help with stocking a 10 gallon aquarium

[kilfrg7864]

hey!

So currently i have been cycling my tank for about 2ish week with 4 zebra danios in there. I really like these fish and hope to keep them once my tank is fully cycled. I was thinking about adding maybe 1 more, and possibly some panda corys, or pygmy corys.

Would this be okay? or would my tank be super overstocked? i know lots of people think a 10 gallon is too small for zebra danios, but that was what the LFS recommended to me, and i dont really want to take them back there when im done, and just have them die in a tiny aquarium filled with dozen more! i also am unable to really upgrade my tank because i am a poor college student haha.

 

[mgamer20o0]

personally i wouldnt. at a lfs remember they are there for a short time. plus most have large sumps that adds water volume. its like having fish in a small tank for QT its ok for a couple weeks to make sure they are healthy but its not like you will keep them in that tank forever.

 

[kilfrg7864]

so you wouldnt recommend adding anything in there? it just seems like my 10 gallon is so big for only 4 fish that swim mainly in the middle and top.

And i really dont wanna bring the fish back as ive grown attached to them :-/

 

[meegosh]

I don't think mg was telling you can't have more than four fish(correct me if I am wrong). I think he was just saying to wait for your tank to cycle completely before you add more fish. Four danios are a rather light bioload so I think you would be fine adding some cories. They do prefer to be in schools of 6 or more but I had four peppered cories in my 10g at one point with guppies and tetras and they did just fine.

Edit:

I wouldn't add any more danios because they like free space to swim in. They are active little fish, so keep that in mind.

 

[kilfrg7864]

OOOO of course! i was going to hold off on adding any new fish until my tank was fully cycled. I am actually getting the gunk from my buddys sponge in his tank that has been empty and just running for about a year and a half. SO i figure there will be tons of bacteria that will help speed up the cycling process.

do you think having peppered corys will be too big for the tank( i try to follow the 1inch rule). I like the bigger sized corys(esp the julli ones), but i wasnt sure if itd be overstocking the tank with them which is why i was thinking of the pygmy ones.

If i were to get peppered or the corys that grow to about 2 inches how many do you think i could fit in the tank with 4 zebra danios? how many pygmys?


EDIt: BTW thanks for all the help!

 

[mgamer20o0]

sorry i didnt explain my correctly. i meant i wouldnt keep the danios in a 10 gallon. like meegosh said danios are active fish i feel that really require more space then a 10 gallon gives them.

as for cories i would prob stick to the pygmy or panda. since cories are schooling fish like zebras they do best in bigger groups.

if you are trying to follow the 1inch per gallon myth.... zebras get to be 2 inch so 4 in a 10 gallon would be 8 inch.

 

[Dekz]

The inch per gallon rule is completely bogus.

As long as you aren't physically overcrowding your tank, the amount of fish you can have is really determined by how often you are willing to do water changes.

I think something like ~4 Cories and a school of ~6 of something small (Zebras, Neons, Glowlights, etc.) would be just fine with weekly water changes.

 

[mgamer20o0]

has more to do then just physically overcrowding then bioload maintenance filtration compatibility and many others.

 

[Dekz]

has more to do then just physically overcrowding then bioload maintenance filtration compatibility and many others.

This sentence isn't really coherent, but I think you are agreeing with me