10 gal ideas and dwarf underwater frog

[MurfQ]

As my gf are getting adapted to their new larger home, I have to start thinking about what to do with my old 10 gal. I was hoping you guys might be able to give me some ideas. I want to do it right this time and not get fish that are way too big for it nor get too many. I would prefer if I could have some variety though, instead of just picking one type of fish. Any ideas would be appreciated. Apart from the goldfish, I've never kept any fish before. Well that's not entirely true. I did have a betta in a bowl once back in my totally ignorant days. Anyway, I'm ready for some tropical fish, but of course the small tank size greatly limits my choices. Is a community tank even realistic at that size? Or should I just forget it and just pick one small fish like neons or danios and get a few? I'd rather do the community if it's possible.

Also, while scoping out some fish at a lfs, I saw some teeny little frogs labelled dwarf underwater frogs. They were so cute. I would love to include one in my tank. Anybody have any experience with them? So far, I've just read a few things I found on google with some conflicting reports. One saying they are tropical and need warm temps while another said they prefer cold temps. Somebody who actually had one in with goldfish and then moved it later to a tropical tank. Reports of them eating neons and danios, and another of one frog eating another. Anybody know anything about them, or know a good reliable site where I could get some info on them?

 

[Tong]

A 10 gallon can make a great community tank. Your fish choices are obviosly fewer but it can be done. For example, a bunch of cherry shrimp, 6 neon tetras, and 1 platy would be a colorful and most likely algae free 10 gallon community tank. Find small fish you like, do research on thier adult size and compatibility and give it a go.

 

[finny al]

I have two ADFs (dwarf frogs) in my tank and they are great....really cute, great personalitites and don't bother anyone.

 

[WaterPond]

I would go with one dwarf gourami, some neons, maybe four, and two platys. That would make a very nice community tank. You could throw in a few frogs too, just make sure you get the dwarf ones. That would give you some great colour. If you go to your local petsmart(if you have a local one) You can find dwarf plays, I would go with these instead of the full sized ones. These fish would appreciate a planted tank, but it doesn't need to be planted. Just make sure that the tank is cycled, and the haet is around 76-79F. That should be good. The frogs will tolerate a wide range of temps, but they are tropical, so go with a temp. around 77 or 78F. Good luck!

 

[MurfQ]

This is so exciting! I was actually looking at dwarf gouramis on another site. They're very pretty, especially the sunset and turquoise varieties. Haven't seen any around here, but I haven't really looked much yet. We don't have a petsmart, but we have pets unlimited which has a pretty decent selection and can also do custom orders if you want a certain fish that you can't find. I didn't even know there was such a thing as dwarf platys. I thought they were really small fish anyway? But I don't know that much about fish varieties, this is all pretty new to me. I have had my eye on neons before ever I started this whole new tank think though, so it would definitely be cool to incorporate some of those in.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I'd go with a dwarf gourami or a couple platies, 6 neons, and 1-2 ADF. A 10g is hard to have a community tank with good variety.

Here are some links on ADFs:
African Dwarf Frog
More
One More
this one is good
*make sure you click on dwarf frogs on this site...down the left side...african dwarf frog starts about halfway down*

Those 3 sites say temps in the 70s are best. I've heard they can be hard to feed. They will eat live and frozen food. You have to be sure to put the food right in front of them because they usually won't go searching for it. This can be hard in a community setting because the other fish may eat all the food before the ADFs get any.

Make sure you are buying an African Dwarf Frog and not an African Clawed Frog. I think atleast one of the articles I linked to tells you how to tell the difference. If the tag says albino african dwarf frog....don't get it. I don't think ADFs come in albino. Those are clawed frogs and get too big for a 10g....and they'll eat your small fish.

Remember this is only a 10g, so don't overstock. I'd choose either a couple dwarf platies or a dwarf gourami. Go with the dwarf gourami if you can because platies will soon overstock your tank with fry (if you have a male/female pair). Neons are sensitive to water quality, so add them only after the tank is cycled. Go with atleast 6 neons (no more than 8 though) because they are schooling. If you decide to just get neons and the frog, you could have 8.

 

[WaterPond]

yeah, Dwarf couramis are very common around here(ontario) so i don't see why they woulden't be in NewFoundland. They only grow a few inches. But make sure you get the dwarf variety. I like the powder blue dwarves, they are nice. I have heard that neons are very sensitive little fish, so make sure you get some hardier fish for cycling your tank. If you can't find dwarf variety, then you could probably sqeeze only one in. If you can find the dwarf variety, then get only females, enless you want TONS of babies. Don't get two males, they will fight. Platys are very hardy and could be used during cycling. I don't know how hardy the dwarf ones are though.

 

[MurfQ]

The cycling shouldn't be much of a problem since I will be using a well established filter which is currently running in my new 25 gal to help it cycle, but I'll keep in mind to keep the neons for last if I go with them.

JustOneMore: Yeah, I was just reading about feeding the ADFs. Apparently they can't be fed freezedried either without risking intestinal problems. I'm gonna have to do some checking on the food before I get those.

 

[JustOneMore20]

JustOneMore: Yeah, I was just reading about feeding the ADFs. Apparently they can't be fed freezedried either without risking intestinal problems. I'm gonna have to do some checking on the food before I get those.

I wanted to get a couple for my 10g, but decided I didn't have the time to "special" feed them. I have frozen food, but I only feed them to my fish maybe once a week. Its so much easier to feed flakes and pellets.

 

[Cinder]

I would also suggest you not get more than one livebearer unless you have other room for the fry or get other fish that will eat them. Fry can overstock a tank very quickly. Even getting one female Platy can mean you may have fry as they often come pregnant from the store.
I think the idea of the one Dwarf Gourami is great. Add five or six small tetras and one ADF and you have a nice tank. You may want to include two or three small (pygmy) Cories to help with bottom cleaning also.
I use a dedicated (meaning I bought it for this purpose and use it for nothing else) turkey baster to feed my ADF. I feed him every other day with either frozen brine shrimp or frozen bloodworms. I have to pretty much hit him on the mouth with the food or he completely misses it. I feed my other fish first and then feed him while they are busy so he gets some food. Otherwise my other fish pig out on his food before he gets any - even when it's hitting him in the face!

 

[maxwell1295]

If you want dwarf gouramis, get some Honey Gouramis. They stay really small and seem to be more active than the standard powder blue dwarfs. I have 4 of them in my 29g Asian Community tank. They are very sweet and not aggressive at all to each other or any of the other fish. I'd get 2 or 3 honey dwarfs and add 5 or 6 Cherry Barbs or Zebra Danios.