A few questions from a newbie

[Koi Nami]

Hi
I've recently decided that I wanted to try my hand at fish keeping.
The only prior experience I've had in fish keeping was a Betta in a 5 gallon tank. Technically he belonged to my dad, but he was kinda lazy so I took care of him for the most part (feeding, weekly water changes, etc.).
He passed away about a year ago at 4 years old (rest in peace little buddy, I miss you </3 ).
I had fun taking care him and watching him swim about, so I wanted to get my own tank this time.
I bought a 10 gallon tank and I was hoping to get Pygmy Corydora's since they are peaceful, easy to care for(I've been told) and super cute <3

Now, for the questions:
I know they are social fish and do best in groups, but while I was researching, I found conflicting answers. Some sites say getting just 2 is fine, but others say less than 8 is unacceptable. So how many should I get? I was thinking of getting 5-6.

The 10 gallon tank came with gravel, but I wanted to use sand instead since I read it's easier on their barbels. How and how often do I clean this sand?

What are some nice tankmates for them? I was hoping for other fish who swim either in the middle or the top of the tank to keep things interesting everywhere and not just the bottom of the tank.

And finally, I wanted to add some live plants to provide hiding places and give a more natural look. What plants would you guys recommend?

Sorry for a long-ish post, I'm still relatively new to this and I'm kinda excited to care for my own fish ^.^

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fish king]

3 Corys are a minimum size group and you could do zebra fish they are active and stay at the top most of the time need a group of 5 minimum


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[ScotJudd]

You are quite right about Cory barbels. Any substrate that is sharp or too course will erode their barbels and either cause infection or reduce there ability to find food. My Cory's dig a lot! I have 8 dwarf Cory's, mixed species, and they get on great. They don't shoal as such because of the very heavy planting. I think that's the key, don't let them feel too exposed and enjoy them when they want to come out. 2 or 3 are always visible - all of them at feeding time. If you are serious about plants and Cory's I would recommend one of the Eco- complete substrates (a fairly fine one is preferable) rather than sand. It doesn't tend to clog like sand and digging is easier for the Cory's and of course it's easier to get plants growing. Eco- complete is not cheap but your substrate is the first thing into the tank and changing it after set up is a nightmare. Which ever substrate you choose, try to make sure it's the right one for what you want to achieve.
I would also consider Malayan Trumpet Snails as they bury themselves during the day and keep the substrate turned over. However, they are live bearers and can breed excessively. They don't eat live plants.
Small shoaling fish, tetras etc would work well. In a 10 gal I would be tempted to make it a single species tank (apart from the Cory's). My favourite at the moment are my diamond neon tetras - blue head and eyes with a vivid red rear body and tail. They really do like to shoal, which is a nice sight.
Good luck with your tank.


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[Koi Nami]

You are quite right about Cory barbels. Any substrate that is sharp or too course will erode their barbels and either cause infection or reduce there ability to find food. My Cory's dig a lot! I have 8 dwarf Cory's, mixed species, and they get on great. They don't shoal as such because of the very heavy planting. I think that's the key, don't let them feel too exposed and enjoy them when they want to come out. 2 or 3 are always visible - all of them at feeding time. If you are serious about plants and Cory's I would recommend one of the Eco- complete substrates (a fairly fine one is preferable) rather than sand. It doesn't tend to clog like sand and digging is easier for the Cory's and of course it's easier to get plants growing. Eco- complete is not cheap but your substrate is the first thing into the tank and changing it after set up is a nightmare. Which ever substrate you choose, try to make sure it's the right one for what you want to achieve.
I would also consider Malayan Trumpet Snails as they bury themselves during the day and keep the substrate turned over. However, they are live bearers and can breed excessively. They don't eat live plants.
Small shoaling fish, tetras etc would work well. In a 10 gal I would be tempted to make it a single species tank (apart from the Cory's). My favourite at the moment are my diamond neon tetras - blue head and eyes with a vivid red rear body and tail. They really do like to shoal, which is a nice sight.
Good luck with your tank.


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Thank you so much for the info

 

[Spencer1044]

Some other easy beginner fish you could do are guppies which are really colorful and hang around the top. Are you planning on getting live plants

 

[trennamw]

Welcome and well done, keeping that betta alive for 4 years. And for doing so much research before buying!

If you do sand I recommend doing true aquarium sand. It's more expensive but doesn't have silicates (which promote algae) and doesn't behave strangely (like the Nat Geo brand "sand" that's actually a painted resin). If it's heavy it's right. It's worth the cost in a 10 to get the real thing.

It doesn't take long to get the hang of using a gravel vac on sand.

3 Corys are a minimum size group and you could do zebra fish they are active and stay at the top most of the time need a group of 5 minimum


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A 10 is very unsuitable for zebra danios. They swim too fast.



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