Fish Compatibility for my 10gal

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Clays

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Messages
3
Location
Wisconsin
I have recently set up a 10 gal tank for my baby's nursery. I'm looking for a natural type look to match the forest theme of the nursery. I have the tank set up with a log decoration and 3 plants. Now I'm looking into getting some fish. For this tank I'm looking for fish that are natural looking with pops of color, I'm not looking for Mollies, Platys, or Guppies.

I'm currently looking at 3 Cherry Barbs, a Green Cory Catfish or 2, and 3 tetras...I was thinking maybe the Cardinal or Black Phantom...My only concern is that the Cherry Barbs might nip the fins of the phantom.

However, I'm thinking I also want a Mystery (Apple) Snail. The last tank I had my Apple Snail was paired with Mollies, Platys, and a Red Finned Shark. The shark protected the snail from my nipping Mollies, which gave my tank a good community setting.

Other fish I have been looking at include the Tiger Barb, Electric Yellow Labidochromis (although I believe this is a type of Chichlid and needs a larger tank?), Scissortail Rasbora, Rainbow Shark, or the Orange Von Rio Flame Tetra...

This time around I'm looking for fish that I don't know much about, so I'm looking for advice on which fish are compatible and which are not. I know working with a 10 gal tank is not easy, but it is all I have for now. Any other fish pairings that are compatible are definitely accepted. I am open to any and all options/ideas you may have :)
 
I just wanted to say, this is exactly how we got started on our tank and am already upgrading!!! We have the same theme as well (she's 16 months now). She LOVES the fish and gets so excited at every fish she sees (originally why we got a tank. Went to pet store for cat food and she started signing/yelling "fish!" and would always get tickled by them). Oh kids. Now IM the one who is obsessed with them.
 
Yes the yellow labs are a type of cichlid. They are a mbuna cichlid, and while they are peaceful compared to other mbunas, they are still too violent for a community tank and they do need a bit more space than a 10g can provide.

I would also pass on the rainbow shark. They can grow to 6 inches so are much too large for a 10g

A betta and some red cherry shrimp could make an interesting aquarium although it probably wouldn't give as much movement as you're hoping for

Endlers livebearers are a really interesting fish and are very colorful but are a type of Guppy.

The barbs can be a bit aggressive so you may want to keep an eye on them if you decide to go that route.

I would definitely go with rasboras, they are some of my favorite commmunity fish

Ruling out guppies, mollies, and platys makes stocking a 10g tank kind of difficult.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but most of the fish you mentioned are not suitable for a 10g, the only ones that are suitable are platies, and even then the max you should have is 3 because they have a larger bioload than most other fish. Snails would be a good option for a 10g as well. As someone else mentioned, guppies are also an option. Any type of tetra is a schooling fish and need a group of atleast 5, cories are like to shoal and are social fish and need to be around their own kind in atleast groups of 4.
 
I was told that Cherry Barbs are a much more timid version of most other Barbs, making them a good tank mate for a school of small Tetras.

Don't Rasboras get to be the same size as most small Tetras? Either way I think a small school of either would be okay. I do like some of the markings I've seen so far on different Rasboras. If I went with the Rasboras, which species would you recommend or do they all generally have the same temperament?

I've also heard 1" of fish per gal of water, how accurate is that? I've always followed this rule however I was told that I could put 2-3 Cherry Barbs in with a school of 4-5 small Tetras and also have 4 pygmy or Panda Corys. Even if I were to go with 2/4/4 that's 10 fish, wouldn't my tank be way over stocked? Even with the Mystery snail that seems like quite a bit of bioload for my small tank.
 
I was told that Cherry Barbs are a much more timid version of most other Barbs, making them a good tank mate for a school of small Tetras.

Don't Rasboras get to be the same size as most small Tetras? Either way I think a small school of either would be okay. I do like some of the markings I've seen so far on different Rasboras. If I went with the Rasboras, which species would you recommend or do they all generally have the same temperament?

I've also heard 1" of fish per gal of water, how accurate is that? I've always followed this rule however I was told that I could put 2-3 Cherry Barbs in with a school of 4-5 small Tetras and also have 4 pygmy or Panda Corys. Even if I were to go with 2/4/4 that's 10 fish, wouldn't my tank be way over stocked? Even with the Mystery snail that seems like quite a bit of bioload for my small tank.

I have a school of 10 Harlequin Rasboras which are very nice, altogether I don't believe it makes much of a difference on the type of rasbora they should all be similar. I would probably go with at least 4 of them in a 10g

The 1" of fish per gallon rule is really outdated. Nowadays with the amount we've learned about individual fish its a much larger grey area. Some fish will require more swimming room and thus a larger tank while others just create tons of waste. I would suggest AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor for a suggestion on stocking levels for a tank. It is at best a general guideline and you could stock up to 150% and still be relatively safe with your stocking levels, although you will need to keep a closer eye on water parameters.
 
Thanks I'll definitely check out the link and do more research on Rasboras. I'm looking to do something different than my last tank so any advice and links are greatly appreciated. As I know little about Barbs and Rasboras.
 
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