10 gallon stocking with cichlids, help?!?

[jmaglich]

Hey all,
I am starting a 10 gallon tank, and will probably be putting in 4 or 5 small (1") cichlids to start with, and possibly a crawfish if he plays nice. My first question is, will 4 or 5 be ok in that size tank? I know the crawfish may be a problem, but if he is, Ill get rid of him. Second, I am buying live bacteria from my LFS, and was wondering if I could load the tank with fish the same day I put the bacteria in the water, after putting Amquel Plus in it. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate everyone's input!

 

[joannde]

Hi - what type of cichlids ? You really can't do very many in a ten gallon tank and unless you plan to upgrade to a much larger tank you should stick to the recommendations in the link below:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_10g.php

The crawfish is probably going to a problem with any fish - do you already have it ? How would you "get rid of" it ?

If by "live bacteria" you mean Bio-Spira, then yes, you can put the fish in at the same time.

 

[jmaglich]

Joannde,
Thanks for the quick response. The typ eof cichlids would be the African I believe, I was looking at the bright yellow, orange and blue ones today. I was told at the store I could put them together, they are maybe an inch long now...The crawfish, I have not gotten yet. I just thought i would be cool, reminds me of catching full size lobster in the keys. If its too big of a deal, I would just return it to an LFS. Lastly, the live bacteria is actually refigerated bacteria that my LFS gets in every two weeks. They are the best LFS in Florida, and do all of my family's tanks. If you would not recommend the cichlids, what would you recommend? I'm a law student, and this small tank if so I'm not stressed out, and have something cool to look at. I just want a colorful interesting tank. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The only Africans that you can keep in a 10 gal tank would be shellies. The ones that you saw today were most likely Malawi Mbuna. And probably Yellow Labs, Electric Blues, etc. They need a minimum of 55 gals. The live bacteria is most likely Bio Spira. Excellent product as long as it is kept properly.

 

[jmaglich]

Any other cool fish anyone can recommend? Tetras, gouramis, etc? Thanks!

 

[JustOneMore20]

The only African cichlids that will do well in a 10g are Kribs. All others such as yellow labs, red zebras get too large for a 10g. Stay away from the "mixed African" tank at the LFS unless you know what you are getting and have a larger tank.

In a 10g, I'd stick with tetras and a betta or gourami. Space is limited.

If you want cichlids, then I'd get a pair of Kribenesis ("kribs"), Apistogrammas, or Rams only. Or some Tang shelldwellers (if you can find them ).

Tetras are colorful and are a good beginner fish. There are many kinds to choose from. I'd go with one school/group of 6 and then get a male betta or dwarf or honey gourami.

 

[sarah5775]

I love my black tetras. They are the long-finned kind, but they also come in the black-skirted variety. They were some of the first fish I put in my aquarium, and they seem to be easy to keep. I am a beginner and made all kinds of mistakes, and they still seemed to thrive. They are pretty too. Neon tetras are also quite nice - little fish with bright colors. For a ten gallon tank you will probably want to choose one kind of tetra and get a school of them. I've been told they do best with six or more. Maybe you can get a gourami too. I had some trouble with my opaline gouramis going at each other until one died (the other I returned to the fish store because I overstocked my tank) but some of the dwarf gouramis they have are beautiful.

 

[sarah5775]

Sorry JustOneMore20 (love the name) I kind of just repeated you. I guess I'm getting too tired.

 

[CaptnIgnit]

I've always wanted to keep Boraras brigittae in a small tank, but I just can't find them!

http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=19844&cid=4150&search

or you could do Dwarf puffers! I'm setting up a tank for them right now:

http://www.dwarfpuffers.com

 

[joannde]

Skip the crawfish. If you really want one you could get a second tank for it, but chances are it will catch and eat any fish you put in a tank with it. I know they're cool - but they're just not good for a community tank.

There are a great many types of tetras you could do. Personally I like cardinal tetras.
Here's a link to a list of tetras (oddly , the puffers showed up in the search so you can look into them also)
http://fishprofiles.com/profiles/list.aspx?term=tetra

Another option, and please don't laugh, are platies. Just get all males or else you'll be overrun in short time. Platies come in a variety of colors, including a pretty green/blue. They're active and very hardy. They only get to be about 2" so you could have 5 or 6, each a different color morph.

In order to know how many fish to get you can try and use the "1 inch per gallon" rule. So you should limit your stock to 10 inches of adult size fish (when you get your fish they'll be smaller but you want to count their full adult size).

 

[JDogg]

a pair a german blue rams and a small school of neon or cardinal tetra should be ok in a 10, and they are very colorful

 

[coldmachineUK]

In order to know how many fish to get you can try and use the "1 inch per gallon" rule. So you should limit your stock to 10 inches of adult size fish (when you get your fish they'll be smaller but you want to count their full adult size).

Except one inch of puffer is far messier than one inch of platy But, I know you know that joannde

Yeh, I'd recommend tetras in a 10G tbh. I don't think I'd even keep platies in that (I'd go with a 20G for platies with the rule of 1 male per 2 or 3 females: don't keep all males or you'll find that the allegedly placid platy is actually a bit of a meanie when it wants to be).

If you aren't new to keeping fish, then a dwarf or F8 puffer might be an option but I wouldn't say 'go get one of these' if it's the first time you've owned a fish tank

For cichlids, the issue is not necessarily size of tank but 'size of territory' (so it goes hand in hand, sure, but litres/gallons is less useful to know than square inches of bottom to the tank). You would need to build up a maze of rockwork, which displaces a lot of water too, and of course that can add a lot of weight to the tank. For a 10G I just wouldn't go there with cichlids (of any sort tbh). I know the 'typical advice' is always "you HAVE to have a bigger tank", and in some cases this is a bit overrated and untrue, but in the case of cichlids as people have said it's appropriate. If your 10G happens to be 4' long (lol, it'd have to be like 2" high lol) then maybe you could...
Another thing: if you have a small tank the idea of keeping "just a few" cichlids is also not a good idea. Aggression is spread the larger the group so if you've only 3 you'll end up with only 1 (this is a generalisation: some, like rams and yellow labs, are fairly peaceful but you have to remember a cichlid IS a cichlid after all).

Tetras are great and relaxing though Just make sure to get some that *actually* shoal as opposed to sit there 'twitching' lol. Some very cool ones I've seen lately are black neons.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

If you're wanting a small, stress-free tank, I'd look into a small community tank of tetras, rasboras, etc. The words "cichlids", "stress-free", and "10 gallon tank" do not go well together.

I'd suggest wandering the tanks at your shop and see what catches your fancy. Peaceful schools of fish are very relaxing, indeed.

 

[hc8719]

a pair a german blue rams and a small school of neon or cardinal tetra should be ok in a 10, and they are very colorful

if you are new to aquariums, dont get cardinals, they're hard to keep, neons though are fairly hardy. crawfish will eat any fish eventually, and alot of fish rest at the bottom to sleep. bad combo.

try some shrimp, a few species get kinda big, the marbled shrimp that petsmart sells (i dunno if that is the correct name) gets 3" big

 

[mobiusnu]

I have a pair of Bolivian rams in a 10 gallon. They're doing fine.

 

[joannde]

[quote="hc8719if you are new to aquariums, dont get cardinals, they're hard to keep, neons though are fairly hardy.[/quote]

Odd - I've heard exactly the opposite - that cardinals are hardier than neons. Many people have had a hard time keeping neons alive.

 

[physicsdude]

Hey, I would put a school of cardinal tetras in there with some live plants and such. The crawfish would attack any fish it considers to be its size or smaller, so it would be a dangerous occupant with small fish. Or perhaps a 1-2 small angelfish with some swords and such would be nice. The best advantage to cardinal tetras is that they are schooling fish, so when they are in groups of 6 or more with some bushy plants and maybe some driftwood and obsidian or shale rocks, they would look stellar. Heres a website that gives stocking advice for a 10 gallon:
http://www.elmersaquarium.com/c106community1.htm

As for the cichlids, you could if you want buy some tiny keyhole cichlids, the ones sold for like 2.99 when they are 1/2" long and then grow them out in your tank. They are a VERY peaceful and relatively shy cichlid. Kinda pretty too with their black stripe crossing their eye. Plus, I think they may leave your tetras alone- don't quote me on that though! Anyway, just my 5 cents! Good luck dude!

 

[Elmware2000]

I have a 15 gallon with two cichlids and ended up putting a divider in the tank because of the aggression.

One is a Red Top Zebra and the other is what I believe to be a Melanochromis Auratus.