Looking for compatible fish

[donnaR]

I am new to this forum, this is my first post. I am also new to aquariums so please bear with me!

I decided 2 weeks ago that my son needed fish, so off I went to the store and bought a 10gallon starter kit. I set it up, put all the necessary stuff in the water (to take the chlorine out, take care of fish waste, fin fixer, freshwater salt.....), and let the tank sit filtering away for a week.

The gal who helped me at the fish store couldn't have been less helpful. I had NO idea what to get, but she basically left it up to me, so I went for colourful and selected Rosy Barbs. She suggested 2 males cause they were more colourful. Well you experienced folks probably can guess that didn't go so well. All they did was peck and poke at each other, fairly aggressively. So I called the store the next day and a different person told me it was because they were both males, so thought I should balance the tank with a couple of females. So back I went to get the girls. There was peace in the aquarium for a day, then they were ALL AT EACH OTHER. By the next morning, one of the males was dead and the remaining 3 were fighting for tank domination. I called the store and I was told that barbs do this, peck at each other, they are semi-agressive. I didn't want semi-agressive, I don't want a dead fish every morning, just a nice happy tank. She said I could come in and exchange them.

So that I did, this morning. Now I have 3 black phantom tetras, they seem nice, they're friendly with each other, although not all that active (maybe still adjusting to their new home?). I guess my question for now is, when I go to add more fish, what kinds would be compatible with these guys? I'd eventually like to get a plecostomus and a siamese fighting fish, if they'll go with my tetras. And the dwarf african frogs are cute too.

Sorry if I sound totally green, but I am........ advice will be welcome! I've got about a million more questions but I"ll start with this. Thanks in advance!

 

[cJw]

Welcome to the board and the hobby, Donna!

The little I know about tetras is that they would be fine with a pleco and they should be fine with a 'Betta' (siamese fighting fish) in the tank. You want to be careful of having 'too much fish' in a tank that size, though.

Any actual owners of bettas confirm/deny this?

BTW, there're lots of compatibility charts available on the internet:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm
http://www.auspet.com/fish08.html

With 'community' being the 'nice' or 'not aggressive' fish.

Hope this helps!

 

[extremenewb]

Well, when you say "not all that active", are they stressed? I guess one thing could be your water conditions. Just make sure the tank's cycled, and IMO give it 1-2 weeks between tank additions.

Most ppl go with the 1" per gallon. I'm generally more liberal, esp since I heavily plant, and do PWC's appropriate to the types being raised in the tank. From memory, I think it grows to 2"? Though isn't it a schooling fish so is 3 "enough"? Maybe someone with more experience could help you.

Pleco's don't get the wrong one, unless you're planning to upgrade to a bigger tank. For siamese, I'd opt for a female, and even they are semi aggressive. Though their speed is no match for my cardinals which dash away

 

[Andos99]

For such a small tank, I would leave out the pleco (most pet shops sell the "common" pleco which gets quite large, unless you get a smaller, more exotic breed which can be quite pricey). Some nice fish to add might be some white cloud minnows or zebra danios. I've kept both in smaller tanks in the past and they seem to do great. Good luck!

 

[megladonsharky]

I have a 9 gallon yes a bit ove rthe 1 inch rule but i have double filtration... one male betta , one pitbull pleco one dwarf coryand three drarf rainbows.. tank is well planted heated and really filtered and i do h2o changes two to three times a week..


My female betta is my most agressive fish she is with white clouds and lucky for them they swim fast..

 

[Jaxom_Ruatha]

There are actually some more rather common plecos that aren't pricey such as the bushynose pleco or the rubbernose pleco. The Common variety grow easily to about 2 feet long I believe. While other varieties stay only about 6" long, also the common pleco becomes more carnivorous as it matures and will start sucking on the fish which can greatly harm and even kill them. I believe you should have about 5 tetras since they are a schooling species, plus possibly one betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) male or female, plus one pleco of the smaller species. HTH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

In a tank that size, I would not recommend getting a pleco. They are big waste producers and can cause havoc on your bio-load. You are new to this, therefore should make it a simple setup until you get the hang of things. Later on down the road you could get a pleco, but you need to have a well established tank first. This way they have the algae build-up to munch off of and it won't be such a shock to the bio-load.

Since your tank is not cycled, let it run for the next month or two, doing water changes as needed (every day or every other day, depending on your water test results). Do not add any more fish until it is cycled. If you need info on cycling, either Search the forum, check out the articles section, or shoot me a PM. I'd be more than happy to help you. The Articles version is a tad intimidating to newbies.

At this point in your tank, I'd worry about the cycling part. Then, once your Nitrites start to decline start really researching what you want to add to the tank.

 

[jersysman]

As fishyfanatic said, I would just want to get the tank cycled. You will need a test kit to keep track of your water parameters. The best kit to get IMO is the Master Kit by AP. It has test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, and upper ph. If your lfs does not have it, you can get in from www.bigalsonline.com for about $12. Read up as much as you can on the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle your tank with fish in it. After this, you can concentrate on getting fish.

 

[mentallylost]

I'd listen to Fishyfanatic and let the tank finish cycling for a month or so. But then I would go for an African shelldweller species. Such as a 'Lamprologus` multifasciatus or a 'Lamprologus` ocellatus. Great fish with personality and they only get to be about 2 inches long. These are very prolific breeders, so babies are sure to be in no time at all. But this makes the fish keeping hobby so much more enjoyable. They will get a long fine with your tetras as long as you give them a enough shells to live in. Try to stay with 1 male and 2 females if you do go with these species.These sehll dwellers are not usually found in a major pet store chain (petco, petsmart) but can often be found in a a smaller more fish specialized LFS.

I would probably stay away from the pleco's too. Give a couple of mystery snails a chance. They are usually $1.00 or so each and are a neat addition to the tank. These snails can usually be found at most main stream pet stores.

 

[donnaR]

Thanks everybody for all the great input and advice! I've obviously come to the right place for help with my new hobby........ will post a more specific reply and an update in a few days when I have some more time. THANKS AGAIN!

ps. black phantoms are more adventurous now, moving about, being happy. just what I wanted!

 

[madchild24]

if u decide to get a betta u better get a female a male will probly kill the tetras

 

[Toirtis]

if u decide to get a betta u better get a female a male will probly kill the tetras

Females can be just as nasty as males, so that is no guarantee.