Everybody's Favorite: Stocking!

[absolutangel04]

So, I now have a 10g tank to re-stock. I was gone for awhile over the holidays and my fish sitter did not know how to deal with some tank issues, so now I have a 10g with nothing but a nerite snail and 3 ember tetras. I can shift out the inhabitant if I have to. Anyway, if it was you, what would you do?
I am heavily considering a different species of betta, or else clown killis. I always list out nano fish for other people, and I am just not sure what to do now! Lol.

 

[nanofish]

Have you thought about pygmy sunfish?

 

[jetajockey]

Oh the possibilities. I'm partial to pygmy sunfish also, and if you are willing to keep them fat and happy the males have some very interesting courting behavior.

 

[absolutangel04]

I have, but I have heard that they are a bit hard to keep alive. I have also thought about trying scarlet badis, but again I am not sure that I want anything too delicate for this tank. They are both super cool species however, and I guess I haven't really ruled anything out.

 

[absolutangel04]

Jeta, how much luck have you had keeping them alive?

 

[torres]

increase your ember tetras school, then get some red eye tetras and molly, i love them

 

[absolutangel04]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am increasing the ember school regardless of if I keep them in this tank or move them out. I have red-eyes and mollies and I think they need more room than 10g provides. They are both in my 40g right now.

 

[jetajockey]

They seem to be very hard to convert completely to flake. Then again, mine are all wild caught, so that could be it as well. If I had some F1's I bet they'd transition to flake a little easier, but I've never ventured to breed mine so I haven't had the opportunity.

They readily take thawed frozen bloodworms, and anything wiggling. I recently took some of my elassoma zonatum and evergladei that were looking thin and sickly and put them into my RCS tank, a few weeks later they are zipping around fat and sassy. Adult RCS are nearly the size of the pygmy sunfish, but the shrimplets and the other random organisms in the tank are keeping them fed.

So if you are willing to keep up the live/frozen feeding they will do great.

 

[nanofish]

Not sure how easy jeta will say they are to keep but Aqua Sachs (heard good things) has three species of pygmy sunfish for sale if you just want to check out pics.

FRESH WATER VERTEBRATES CATALOG AT SACHS SYSTEMS AQUACULTURE!

 

[torres]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am increasing the ember school regardless of if I keep them in this tank or move them out. I have red-eyes and mollies and I think they need more room than 10g provides. They are both in my 40g right now.

Cool, i keep 2 mollies, 5 red eye tetras and 3 neon tetras in my 16 gallon.
It works great, fish moving alot and happy. I got 2 red eye tetras last sunday and they helped my neon tetras some how to stop hiding so much and swim around lol.
im looking forward to increase my neon tetra school soon.

 

[absolutangel04]

Thanks for the info jeta. I am still looking into other things, but that does sound tempting... Oh man, good job making my choices harder! Lol.
This is hard for me, my fish keeping passions are definitely bottom dwellers, angels, and nano fish! I found a good place with habrosus and pygmaeus cories, so I am thinking about them heavily too. I really like Asian stone catfish too, but I have heard mixed results about their hardiness.
I may also just scrap all those ideas and get a small colony of multi shell dwellers. Nobody in my area breeds them, so I am pretty sure I would be able to sell young ones.

 

[Gboy66]

Thanks for the info jeta. I am still looking into other things, but that does sound tempting... Oh man, good job making my choices harder! Lol.
This is hard for me, my fish keeping passions are definitely bottom dwellers, angels, and nano fish! I found a good place with habrosus and pygmaeus cories, so I am thinking about them heavily too. I really like Asian stone catfish too, but I have heard mixed results about their hardiness.
I may also just scrap all those ideas and get a small colony of multi shell dwellers. Nobody in my area breeds them, so I am pretty sure I would be able to sell young ones.

I'd go with the pygmys in a heavily planted tank

 

[absolutangel04]

Not sure how easy jeta will say they are to keep but Aqua Sachs (heard good things) has three species of pygmy sunfish for sale if you just want to check out pics.

FRESH WATER VERTEBRATES CATALOG AT SACHS SYSTEMS AQUACULTURE!

Thanks! I need to look into my local collection laws. I have a bunch of those fish locally, but not all. I have never seen a pygmy sunfish before here, but I am not sure about their range or anything.

 

[jetajockey]

Pygmies are native to the southeast US. I believe that in WA you can't collect anything local to you, but I'd double check.

Up in that part of the country I think the most interesting things I've seen come from there are sculpins.

 

[absolutangel04]

Pygmies are native to the southeast US. I believe that in WA you can't collect anything local to you, but I'd double check.

Up in that part of the country I think the most interesting things I've seen come from there are sculpins.

I believe you are correct about that. I will double check, but I do not think its allowed here. Yeah, scuplins are pretty darn darling IMO. I find them all the time while doing land surveys looking for rivers suitable to put salmon back into. There are some pretty little darters too. But again, I do not think collection is legal. Maybe if I cross over to Oregon... I need to look into that too.

 

[nanofish]

I checked in my American Aquarium Fishes book for you. It is illegal in Washington to keep nongame native fish in a private aquarium. You might not even have luck going to Oregon to catch them if they're illegal once you go back to Washington.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, thats what I found too. Thats ok, at least I looked into it. The pygmy sunfish are native here though, so keeping them would be ok. Thanks for looking it up for me.
Just as another, the tank currently only has a few plants in it, but I can change that if I need to.

 

[VioletEmber]

Oh no! Poor empty tank...

Well, after seeing your lists of nano fish I am aiming to have my 10g with a male betta, ghost shrimp and either celestial pearl danios or scarlet badis. I can't decide which school to go with, might depend on pricing!

But as for you, is there a little fish you have never tried before?

 

[absolutangel04]

Oh no! Poor empty tank...

Well, after seeing your lists of nano fish I am aiming to have my 10g with a male betta, ghost shrimp and either celestial pearl danios or scarlet badis. I can't decide which school to go with, might depend on pricing!

But as for you, is there a little fish you have never tried before?

Yeah, there are a few I do not have any direct experience with. I am not totally sure if I want something different, or just more of the same. I pretty much have to order anything online no mater what because I live in a small town, so I have to look around to see who ships cheaply. Scarlet badis do interest me as well. But I would be inclined to get a different species of betta other than splendens over badis. I am not sure though, I think my filter would need to be replaced then. Its creates a pretty decent current for the tank.
I have also really wanted to try a dp. So many possibilities...

 

[VioletEmber]

Oooh! If by dp you mean dwarf puffer, ... Stop giving me ideas!