Will these be too many for 10g tank?

[kiki]

Currently, I have two black skirt tetra and two harlequin rasbora. I would like to add two more harlequin rasbora to get them to swim together and two panda cory for bottom part of the tank.

The eight fish will be over the 1 inch per gallon rule. Do you think the tank will be too crowded?

Thanks

 

[Punkymom]

It shouldn't be, as long as you have a really good filter and stay on top of water changes and quality.

 

[tkos]

I would suggest getting peppered cories instead. They are much smaller than the pandas and you could keep 3. They like groups best.

And yes, definatly get good filtration and make sure to change the water every week. Plants would help keep pollutants low as well.

 

[Xenos]

Do research on any live plants. I learned this the hard way, certain plants need more or less lights and often times need specialized light bulbs. Decaying plants are unsightly.

 

[tkos]

Can't go wrong with java fern. Dead easy plant to grow. Water sprite is pretty easy as well.

 

[madasafish]

Also, "Anacharis" grow, sprout a new limb and grow some more--fast, too. Great plants, though they do need a lot of light.

 

[TankGirl]

Crypts! They do great in low light. Java fern and java moss are good too. Also the aponogeton bulbs that Walmart sells do well but are probably too tall for a 10-gal. Otherwise I second the advice given above regarding the fish. Plants do utilize the nitrates but that does not mean you don't have to still do water changes. You need good lighting and fast growing plants, possibly CO2 before they really start lowering your nitrates. I have a planted low-light and a planted high light with CO2, and the low-light moderately planted tank still has to have twice-weekly water changes for nitrates. The other tank could use a dose of nitrates to help the plants, actually, since the levels are consistently low. After saying all that, I think you will be fine anyway, esp. with the peppered (or pygmy) corys.

 

[azn dreamer]

kiki
has your tank cycled yet? if it hasn't..then don't add so many in...if it has..it should be okay but do regular water changes to keep the ammonia low

 

[SixFootDaisy]

I guess I am the only one who thinks the tank is overcrowded.

All the filtration in the world isn't going to matter much if your fish can't swim without bumping into other fish.

Get a bigger tank if you can Or just get the corys.

 

[TankGirl]

The rasboras stay small and do well in smaller tanks, at least they do for me. The black skirt is not a good choice to stock up on, as they get bigger, so keeping their number at 2 sounds like a good plan.

 

[kiki]

Thanks for your response.

How come you suggest Pepper Cory instead? I thought Panda Cory is suppose to be hardy fish for beginners. Does Pepper Cory have advantage over Panda Cory besides price? IMO, Panda Cory looks better.

My tank is not cycled yet. I am deciding what to add when the tank is cycled. 10g looked big when I first brought it home. Now I have to be careful not to over-crowd.

Another question: if a fish is been chased time to time but never been bitten ( the same fish seem to hide more often), are they playing or is the fish being bullied? Will adding more fish to make them school ease the harrassment?

 

[SixFootDaisy]

my fish chase each other without nipping and I view it as them playing.

However, my fish all have their territories in my tank and they chase other fish away. It may just be "Hey, this is my spot you darn fish, stay away".

Adding more of their kind will not always ease harrassment, it could, or the new fish might get harrassed. It is hard to say. I have two red fin tetras that love being only two. They aren't always connected at the fins [ ], but they do swim together, and sleep together.

All cory cats are pretty, and VERY fun to watch. I am not sure how big panda corys get, but you always have to watch the size of the fish you put in the tank. While they look so adorable small, like other animals when they are babies, they do get bigger. Mine are almost 3 inches big. Try checking out planetcatfish.com for all sorts of species of corys. There are A LOT!

 

[tkos]

Pandas, as mentioned get to be 3 inches or so in size, while the peppered cories stay around 1.5 inches in size. The smaller size means that a set of three will fill up less room and make for a more stable tank. The closer you get to overstocking the more work the tank will require to keep the levels good and leave you with less buffer room.