stocking ideas

[kathleen55]

here are my stocking ideas for a 10g tank:
3 platys
2 adfs
1 swordtail
2-3 mystery snails.
could i have another fish?

for my other 10g tank:
2 dwarf puffers. lots and lots of plants and caves. maybe 2 otos? could i have a 3rd puffer?

 

[Galligak]

I don't know about the first one but for the second I would stick with just two puffers unless your tank is extremely heavily planted even with just two make sure it's planted. I'm not so sure about about the ottos but I think it'll be okay

 

[Shadowraven]

Neither tank appears to be even close to overcrowded yet. You could add a few more fish, depending on what you have in mind. Do you know of any other fish that you would like to keep?

A third puffer in the other 10-gal shouldn't be a problem. Just remember that they are 100% FW fish. They also produce waste that is all out of proportion to their size. 50% PWC are what is suggested by nearly all veteran keepers of this fish. The Otos should be OK to keep, but I would get at least 3. Keep a weather-eye on the puffers, they can be aggressive fin nippers, but have a lot of personality. Here is a good site to go to for more information: Dwarf Puffers : Home

 

[somethingsfishy]

Ottos are ok with puffers. I'm goig to be setting up a 29 puffer soon with ottos. I may swap the ottos for yoyo loaches and test the two together. Good luck with your tank.

 

[kathleen55]

Neither tank appears to be even close to overcrowded yet. You could add a few more fish, depending on what you have in mind. Do you know of any other fish that you would like to keep?

A third puffer in the other 10-gal shouldn't be a problem. Just remember that they are 100% FW fish. They also produce waste that is all out of proportion to their size. 50% PWC are what is suggested by nearly all veteran keepers of this fish. The Otos should be OK to keep, but I would get at least 3. Keep a weather-eye on the puffers, they can be aggressive fin nippers, but have a lot of personality. Here is a good site to go to for more information: Dwarf Puffers : Home

thanks! i may add 2 guppies to tank 1 also

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Be careful with all those livebearers in a tank, because even if you get same sexes for one species, if you get another species, for example guppies, that is the opposite sex they can hybridise. If you plan on getting livebearers get all of them male, you can still get females at the LFS that are still prego.

 

[Shadowraven]

thanks! i may add 2 guppies to tank 1 also

I'd say that that was OK to do. You may even be able to get away with 4, but no more than that.

 

[kathleen55]

Be careful with all those livebearers in a tank, because even if you get same sexes for one species, if you get another species, for example guppies, that is the opposite sex they can hybridise. If you plan on getting livebearers get all of them male, you can still get females at the LFS that are still prego.

okay good to know

 

[kathleen55]

I'd say that that was OK to do. You may even be able to get away with 4, but no more than that.

okay thanks

 

[severum mama]

IMO swordtails do not belong in a 10 gallon. I've seen some very large adult swordtails. Platies are questionable for 10 IMO. Mystery snails have a big bioload relative to their size so be sure to take that into account.

 

[siva]

here are my stocking ideas for a 10g tank:
3 platys
2 adfs
1 swordtail
2-3 mystery snails.
could i have another fish?

for my other 10g tank:
2 dwarf puffers. lots and lots of plants and caves. maybe 2 otos? could i have a 3rd puffer?

Swordtails get much too large for a 10 gal tank. I would consider a 29 gal absolute minimum for them. They have quite a large bio-load at full size.

For the platys I would get all males so that you don't end up overloaded with fry.

Apple snails aka mystery snails have a very large bio-load for a snail. I would stock no more than 1 in a 10 gal....if you are stocking more I would just be careful and realize their bio-load is more similar to a livebearer like a guppy or platy and not most other snails.

Puffers are very nippy...usually they are considered best for a species only tank but I don't know enough about them to say much on that. I will say I definitely would not keep them with ADF's.

Oto's are generaly considered suitable for 20 gals and up. One of the probs stocking them in a smaller tank is that they need to be in groups of no less than 3 but need to be stocked no more than 1 per 5 gals. It's also good to know with oto's they should be added to well established tanks..waiting 6 months is good.

I keep my ADF's in a species only tank as they are nearly blind and have a hard time competing for food with fish. If you do keep them in a community setting, be sure to feed them only frog & tadpole bites and frozen foods such as bloodworms and brine shrimp. Avoid all other pellet foods and all freeze dried foods. Be sure to feed them in the same place every day, like their fav cave or hidey hole, so that they know where to go to find the food when they smell it and can hopefully get their fill before the fish get it all.

 

[kathleen55]

IMO swordtails do not belong in a 10 gallon. I've seen some very large adult swordtails. Platies are questionable for 10 IMO. Mystery snails have a big bioload relative to their size so be sure to take that into account.

ohh okay good to know about the swordtails. whats a better snail to keep?

 

[siva]

Mystery snails are basically for looks. They scavenge OK at best. If you want algae clean-up than go for nerites. You don't want to add any algae eating snail however, if you plan on adding oto's to a tank that small.

 

[kathleen55]

Mystery snails are basically for looks. They scavenge OK at best. If you want algae clean-up than go for nerites. You don't want to add any algae eating snail however, if you plan on adding oto's to a tank that small.

i do like how mystery snails look. so why cant i add any snail with otos?

 

[severum mama]

Both nerites and otos can be tricky to feed in captivity without enough algae. Neither are a sure bet for accepting prepared foods. Some will, many won't touch them.

 

[siva]

Mystery snails would be fine with oto's since they aren't algae eaters. Oto's are algae eaters and sensitive ones at that. Any algae eating snail would only compete with them for food. Sometimes they can be stubborn and won't take supplements like algae wafers and blanched zucchini..it's not uncommon to need to grow extra algae for them on stones in a bowl of tank water in your window...so to rob them of any of the tanks natural algae growth wouldn't make sense. That's why it's best to wait atleast 6 months before adding them..so that the tank is hopefully growing a decent enough amount of algae for them to survive.

 

[kathleen55]

Mystery snails would be fine with oto's since they aren't algae eaters. Oto's are algae eaters and sensitive ones at that. Any algae eating snail would only compete with them for food. Sometimes they can be stubborn and won't take supplements like algae wafers and blanched zucchini..it's not uncommon to need to grow extra algae for them on stones in a bowl of tank water in your window...so to rob them of any of the tanks natural algae growth wouldn't make sense. That's why it's best to wait atleast 6 months before adding them..so that the tank is hopefully growing a decent enough amount of algae for them to survive.

oh good to know. ill wait then