How many more fish can I add?

[Zjovana]

So my tank just finished cycling a few weeks ago. I started out with 6 neon tetras in my 10g tank and somehow 5 survived the cycle. I did water changes everyday and monitored the levels of ammonia and nitrite closely so I am really glad all that hard work paid off. I would really like to get some more neon tetras now because I think they are so cute. How many more neon tetras could I get? I would preferably like to "understock" my tank. Would 10 neon tetras total be too much for a 10g? Thanks for any advice!

 

[AdamHorton]

depending on what you mean by "understock" 10 neons will probably be fine in a 10G tank. If you wanted to squeeze as many neons as you could for the biological filtration you get in 10 gallons, then you could probably get away with around 15, so I guess in that sense of understocking (which is probably best for the fish) 10 seems about right to me.

What kind of filter are you using?

 

[BigJim]

I'd say that with a decent filter, you could put 20 neons in a 10g, so 10 would be fine in the tank. An AC20 or an AC30 would be plenty of filter for a 10g.

 

[datkidkevin]

instead of neons get cardinals switch it up looks really nice neons and cardnals together get 6 cardnals and u have 12

 

[Zjovana]

Thanks for the replies! I currently have an aqua tech 5-15 filter. I've been looking to get something better. I think I am going to get 5 more neon tetras. I really really like neon tetras so I would like to stick with them.

 

[BigJim]

Glowlites or black neons would also look pretty nice with neons. I also like a good school of neons. The Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago has a nice Amazon tank set up with a school of a few hundred neons. It's really awesome.

 

[AdamHorton]

+1 on AquaClear filters if you're looking for something better. I think they're the best out there. For a 10G tank, get the AC20.

I'm a fan of having schools of neons. I have 6 neons and 6 black neons in my 20G and I like it a lot, but in a 10G I would probably stick with one larger school of neons, just my personal preference.

I used to mix in cardinal tetras with my neons, but those guys are considerably more sensitive than the regular neons -- I could never get them to last as long.