What Should I Do Now?

[miss.Original]

Hey everyone, I've had my 10 gallon tank set up for quite a few months now with some guppies in it, but I'd like to spice it up a bit. I'm debating on what to do with it at this point, any suggestions on what fish I should do now? I was thinking of dwarf puffers, or croaking/chocolate Gouramis, or Rams, but I'm not sure. I do know though, that I would like a moderately species-only tank so I'm open for any fish that are either delicate or don't do very well in a community, but any suggesstions would be great, thanks! <3

 

[hamfist]

OK, well the species you mention would all be good for a species only 10 gallon tank. The guppies would have to go elsewhere with the DPs though. Chocolate gourami are notoriously delicate, but you may well like the challenge of that. A Breeding pair of Rams would be fun and again the guppies may well suffer when the rams breed. it's also pushing the stock levels on the tank to have rams AND guppies. DPs are lovely little things, and you could fit a trio into a 3 gallon tank. Personally, I wouldn't want to keep DPs again without breeding snails for them. It's their natural food, and they can get all sorts of beak trouble without crunching on snails regularly (not saying they will, just that they can).
All those fish are lovely, and are good choices, just do your research and find out exactly what each fish needs.
Another option for a 10 gallon would be a betta and 4 cories. I know it's not a species tank, but it still is a very enjoyable and characterful mix for a tank that size. Also, really easy to keep.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Broken record: You could help save the Galxy Rasbora from complete extinction, four years after its discovery!

(Sorry, I always suggest these guys for small tanks and I'm horrified that "we" have killed off all the known wild population in such a short space of time. I love them, but they are so small and would be wary of mixing them with any fish >8cm.)

 

[PDSimon]

I wouldn't keep rams in such a small tank. Especially not german rams.

 

[miss.Original]

Hamfist: I was planning on selling my guppies actually xD Since they wouldn't really do well with any of the fish I'm considering. I would really like the challenge of the chocolates but I'm not really sure if I want to do them right now, though. I'm highly considering doing DPs since everytime I see them I get a huge interest in them and end up wanting one, so I think they'll be my first choice, and I was planning on getting some snails for them and just because there's some algae in my tank anyways so that's a given there lol.

N0body of the goat: I wish I could do that, but I don't know of any LPSs that have any of them where I live, I've never actually even heard of them, but If I do find a store that sells them then I will definitely try to get some.

PDSimon: Thanks for the suggestion


Thanks for your opinions and help everyone! And I think I'm gonna get DPs, I thought about and decided that I would definitely like to try them, now the next step is to get my tank planted more (it's pretty sparcely planted at the moment) so I can maybe add in a few Otos or get two DPs. I'm not sure yet, but It'll be a while 'till I get them anyways so plenty of time to decide lol. Thanks again everyone, it was very helpful <3

 

[OldMan47]

The guppies are likely doing well in your tank because you have rather high mineral content water. They also do much better in a higher pH water than many other fish. What you will be getting into with the ramirezi is fish that do better in low mineral content water and lower pH values. I am a very experienced fish keeper and stay away from the rams for the simple reason that I have no intention of getting myself into a situation where I must constantly adjust my water parameters for the rams comfort. If you happen to know that you have low GH and low pH water, you might do just fine with rams but if you have good guppy water that is not likely.

 

[miss.Original]

Okay, thanks for the advice, it's very helpful. I had not actually considered the mineral content, and low pH, I would have eventaully but it didn't occur to me lol Thanks!

 

[hamfist]

The guppies are likely doing well in your tank because you have rather high mineral content water. They also do much better in a higher pH water than many other fish. What you will be getting into with the ramirezi is fish that do better in low mineral content water and lower pH values. I am a very experienced fish keeper and stay away from the rams for the simple reason that I have no intention of getting myself into a situation where I must constantly adjust my water parameters for the rams comfort. If you happen to know that you have low GH and low pH water, you might do just fine with rams but if you have good guppy water that is not likely.

Agreed, rams are really quite fussy about water quality and temperature if you want them to thrive. I steer clear of them now, as my local water is not good for them.

 

[hamfist]

And I think I'm gonna get DPs,

Great choice ! They are awesome little fish, but please believe all the stories of them biting ALL other fish. I couldn't even keep mine with Oto's, they bit them. And a DP can take out a surprisingly large chunk of fin !

Be very careful when you actually get to choosing your DPs. Many in shops are either not eating or infested with gut parasites, or both. Try and choose fish with a nice rounded belly, which will indicate that it is eating healthily. At all costs avoid any skinny DPs. Will avoid heartache in the long run.

 

[miss.Original]

Okay, thanks for the advice, i'll be sure to buy the rounded puffers. Although I'm still deciding on weather or not to keep them with any other fish, I'll be starting a different thread in the oddballs section to see how many people think that I should or should not. But I still have a long time before I start getting any puffers yet, I still have to get my aquarium planted to my liking, theres only a few plants in there now, which doesn't work for me, and then I have to wait for the plants to grow out too after I buy them lol