What schooling fish to get this weekend?

[da9k1ne]

I currently have a 10 gallon tank with...

1 Serpae Tetra
2 Sunset Fire Platys
1 Moonlight Gourami
1 Black Molly
1 Dalmatian Molly

I am looking to get a school of 5-6 very small active fish to add some excitement to my tank.

I was thinking neon tetras, or zebra danios.
Would either of these fish get along with my current fish?

If not, could you let me know which schooling fish I can get or which would be the most colorful/exciting to have in there?

Thanks!

 

[aqua man]

tetras are nice fish but they are also schooling fish and can be nippers if alone, is your gourami, terratorial? other then that you should be fine

 

[da9k1ne]

tetras are nice fish but they are also schooling fish and can be nippers if alone, is your gourami, terratorial? other then that you should be fine

the gourami doesn't seem to be territorial at all, he gets along fine with everyone in the tank now.

so are you suggesting i get one more serpae tetra to hang out with the one i already have, and 5-6 neon tetras?

 

[harmy4993]

you are kinda at your fish limit now. you couldnt add more fish and have them be healthy in a 10 gallon tank. plus you have fish that like to be in groups of 3-5 for the mollys and the platy. and 6+ for the tetras. as it is your fish are not going live very happy lives and adding 5-6 more fish would make it worse.

 

[bs6749]

I wouldn't add anymore fish to that tank. As already stated you are at the tank's threshold for fish. Adding any more wouldn't be good for the health of any of the fish. You are going to need a larger tank or another tank if you want to safely add more fish. I'd suggest a 29 gallon tank, which would give you more options on fish choices.

 

[Alaris]

I also agree that you have too many fish for your 10g to be adding any more fish. If you got more fish, then a few days later you'd see some fish die and some get ich. Mollies and Platys are very messy fish and are pushing your bioload as it stands.

 

[aqua man]

they are right though as far as aggression is concerned you would be fine but the tank is too small for the fish to stay healthy.

 

[da9k1ne]

thanks for the the replys guys, i guess i'll hold off on getting more fish then. i just wanted to add a little excitement and color.

5 very small schooling fish will really upset the biology of the tank that much? thats surprising to me, but i'll take your words for it being that im only a beginner.

 

[Sum22]

Look at is this way, you add more fish, you feed them more food. Not all the food gets eaten.

Plus, you have to factor in fish waste. More fish waste means you need more bacteria to eat up the byproducts of decomposing fish waste.

Plus, fish waste and left over food doesn't go away alone. You would need to do water changes to vacuum it from your gravel. If you don't change enough water, or do it frequently enough, another byproduct - nitrates build up and slowly weaken your fish making them more prone to disease or upsetting the pH balance of the water in your tank.

The more fish you add to your tank, the more you have to compensate for the waste and food levels. It might mean that you have to do a 50% or more water change with vacuuming every day in order to keep the levels balanced. It only makes more work on your part, or if the maintenance is neglected, then the fish succumb to disease.

Save the money you would spend on new fish and start saving for a larger tank. Check ebay or craigslist for a deal.

 

[thominil]

I'd skip the 29 and go for the 55 in my area 55's on Craig's List go from $75-$200 for a full setup, but ask if they used copper or any meds. If they used copper then you can't get inverts. If you do get a new tank use the fishless cycling method. I didnt and lost about 5 fish.

 

[aqua man]

Tell me about it no one told me about cycling originally and i lost 5 tetras

 

[thominil]

2 platys 1 guppy and 2 dalmation mollies here

 

[da9k1ne]

alright, my neighbors want to take one or two of my mollys.

so that means i have room for schooling fish like i wanted!

if i give them one molly, could i get 5 tetras?
how about if i got rid of both of them?

 

[rich311k]

Get rid of the mollies they need a bigger tank anyway. Them a few neons would probably be ok.

 

[Sum22]

The general rule for fw fish keeping is one inch of fish per gallon of water. You have a 10g tank, your limit is 10" of fish.

Once you give away the 2 mollies, you will still have about 9" of fish in your tank, if not more, depending on the size of the gourami. Neons are small, but I wouldn't suggest more than 3-4 and they tend to be happier in a larger group. You could try adding 3 zebra danios, but as is stated above, you are still close to the max on your tank. You'd have to be diligent in your maintenance of the tank and closely monitor your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels to ensure the fish stay healthy.

My original advice still stands. Take the $10 you'd spend on the neons and add it to a fund for a larger tank. Add $10 every week or two and then keep an eye out for a good deal on craigslist. You can get a complete setup for an inexpensive amount: tank, filter, hood, heater, light, maybe even some decorations, etc.

 

[da9k1ne]

Okay, this is the final idea:

The neighbors want the serpae tetra, and both mollys.

That leaves:
Moonight gourami (2 inches)
2 sunset fire platys (.75 inches)



I want to get 6 neon tetras/6 zebras danios.
That still leaves room for one or two fish.

I'm not worried about being close to the limit becuase I do a water change weekly and always watch the chemical levels.

What other fish should I go with?
Or should I get different fish all together than the tetras/danios?

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[thominil]

Now you could probly get the neons and danios dont get anymore after that tho
You might as well scrap that idea and save up for a bigger tank because over time your going to feel you "NEED" a bigger tank.

You could get corys instead of the danios to, I find them very fascinating

 

[Alaris]

The rules to the inch/gallon guideline:

1.) Inches of fish = the eventual ADULT size of the fish, not the current size.
2.) The eventual ADULT aggression of the fish. Aggressive fish need ~5gal or more per aggressive fish.
3.) The messiness of the fish. Large fish are messy. Platies and mollies are messy. Messy fish need more space.
4.) Large fish (about 5 inch or more) need more than just 1 inch/gallon. They need at least double the space and possibly up to 5 times more space than 1 inch/gallon.
5.) Active fish (like danios) need more space.

If you will only have 1 gourami and 2 platys in your tank, then you can get 4-5 neons. That's it and that's pushing the limit so you will definitely have to stay up on your maintenance.

 

[da9k1ne]

Now you could probly get the neons and danios dont get anymore after that tho
You might as well scrap that idea and save up for a bigger tank because over time your going to feel you "NEED" a bigger tank.

You could get corys instead of the danios to, I find them very fascinating

i cant get a bigger thank here, i'm at college. i'm already looking for at least a 35 gallon that i can start when i go home for my family.

The rules to the inch/gallon guideline:

1.) Inches of fish = the eventual ADULT size of the fish, not the current size.
2.) The eventual ADULT aggression of the fish. Aggressive fish need ~5gal or more per aggressive fish.
3.) The messiness of the fish. Large fish are messy. Platies and mollies are messy. Messy fish need more space.
4.) Large fish (about 5 inch or more) need more than just 1 inch/gallon. They need at least double the space and possibly up to 5 times more space than 1 inch/gallon.
5.) Active fish (like danios) need more space.

If you will only have 1 gourami and 2 platys in your tank, then you can get 4-5 neons. That's it and that's pushing the limit so you will definitely have to stay up on your maintenance.

okay sounds good, i pay alot of attention to the fish so i wont fall behind on maintenance, thats for sure.

 

[removedastars]

when you take into account the size of the fish you have you want to think about the adult size of the fish, so the gourami will be about 4-6inches and the sunset platys would be about 2.5inches so that's a total of 9 to 11 inches so that really is the "max" for that size tank. and with a ten gallon you really do want to be doing weekly or bi-weekly water changes.

we are not trying to keep you from do what you want to do with your tank we are just bring up all the possibilities and the best choices to make for the health of your fish. it would actually be alot less expense to just buy a new bigger tank than buying a whole school of fish and watching them die or having their lifes shortened then buying more or meds for your sick fish. haha just if you have any questions feel free to pm me!