Stocking my 10 gal with these tricky parameters...

[fastguppy]

Hi there! I'm new to the forum, but not entirely new to fishkeeping. I have a mature, cycled lightly planted 10 gallon that houses some zebra danios (I know, bad fish parent...it's too small which is why they are getting an upgrade to a 30 gallon long). Once I move my "ladies and gentlefish" over to their new improved home, I'd like to put something in my planted 10 gallon.

I've been researching, and I know that I might do well with:
1 betta + shrimps
or
small school of ember tetras (even though they'd be ok in a 10 gallon, I understand they are active swimmers - I don't want to have fish that will wish they were in a bigger tank)
or
sparkly gourami? (not the right pH in my tank I don't think)
or
Endler's livebearers?

I can't have:
honey gourami - I think they are tough to keep
cory cats - my substrate is too rough for their little faces
Anything that prefers acidic water.

The wrinkle is that my tank pH is pretty basic, hovering at between 7.4-8. This will rule out I also have an intense filter (for up to 20 gallons) which my danios enjoy very much due to the current.

Anyway, what would you recommend I stock my tank with, considering my paremeters? I love the idea of some guppies, but I read conflicting articles regarding their preferred tank size (some say that 10 gallon is too small).
I don't want to crowd fish in there - I'd rather have a tank of happy inhabitants, even if that means just shrimps.

For what it's worth, my last zebra danio school in that small tank ended up living about 7-8 years or so...

 

[fastguppy]

Also thinking that the shrimp have a pretty low bioload which is great... Would you recommend a specific type? Amano, with guppies?

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[trennamw]

I don't have stock suggestions but your water is probably perfectly fine for almost all fish.


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[fastguppy]

Actually, that helps me immensely, thank you for the feedback! I will revisit the link to the wiki about stocking a 10gal.

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[PNWaquarist]

Sounds like you've done your homework and know what you're doing. Your filtration is not excessive, as most broken-in HOB filters operate at about 2/3 of their rated efficiency.

You could probably do guppies in a 10. But they have a high bioload and reproduce like crazy, so the maintenance will be on the high end. Embers will work, as well as Neons and Green Neons (provided that your pH is steady). You might want to consider White Clouds as well. If you can find them, you might be able to do Celestial Pearl Danios (Galaxy Rasboras) if you plant heavily enough to break up the territories a bit.

If you're willing to replace your substrate, a small shoal of pygmy corys would be totally doable.

 

[fastguppy]

Thinking about the substrate change, actually. I'm nervous about the chemistry upheaval that might ensue when I agitate 7 years worth of crud. Also, will I lose lots of my biofilter?
I guess a good time to do the switch is once the danios move to their new tank. Would I change it in batches, it just overhaul it?

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