Is my brother safe?

[Shark_Bait]

Well folks, my brother has a litttle 10 gal. He wants to put 4 long finned red serpae tetra, 1 female beta, a freshwater crab, and 1 neon blue dwarf gourami. will this work out for him?

 

[hippy guy]

No. Crab isnt fully aquatic

 

[rich311k]

Serpaes are going to get too big and they are know nippers, a different tetra would be better. I would do either the betta or the gourami not both.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Instead of the serpaes, try another tetra. I really like the looks of bloodfins, plus they're known to be incredibly hardy. Also, don't get the crab. They are master escape artists. You could try, as rich said, either the betta or the gourami. If you want an interesting invertebrate, your brother can try snails. They look interesting, and are known scavengars.

 

[Shark_Bait]

will the snails try and escape?

 

[allaboutfish]

if there isnt enough food they will or if the tank isnt clean enough.

 

[hippy guy]

Once the tank is well cycled you could try a singapore shrimp, or even yellow shrimp, there very fun to watch

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Well folks, my brother has a litttle 10 gal. He wants to put 4 long finned red serpae tetra, 1 female beta, a freshwater crab, and 1 neon blue dwarf gourami. will this work out for him?

No-no to the serpae tetras, they will nip at you betta or gourami (whichever you choose) relentlessly. Try a different species, like glowlights or black neons.
Inverts: try some snails. They're cool. Especially if your brother has a snail problem, assassin snails.

 

[Shark_Bait]

alright guys, i let my bro know what you said. he says he wants to keep the serpae tetras but will give up the beta and DG. he would like to know what you think will be ok with the serpae tetras. Any ideas?

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Are they going to be alone? You gave up the crab right? Well, if thats all he really wants is serpaes, you solved the fin nipping prroblem. But they still do get pretty big. And you really can't get any more fish then... Another fish that looks SIMIKLAR to them is the black skirt tetra. they aren't as colorful, but they're more peaceful and interesting. And they stay smaller. But hey, whatever he wants.

 

[severum mama]

Black skirts get bigger than serpaes. I wouldn't suggest them for a 10 gallon.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Huh. Weird. The tetras i had 5 years ago i had for 4 years. They never got bigger than 1.5 inches...

 

[Shark_Bait]

he is sticking to the serpaes and a red clawed crab. any other tank mates that will work?

 

[roundar]

Huh. Weird. The tetras i had 5 years ago i had for 4 years. They never got bigger than 1.5 inches...

You didn't let them smoke did you? That can stunt growth as I understand.

Is 5-7 serpae tera a good number? Seems like those tetra alone would fill up the tank and look cool... idk.