10g, looking to add fish

[James_in_MN]

Right now in my 10g tank, I have:
6 narrow wedge harlequin rasboras (the smaller harlequin)
1 pygmy/sparkling gourami
4 amano shrimp
16+ RCS
1 nerite snail (whereabouts unknown)

I was thinking about adding 2-3 more pygmy gouramis, but they seem to get aggressive when mating, so I'm second-guessing that idea.

If I didn't go that route, what other fish could I add instead? Note that:
- I'd prefer not to get a partial school of a schooling fish
- I'd like to stick to smaller fish in this tank

What options might I have?

 

[AquaOne]

Sounds like you are in need of 2-3 pit-bull pleco's.
I'm pretty sure they get to about 2½" long. Peaceful bottom feeders (and glass). You could be close to what some might think is capacity for a 10g tank. I think your collection sounds real good.

 

[James_in_MN]

Sounds like you are in need of 2-3 pit-bull pleco's.
I'm pretty sure they get to about 2½" long. Peaceful bottom feeders (and glass).

Honestly, when I hear pleco, I don't think 10g tank. Granted, the smallest pleco I was aware of was the bristlenose pleco, which shouldn't be in anything less than a 20g tank.

Pitbull plecos sound like they're just a little bit bigger than an otto. Even so, I'm still not sure it would be a good idea to keep one of those in a 10g tank.

I did end up getting two more sparkling gouramis. The LFS that I bought the first one restocked, thankfully. Hopefully, I won't run into any aggression problems if either of the three do end up mating (I have no idea what sex any of them are).

 

[arangarajan93]

You can put 2 platys.

 

[toddnbecka]

I have some Ancistrus claro coming this week. They're smaller than anything but Oto's, between 2-3". Not territorial like common male BN either.
Akysis catfish are another small species, suitable for a 10 gallon tank. They look something like bumblebee catfish, and will eat fry or baby shrimp, but at a little over 2" their damage potential is pretty small.

 

[James_in_MN]

The Ancistrus claro pleco, from what I've read, can get at least 3" long, and the male is as territorial as bn plecos. The 3" alone is enough to deter me from thinking about adding it to a 10g tank.

The Akysis catfish and RCS probably won't be a good mix. It may not go for the adults, but the young would be another story. I already think my sparkling gourami may be hunting them in the java moss, so I'd be reluctant to add another predator.

I could be wrong, but I think that platys get too big for a 10g tank.

I'm going to wait to see what my nitrAte levels are over the next couple of weeks. I just replaced my main filter with an AquaClear and added two sparkling gouramis, so I want to see if my nitrAtes stay at 20ppm prior to my weekly water change. If they do or even go lower than 20, I may think about adding another fish. If not, I'll stay put.