What Fish Should I Get?

[Payton]

I have a 10 gallon aquarium,a proper filter and an air stone. I have 2 fake plants and i have black substrate with a work light. So far i am between 3 fish. Tiger barbs, Guppies, and or one goldfish. But if anyone can suggest other good fish for these conditions plz comment a fish. and another advice (other than get a bigger tank) i am happy to hear.

 

[Byron]

First, can you let us know your water parameters of the source water, which is tap (or well)?  The GH (general hardness) is especially important, but while you're at it, find out the KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH.  You should be able to find this data on the web site of your municipal water authority (if on municipal water, not private well).  This is important, as some fish have preferences for soft water or harder water, and some manage in the middle.
 
Given the limited tank space, 10 gallons, your options will be limited.  Tiger Barbs is not possible, as these require a group of 10-12 (they can be especially aggressive to each other in smaller groups) and this requires a 30 gallon or larger tank.
 
Goldfish is maybe possible, just one, provided it is one of the smaller sized variants.  But I am not that up on goldfish, and if other members with more experience say no, I won't disagree.
 
Guppies can work.  Males only.  With females and males you will have hundreds of fry which may sound nice, but quickly becomes a real problem getting rid of them.  Females can be impregnated even before the males get their colours.
 
When we know the water parameters it will be easy to offer other suggestions.  Many of the smaller fish that suit small tanks will be wild caught and thus more attention must be paid to parameters.
 
Byron.

 

[Baccus]

Without knowing your water stats namely the gH and pH it is very hard to suggest certain fish, but the real limiting factor is the tank size. 10 gallon is too small for even 1 goldfish (they are also huge waste producers so need really good filteration), and tiger barbs would need to be in a bigger school, they are also very active fish so 10 gallons is going to really limit their activity.
It is possible that you could keep guppies in the tank, but I would only have a group of aroond 6 males with no females. Otherwise in no time at all you could be overrun with guppies. Or you will see first hand that both male and female guppies will eat and actively hunt down fry as soon as they are born.
 
Other options would be a nice male Siamese Fighter (Betta if you prefer), I believe there are some of the less commonly kept betta species that can be kept as pairs but they would need a lot more plants and live ones at that. But somebody with more experience in the rarer species would have to confirm this.
 
You might be able to get away with a single pair (or trio) of Samurai Gourami or even a pair of Chocolate Gourami, these can be very difficult fish to keep so if this is your first fish keeping experience I would not rush into keeping these guys.
 
You might be able to get away with some Sparkling or croaking gouramis, again more plants and preferably live ones would be best for them.
 
You may even want to try your hand at Killifish.
 
Other micro species of fish include Badis, Crossbanded Danio, Rasbora maculata.
 
You could always set up the tank as a shrimp tank and keep either cherry shrimp (lots of colours to choose from) or slightly more difficult Crystal shrimp (Caridina logemanni) or Tiger Shrimp (Caridina mariae). If deciding to keep shrimp like cherry shrimp do not mix different colours otherwise the offspring will tend to just revert to wild form cherry shrimp which nobody wants. Also be careful of mixing different caridina species because there is a potential for them to cross breed.

 

[DWC]

Years ago I had a small fantail oranda goldfish in a ten gallon and while Belinda was a wonderful pet, full of personality, she sorely strained the capacity of the tank even with twice weekly 50% water changes. Small goldfish become big goldfish so I would NOT go that route.

I like Zebra Danios and while forum consensus is that a 10 gallon is too small, my 6 (from original 8) are happy and healthy for a couple of years now with sponge filters, heavy planting and once weekly 30% water changes. Zebras are very hardy, colorful when healthy and very active.

I once had White Cloud Mountain Minnows, a cool water diminutive species that color up when healthy. A school of 6-10 wouldn't tax a 10 with proper maintenance, you wouldn't need a heater, and they just may breed in your tank, an egg layer nearly as easy to breed as the ubiquitous guppies though far less prolific. They usually don't eat their eggs so you could have a multigenerational colony. They now come in long finned and golden variants though the plain are anything but.

I currently have six 10's (not counting Zebra tank) each holding a single male Betta. Bettas are wonderful pets, have a lot of personality, and come in many color and fin types; my 6 are all different in color and fin styles, and personality. I would make sure you have a heater as they like it 78F+ and I would swap out the fake plants for forest of easily grown Java Ferns.

David

 

[Payton]

First, can you let us know your water parameters of the source water, which is tap (or well)?  The GH (general hardness) is especially important, but while you're at it, find out the KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH.  You should be able to find this data on the web site of your municipal water authority (if on municipal water, not private well).  This is important, as some fish have preferences for soft water or harder water, and some manage in the middle.
 
Given the limited tank space, 10 gallons, your options will be limited.  Tiger Barbs is not possible, as these require a group of 10-12 (they can be especially aggressive to each other in smaller groups) and this requires a 30 gallon or larger tank.
 
Goldfish is maybe possible, just one, provided it is one of the smaller sized variants.  But I am not that up on goldfish, and if other members with more experience say no, I won't disagree.
 
Guppies can work.  Males only.  With females and males you will have hundreds of fry which may sound nice, but quickly becomes a real problem getting rid of them.  Females can be impregnated even before the males get their colours.
 
When we know the water parameters it will be easy to offer other suggestions.  Many of the smaller fish that suit small tanks will be wild caught and thus more attention must be paid to parameters.
 
Byron.

I dont really know where my water comes from...But I have tested it many times and it has NO chlorine in it. The Total hardness is 125, My alkalinity is a little high of 100, and the PH is 7.9 and that is with 2 gold fish in the tank now.

 

[Byron]

Assuming the GH of 125 is ppm (or mg/l, same), this is on the soft side, roughly 7 dGH.  Avoid any livebearer (all would be too large anyway, except for Endlers and guppies) as these require slightly harder water.  In a 10g it is best to stay with "nano" type fish, other members have mentioned some of these.  Less active fih and small means you can have more of them so there is more interest in a small space.

 

[**sarahp**]

 and that is with 2 gold fish in the tank now.

 
 

 
Are you saying that you have 2 goldfish in that 10 gallon tank?  What sort??  I would say that the tank is waaay too small to support two goldfish

 

[Payton]

 

 and that is with 2 gold fish in the tank now.

 
 

 
Are you saying that you have 2 goldfish in that 10 gallon tank?  What sort??  I would say that the tank is waaay too small to support two goldfish

 

not anymore the one passed away overnight...so it is one calico comet.

 

[Essjay]

I agree with sarahp. Comet goldfish belong in a pond not a tank. Fancy goldfish (the ones with the double tails) need at least 100 litres, which is 22 gallons. For just one fish. For 2 goldfish - fancy ones, not common or comets which should be in ponds - you need 150 litres/33 gallons. See http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/417799-goldfish-for-beginners/ for more info on goldfish.
 
You need to rehome that calico comet as soon as possible and replace it with smaller fish such as those recommended by Byron.