10 Gallon Betta Tank Stocking

[Petrichor]

My ten gallon tank is now unoccupied (RIP 10+ year old "I won this at the carnival" goldfish) and my sister wants to use it to upgrade her betta tank. I'm trying to advise her on stocking, but it's been a while since I had to stock a freshwater tank from the ground up. I'm planning on buying a filter rated for 20 gallons, new gravel and decorations, probably a plastic hood with light, and an airstone to set her up. This is going into a college apartment probably around Christmas so nothing too fancy and no rush.

Here's the (rough) stock list so far.

She definitely wants the African Dwarf Frog, and has to keep her male betta. The rest I threw together as a rough estimate. Her betta is orange so she wants different colors in the tank (hence the cardinals), and the kuhli loaches would be the bottom janitors.

So what do you guys think? Look ok? I'm worried about the cardinals not having enough swim room.

PS: That site is fun to play around with, but I'm turning to you guys for more accurate answers.

 

[librarygirl]

Well, ADFs are social and do best in a group of 3+. A 10 gal tank would just about stock the ADFs. You could try a betta with them but it would depend on the personality of the betta. Also ADFS need to be target fed as they are nearly blind and if either the fish or frog gets sick treatment can be tricky as one would most likely need to be removed as frogs are not often tolerant of fish meds and vice versa. ADFs would do better in their own tank. Most tetras, rasboras and danios are active and require more swimming space than a 10 gal can provide. Kuhlis to best in groups of 5+ and are too active for a 10 gal.

So I'd say either the ADFs or a betta tank with maybe a snail and maybe some shrimps IF the betta tolerates them. At most you could do a betta and some nano fish (6) like ember tetra, celestial pearl danio or chili rasbora. But this would largely depend on the personality of the betta; most are not tolerant of tank mates. I have a betta in a 10 gal and he utilizes every inch of that space and he's very interesting to watch and interact with; you might be surprised on how entertaining a single betta can be given the right environment.

Also if the tank isn't going to be housed with fish again until Dec you're going to lose the bacteria that the tank has now from the goldfish so it would need to be recycled again.

 

[Petrichor]

The tank doesn't have any water in it, we broke it down when the goldfish died a few weeks ago. I'd probably take it to her apartment and let it cycle over her two week christmas break.

I'll let her know about the frogs. She will probably change her mind when she hears they have to be target fed. She likes her betta cause he's fairly low maintenance (water change/gravel rinse every week in a 2 gallon is as easy as it gets). I have no idea what his temperment is, but if he's introduced to the tank after other fish would he get along better with them since the other fish would be familiar with the tank?

By nano fish what size are we talking about? One inch? I know most any fish that small will be schooling and will need a 4+ group. As for shrimps there's not many places in Arizona that sell shrimp aside from ghost shrimp and the occasional bamboo shrimp which needs a lot of flow. I'm also stuck with whatever Petsmart and Petco have for fish, so the more exotic tetras (exotic compared to Petsmart that is) are probably not going to happen.

Thanks for the information! I have plenty of time to adjust the stock list and start buying supplies.

 

[librarygirl]

Replies in blue....

The tank doesn't have any water in it, we broke it down when the goldfish died a few weeks ago. I'd probably take it to her apartment and let it cycle over her two week christmas break.
Oh ok so the filter is dried out. You might want to give it more than 2 weeks to cycle again; it can take longer than that: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

I'll let her know about the frogs. She will probably change her mind when she hears they have to be target fed. She likes her betta cause he's fairly low maintenance (water change/gravel rinse every week in a 2 gallon is as easy as it gets). I have no idea what his temperment is, but if he's introduced to the tank after other fish would he get along better with them since the other fish would be familiar with the tank?
So the betta is in a 2 gal bowl now? Does it have a filter/heater? That's another issue in itself I guess. It *might* work if the betta is added last but there's no way to tell. Bettas are aggressive and territorial by nature. It could work but no guarantees.

By nano fish what size are we talking about? One inch? I know most any fish that small will be schooling and will need a 4+ group. As for shrimps there's not many places in Arizona that sell shrimp aside from ghost shrimp and the occasional bamboo shrimp which needs a lot of flow. I'm also stuck with whatever Petsmart and Petco have for fish, so the more exotic tetras (exotic compared to Petsmart that is) are probably not going to happen. 1" max but size isn't the only factor; chili rasboras, celestial pearl danio and ember tetra aren't active fast swimmers like some other similar tetras, etc (neon tetras for example are small but very active and a 20 gal+ is recommended for them).

Thanks for the information! I have plenty of time to adjust the stock list and start buying supplies.

 

[Petrichor]

The betta has a filter and heater in his tank, but the heater is hardly needed here in Arizona. I'm not sure if it's two gallons or larger, I'm just guessing on the size since it's been a while since I've seen the tank. I know people will get up in arms over a small bowl, but hey, I've just started learning the proper way to care for freshwater fish, ie not listening 100% to estore mployees. I can't change it all at once, but I can do my best.

The goldfishs' tank had a small filter on it that I've put into my five gallon sick tank because the five gallon built-in filter is old and slow. There's only plants in that tank, but the filter is still wet. I know it can take longer than two weeks to cycle a tank, I'm just saying those two weeks of break is going to be the best time to start the cycle so my sister doesn't start dumping fish in.

 

[tarpon]

In my 10 gallon betta tank I have khuli loaches and Cory cats. A betta will appreciate a lower flow filter that doesn't agitate the surface much. I use a tetra whisper 10 as it doesn't agitate the surface much at all and is very quiet

 

[M1k3y_gumi]

Tetras in general are a risk with bettas. Sometimes it works but I think a better bet would be some smaller cories. Probably Pygmy cories as the general consensus is that cories and bettas usually get along. +1 on taking off the adf. Khulis couuld work but then you can't do any othe fish other than the betta as they will need atleast 5 to stay happy. One issue tho with the Khulis is that they are very active so even tho bioload wise they might be fine, they'll probs be a bit cramped. And any online stock calculator should not be considered very reliable

 

[bud29]

I wouldn't recommend kuhlis in a 10. They are really active.

 

[tarpon]

It works for me but I'd recommend 20 min for them.