am contemplating setting up my 10 gal again (upgraded to a 20 last year, and the 10's just been gathering dust, more or less), and am going nuts trying to decide how to stock it. my options:
1---move livebearers (mollies & guppies) to 10 gal, have the 20 be betta & loaches only (kuhli & dojo). i like this option, since the livebearers are the only fish i have who ever get sick. that way, the loaches & betta can live in a disease-free, med-free environment.
2---divide 10 gal into sections (3? 4?), and move the betta over, adding additional male bettas to fill each area. basically, 3 or 4 sections, each with one male betta. i also like this, because i have developed a rather pronounced fondness for bettas. have even contemplated breeding them in moments of madness. however, don't know how stressful this might be on the bettas.
3---leave 20 gal as is, and do an entirely new set-up in the 10. in which case i get to angst over new species. if i go this route, i think would like to get those dwarf puffers i saw last week, but what the heck can i put with them?! they only grow to 1", and although they are cute & funny little fellas, i don't want a tank of all puffers, all the time. y'know? i have hard water with a steady pH of 7.6, so they should do fine, but i am somewhat limited as to what various species can tolerate (and thrive) in. then, of course, i can't get anything that's going to get too big, BUT, whatever i get has to be able to "out-bully" the puffers. ; ) any suggestions?
anyway, any and all opinions are extremely welcome, as i have gotten so obsessed over this that i am now dreaming about it. ack!
fireclown
1---move livebearers (mollies & guppies) to 10 gal, have the 20 be betta & loaches only (kuhli & dojo). i like this option, since the livebearers are the only fish i have who ever get sick. that way, the loaches & betta can live in a disease-free, med-free environment.
2---divide 10 gal into sections (3? 4?), and move the betta over, adding additional male bettas to fill each area. basically, 3 or 4 sections, each with one male betta. i also like this, because i have developed a rather pronounced fondness for bettas. have even contemplated breeding them in moments of madness. however, don't know how stressful this might be on the bettas.
3---leave 20 gal as is, and do an entirely new set-up in the 10. in which case i get to angst over new species. if i go this route, i think would like to get those dwarf puffers i saw last week, but what the heck can i put with them?! they only grow to 1", and although they are cute & funny little fellas, i don't want a tank of all puffers, all the time. y'know? i have hard water with a steady pH of 7.6, so they should do fine, but i am somewhat limited as to what various species can tolerate (and thrive) in. then, of course, i can't get anything that's going to get too big, BUT, whatever i get has to be able to "out-bully" the puffers. ; ) any suggestions?
anyway, any and all opinions are extremely welcome, as i have gotten so obsessed over this that i am now dreaming about it. ack!
fireclown