doldrum
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
can you suggest some fish that will be comfortable in a ten gallon tank :?
ten gallon tank
- Thread starter doldrum
- Start date
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Sponge Bob
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Cories 
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well I find this an interesting topic, because I have one too, and have gone 'round and 'round about how to stock it. You can definitely keep 3-4 freshwater puffers, as they are only about 1.5 inches long, but not much in the way of tankmates as they are fierce. They are so tiny that they don't make for a very interesting tank. My favorite setup involves school of harlequin rasboras and one of cardinal tetras, maybe a pygmy cory cat or two and some shrimp. In my heavily planted 10-gal this is fine, as the plants are the focus. Otherwise it gets kinda boring. You can definitely also keep rams, as they stay small. A dwarf gourami is great (mine allows NO tankmates, unfortunately, but not all are like that) and there is always the betta with some white cloud minnows. You can go with guppies, also, or a school of the smaller tetras. I would stay away from mollies/platys/swordtails as they generally get bigger than is comfortable for that size tank, not to mention babies. Then you have the shell-dweller dwarf cichlids (very interesting; I plan to try this next) that can do very well in a 10-gal. Rams get my top vote right now, as they are usually available (never seen the shellies offered at the LFS) and are quite beautiful, with long-finned varieties being commonly seen around here lately. You can put them with a small school of neons or any of the small tetras. Avoid zebra danios; they require a lot of room to swim and are not happy in a 10-gal. You can find some small plecos that will live comfortably in a 10-gal, or go with otocinclus cats for algae cleanup. There are probably more No-No's than recommendations, however, and it is easy to go wrong with stocking a 10gal. Sorry for the diarrhea of the keyboard - your'e probably sorry you asked, now!
targaboy78
Aquarium Advice FINatic
My preference would be Indian Dwarf Puffers.
(Tetraodon Travancoricus) One male and 2 females.
The only grow to about 1 inch or so.
Or plan B;
A pair of Kribensis. (Pelkavachromis Pulcher)
maybe some Otos or Cories (caution if you decide on the puffers, they are fin nippers)
(Tetraodon Travancoricus) One male and 2 females.
The only grow to about 1 inch or so.
Or plan B;
A pair of Kribensis. (Pelkavachromis Pulcher)
maybe some Otos or Cories (caution if you decide on the puffers, they are fin nippers)
Pacu Man
Aquarium Advice Activist
Im with targa, dwarf puffers are sweet!
and so are targas! 8) gotta love the "T" tops
and so are targas! 8) gotta love the "T" tops
purplestarfish
Aquarium Advice Activist
I guess you're selling/giving away your bala sharks? A good idea; mine has to go, he'd be happier with more of his own kind anyway. But to get to the point: one gourami, a couple of otos, and a betta would be nice. The gourami may be a "standard" sized one, like a three-spot or a cosby/gold/blue variation of it, but they're often territorial. Dwarf gouramis can be the same, but they're like two for the price of one . . . two dwarfs instead of one "standard." Two small ones may also reduce the risk of the territoriality as they have each other to dote on or harass, depending. Shrimp would be awesome, and otos would work because, unlike corys, they're not schooling and they don't rely on companionship, as the corys do. With corys, you'd need at least three, and that takes up virtually all of your tank space. As for the betta . . . well, nuff said, it'd most likely work! Since the gouramis and the betta are labyrinth fish, although the tank wouldn't be overstocked, they'd get more air from breathing at the surface and therefore would be fine. And, as everyone's rightfully noticed, dwarf puffers are awesome! 8) In fact, I went to Petsmart one time, and I saw one (the rest had been sold) bossing around a bunch of black mollies. An employee noticed me practically drooling over it and told me it HAD been kept with 5-8" kissing gouramis but was even MORE territorial/bossy/bullying with them! It's most likely a species fish only. Oh, and the shrimp sound like a great idea, TankGirl, I can't wait to get some of my own . . . eventually! 
Well I'll shut up now and let you get back to your life; good luck and have fun!
Well I'll shut up now and let you get back to your life; good luck and have fun!doldrum
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Yes, i am getting rid of the balas...not enough room in the tank for them...and Thanks everyone...got lots of good input and a couple no-nos, and not knowing what half of them are, I have research to do now..so ta-ta for now and thanks again
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have to disagree about the otocinclus cats - they ARE a schooling fish and definitely go into a decline without some mates. However, three or four of them in a 10-gal is not a problem. I would also avoid putting a gourami and a betta together, as there will likely be fights. I think the full-size gouramis are too large for a 10-gal, and would stick with a dwarf. I keep dwarf puffers and they are extremely aggressive, so definitely species-only for them, like Purplestarfish indicated. Good luck and I'm glad you are doing your research - that's half the fun for me!
