasboras, but some people say that they would be intimidated by the guppies. Is this true? And if it is not true, how many of this fish should I get?
Thank you so much!
Claire

 

[Crispii]

I wouldn't do cardinals/neons in a 10 gallon. Small fish would sometimes get intimidated by larger fish, however, I think you can do dwarf rasboras with guppies. You can keep at least 12-15 dwarf rasboras in a 10.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Guppies require hard water while the other species you mentioned need soft. What is your GH? Check seriouslyfish.com for species recommendations and requirements. If you wanted you could do some endlers with your guppies

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Guppies come from water with a GH around 200ppm and a pH above 7.0.
Most tetras and rasboras come from water with a GH below 100 and a pH below 7.0.

 

[Crispii]

Of course, tetras and rasboras can adapt to hard, alkaline water as long as they are slowly acclimated.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Essjay]

Of course, tetras and rasboras can adapt to hard, alkaline water as long as they are slowly acclimated.

I'm afraid this is not true. Fish have evolved over thousands of years in their 'home' water and a few hours acclimatisation will not over turn what is programmed in their DNA.
Soft water fish kept in hard water can survive but will develop calcium deposits in their organs and live a shorter life as a result.

 

[Guppy10]

I'd get a small shoal of neons and some shrimps,,, again, so long as your filter is adequate and regular water changes, you will be fine.

 

[Essjay]

I wouldn't keep neons in 10 gallons, they need a tank at least 24 inches/60 cm long. With soft water there are smaller tetras that would be suitable, but until we know the hardness of the water we can't really suggest any fish.

 

[Crispii]

I'm afraid this is not true. Fish have evolved over thousands of years in their 'home' water and a few hours acclimatisation will not over turn what is programmed in their DNA.
Soft water fish kept in hard water can survive but will develop calcium deposits in their organs and live a shorter life as a result.

But what about tank-raised fish, a fish that have been bred and adapted to hard, alkaline water for its life. Would you say that it is important to chase their preferred pH/GH or trying to keep it stable?

 

[Essjay]

They should still be kept in water similar to that in which they evolved. GH is more important than pH; and pH should be kept stable with the GH at the range for the species.
It's not a question of chasing GH and pH. Your tap water has a certain GH and the fish should be chosen to suit that GH.

The requirement for a certain level of GH is hard wired into a fish's DNA; it cannot be changed just because the egg hatched in, and the fish has lived all its life in water with the 'wrong' GH.



Yes, there are people who alter their tap water, either by mixing hard water and RO water to make it softer, or by adding soemthing like Rift Lake salts to soft water to make it harder. But this should not be undertaken lightly as the alteration must remain constant.

 

[claire’s_lil_gups]

Thank you so much, everyone! I don't want to endanger any fish, so I will just add a few more guppies in the tank.