Looking for small fish. Need assistance.

[jasno999]

I have a 10G and a 30G tank. What I am looking for is help on finding fish that will remain small that I can add to these tanks. See I am looking for some help finding bottom eaters and alge eaters alon with a cool/interestign fish or two that would be in a dwarf type class. Fish that will not get too big and not outgrow the tanks. Any assistance would be great.

 

[Menagerie]

Assorted Cory Cats, Rubber Lip Pleco, Dwarf cichlids--(Bolivian Rams, German Rams, Apisots) Kuhli Loaches, Butterfly Loach, Silver-tip Tetras, Serpae Tetras, shellies (shell dwelling cichilds from Lake Tanganyika), Badis badis, Pygmy cories, and Livebearers--Mollies, Platies, Guppies, Swordtails. BTW--this list was pulled from three of my tank descriptions from my profile. I do not recommend keeping them all together.
It's a start. There are many sources on-line in which you can look up their needs and match them to each other and your water parameters.
Not currently in my tanks, but stay small--otos, pitbull pleco, bumble bee gobies (need salt), some species of rainbow fish, zebra danios, some other tetras, etc. There's more I am sure, but this will get you started!
Have fun!

 

[tkos]

A 30 gallon has lots of choices. The 10 gallon not so much. Ottos and maybe an SAE would work in a 10 gallon. Cory catfish on the bottom and a small school of tetras. But I would not be adding more than 8-10 small fish total to a 10 gallon.

 

[Menagerie]

The 10 gallon not so much

Use your imagination--there are many options :
shellies
a divided betta tank with cories on the bottom
breeding tank (if you have a couple of frisky fish from the 30)
bumble bee gobies
Badis (supposedly they need more room, but they are little fish--I have mine in a 10 gal hex with lots of hiding spots)
dwarf puffer fish (I read on here somewhere about keeping them in a 5.5 gal)
shrimp
snails
...

jasno999--your real limit will be the quality of your water (pH, hardness).

 

[Christmasfish]

Many smaller socialable labyrinth fish (not betta splendend/imbellis or coccina) would enjoy a 10 gallon in a group of 5.)
My 10 has 5 croaking gourami and some skunk botia. And its zero across the boards AND a dutch tank to boot. Had it been filtered I prolly wouldn't need to move them.
My son has mini albino cories and 7 mixed age chocolate gourami (but 4 is the proper number permanent) Divideds with bettas and dwarf gourami.
A hospital/QT .

Your 30 can be fun. Look at the Beacious started 8) thread for MANY suggestions for small tanks (as well as warnings of what won't work)

 

[Allivymar]

For your 10g, I suggest a pair of otocinclus and 4 pygmy corys. For the 30g you have a little more flexibility in terms of size and fish types. What is your water parameters and what sort of fish do you like? Colorful? Quiet? Good algae eaters?

And whats in the tanks already/what will be going in with them?

 

[Devilishturtles]

What about some rasboras? Stay small and a schooling fish. I have a school of 7 in my 55 gal and they haven't grown much at all. CAn also go along with many other community tank fish.

http://petplace.compuserve.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=1321 for some information on rasboras

 

[millipede]

ottos and a khulie loach... those are some of my favorites... the ottos are great at keeping the tank clean... and I just like khulis... a school of neons would be cool too... hmmmmm I may do something like that myself... I'm getting a bit tired of baby guppies

 

[jasno999]

Well I guess the 10Gal is filled. I have fancy guppies and neon tetras. I also have a figure 8 puffer in there. HE is cool with the other fish and leaves them be. Actually he is scared of them. But they are all kept well fed.

I want to get some bottom dwlers that will remain small and be good at eatign junk on the bottom of the tank in my 30gal. I have some Cichlids and 2 gourami. I know I know. Don't yell at me everybody. The Cichlids are small and the gouramis I have had for about 8 months or so. They are bigger and I feel that as they all grow up together they will be fien and get along. They do so far. I forget the exact ype of Cichlids they are.

I made the mistake of gettign them not thinking it through when I was at the store. It was after I did that - when I found this board. I wish I had found it sooner.

 

[Menagerie]

The Cichlids are small and the gouramis I have had for about 8 months or so. They are bigger and I feel that as they all grow up together they will be fien and get along. They do so far. I forget the exact ype of Cichlids they are.

You need to find out which cichlids you have. Once they reach sexually maturity, you may run into problems.

 

[Christmasfish]

And if your gourami are different sexed the chances are that they wil pair and become aggressive too. And most species are just color morphs of two basic types.... the colisa lalia(dwarf) and the larger Three spot (golds, silvers, blues...).
gourami are usually stinkers from the get go tho if they are aggressive. Their way in nature is to be shy and retiring, but in nature they are a silver gray fish with flashy markings...not a solid.

As for the small tank? I say get a double size filter, with large media area (maybe a mini 2-5 gal HOB refuge picked up off Ebay) defer the outflow through a uplift tube or bubbler (so you don't sweep your lil guys), put tahitian black sand and a black background to show the fish and hide the refuge ; put lots of fake silks (too many real and you gotta sweat over lighting and co2). a solid resin driftwood stick and some javas then stick 8 neons, 6 cardinals and 6 black neons in there with 3 or 4 2-3 inch mini-cories. Or 3 REAL siamese algae eaters. Or since neons are not known eaters of shrimp and bioload is already a issue in this special set up::a small herd of algae eating amanos.
THERE! Thats a suggestion..needs a lot of work- arounds but can be made to happen... It'll be TOTALLY overstocked for size and you may still have times everyone is not seen!

 

[jasno999]

Well. I already have the 10gal filled up. I have the fish and do not want more fish as mid or top dwlers.

I want bottome feeders that are goign to eat the junk on the bottom and maybe a fish that will work on alge. I have a problem with brown hair alge. I am lookign for a SAE btu can not find any in the LPS/LFS.

I think that the Cichlids I have are Mbuna Cichlids and are actually Kenyis to be more exact. I am not positive but the Femal is blie with dark stripes from top to bottom and the male is yellow with stripes from top to bottom. THey are both very colorful. Very blue and very yellow. Good looking fish.

 

[jasno999]

Oh by the way I have the same filter on both the 30gal and the 10 gal tank. It is a biowheel filter meant for up to 30 gal tanks. So the 10 gal is gettign a lot of filtration and water movment but it needs it cause it has a pretty big bio-load.

Fish are health and doign well. Colors are good and they are pretty active. Neons are not as livley btu the guppies are constantly on the go. And the new guppy babies are constantly appearing. I am raising them i na small 1 gallon tank with a undergravle filter. They live with two black mystery snails and are doign fine. Will eventually sell them back to the lfs or give them away to frield and people at work. But the first bunch I am going to keep and see what the color combinations come out to be like.

 

[jasno999]

Anybody?

 

[Menagerie]

Anybody?

It seems okay to me!
Keep an eye on the neons if they don't seem as active as before (or if new--can't remember).