What Fish To To Get?

[allie95]

Okay, so... I'm going to be starting a tank soon, as soon as i get the ph down a little bit (I already fishless cycled it) and I don't know what fish to get. It's a 10-gal tank and this is really my first tank, so I don't want anything too sensitive or finicky. OH, I also wanted to do some live plants. Or do you think that is too much all at once? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CKutz]

here's a bit of a list of some you could look into

it would be easier to go about setting up your tank if you did real plants and that whole set up all at once...but personally, i've just started keeping fish a little bit ago, and real plants just seemed like too much for me to take on, but i was also at school, so had limited resources. it can get a bit complicated..but don't let me scare away from it.

how is your ph? you don't want to alter it with chemicals..and most of the time it's not really worth fussing with. if you acclimate your fish to it they should be able to handle it.
you have to keep adding ammonia until you add fish, and before you go get the fish change all the water. then add your fish, if you go through the whole cycle and stop adding ammonia once you've finished the cycle your bacteria will die..maybe you know that already just thought i'd add it incase you didn't.

to me, i really like a stocking like this:
1 dwarf gourami
6 micro rasbora
6 pygmy cories or several shrimp.

 

[samiam9818]

congrats on the tank!

I have a 10 gallon right now and i have 4 platies in there. they are active fish that are fun to watch. it just depends if you want a livebearer or not. I tried tiger barbs too but didn't have any luck with them, but i haven't lost a platy yet.

as far as the plants go i haven't tried them but from what i've read they are somewhat of a pain. from what i understand they need lower lighting and other extra work to thrive in a tank. but don't quote me on that since i haven't tried it yet.

Good luck!

 

[CKutz]

tiger barbs are pretty cool, but they should be in a tank bigger than 10 gallons. they can also be quite difficult to find tankmates for if you want a community tank.

platy's are great fish to start with. however if you get a male and a female, you will have babies..which seems cool, but having around 20 or so at a time, they add up quick and you might not always know what to do with the babies.
if you research how to tell the difference you can pick out all females if you like..i think all males might bully each other a bit, but they might be fine..these fish breed so easily though, that if you get females from the lfs, they might already be pregnant. to tell the difference, look up a "gonopodium"

 

[samiam9818]

tiger barbs are pretty cool, but they should be in a tank bigger than 10 gallons. they can also be quite difficult to find tankmates for if you want a community tank.

platy's are great fish to start with. however if you get a male and a female, you will have babies..which seems cool, but having around 20 or so at a time, they add up quick and you might not always know what to do with the babies.
if you research how to tell the difference you can pick out all females if you like..i think all males might bully each other a bit, but they might be fine..these fish breed so easily though, that if you get females from the lfs, they might already be pregnant. to tell the difference, look up a "gonopodium"

Yep that's what happened to me. One day went to clean the tank and there are these fast little things swimming away from the siphon. Luckily I'm upgrading to a bigger tank so they next time they drop fry there'll be a bit more room for them.

 

[allie95]

Okay, thanks everybody. I think that I'm gonna not do live plants, or at least not until I can get it up and running for a little bit. Uhh, I think I'm gonna do 4 pygmy cories, 3 endler's livebearers (male only) and maybe 3 endler's livebearers. Is that too many? Not enough? Sorry, first tank and I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm sorta learning as I go.

 

[CKutz]

Uhh, I think I'm gonna do 4 pygmy cories, 3 endler's livebearers (male only) and maybe 3 endler's livebearers.

it wont' hurt your stocking limit to do 6 pygmies..which is actually better because the more of their own they have around, the more comfortable they feel = less stressed = more likely to make it.
3 endlers 3 endlers??

 

[allie95]

Oh, sorry. I put that in twice by accident. But, okay, 6 pygmies and 3 endler's livebearers? does that sound right?

 

[CKutz]

yea that would be fine
you'll have some room to spare also, incase you want to add anything later.

 

[azzaknight]

how about 6 pygmys and 10 male endlers, you could easily fit that in there. also endlers are small so 10 would be a good amount.

 

[kizno1]

what about a pair of dwarf cichlids like cockatoo apisto
or a female betta tank
or a male betta and some corys

 

[Christi_22]

what about a pair of dwarf cichlids like cockatoo apisto
or a female betta tank
or a male betta and some corys

I think the Cichlids need more space then 10 Gallons, but a male Betta would love it. Also on the plants front, you could try plants that attach to rocks or bogwood, such as Anubias or Java Fern They don't need to be planted in substrate, can be moved around easily, not too demanding for a beginner but look pretty cool. They also provide a natural habitat for the fish.

 

[kizno1]

cockatoo apisto need 10g minmum

 

[allie95]

Okay , that sounds good! As soon as I get home from school I'll probably get them! But, newbie question coming up, what would you suggest I get for food? I have some freeze-dried bloodworms and some like tropical fish flakes from when my sister kept platies, would those work?

 

[Christi_22]

cockatoo apisto need 10g minmum

I have been thinking of getting a pair of Cockatoo Apisto, all my research has stated 20g minimum please can you let me know your source of info. Maybe that 1 is ok in a 10g