best kind of fish to get for a 10 gallon tank?

Question

we are going to get a 10 gallon aquarium tonight, and our fish tomorrow. how many fish should it hold maximum? what kinds of fish aren't too much work and aren't like goldfish, where they get the tank very messy?

thanks....

Answer 1

You didn't say if it was heated, filtered or aerated. For most fish you'll need a heater, and filter. (Most filters provide plenty of aeration.) In a heated , and filtered tank you can have about one inch of fish per gallon. Note that tank should run for at least 2 days with a small amount of finely crushed fish flakes before any fish are put in. Then unless you are ready to closely monitor your ammonia levels, and remove excess ammonia. You should only add one fish a week.

Guppy, swordtail, platty, and molly don't need a heater, but will require a filter. Molly tend to be rather sensive to bad water conditions so I'd reccomend doing a week or 2 of fishless cycling before you add them. Also the larger mollies, and lyretail, and other sailfin mollies can grow to 4-5 inches. (black molly, and ballon molly rarely grow larger than 3 inchess.) Note that all of these fish are related, and can be easily mixed in a tank. (Swordtails, and platty are pretty much the same species, and can interbreed.) These fish are omnivores with a prefernce for veggies. They will eat a standard tropical fish flake, but do better with veggy/fish flake rather than fish/veggy flake. They will suffer less diease if they have one teaspoon of salt per 5 gallons. (Mollys love salt, and can live in salt water if the change is gradual.) All of these fish bear live young, and reproduce like mad. (Generally they will eat all their young in a small tank. This is a good thing.) They love zucchi, and cumber slices.

Danios, white clouds, minnows. Hardy fish with similar requirement as the above live bearers. (Other than salt.) They are omnivores who's food should be a flake with fish before veggies.

Killfish/Killy. A hardy fish that requires a heater, and filter. This relatively peacefull fish is a carnivore, and will happily eat anything it can fit in it's mouth. It should be fed betta flakes.

Bettas. A loner fish that is aggressive within it's species. A single male betta would coexist with the live bearers other than male fancy guppies. (Which look too much like bettas.) A single female would be colorfull addition to any of the above groups. (Note that females will fight each other, and males.) Bettas prefer a heater, but don't require aeration.

Dwarf gourmi (only dwarfs) are a good addition to any of the above fish. Unlike their larger cousin they are quite peaceful. They require a heater, and only be added to established tanks. Male bettas might mistake the dwarf gormi for a betta. (My female bettas initial did, but wise avoid picking a fight.) Gourmis don't require aeration, but are poor canidates for not having a filter.


Fish to avoid that have been suggested:
Angelfish- Grow too big
Puffers- Cute rolly polly angels of death
Goldfish- Grow too big, and are messy
Multiple bettas of any sex- A 10 gallon tank is to small for multiple females, and males can't be kept with any other betta.

Ps- Do yourself a favor type "cyling fish tank" with out qoutes into any search engine

Answer 2

If you are set on a 10 gallon tank, then ignore the other user who spoke of a saltwater aquarium. Your setup would just be too small to be decent..

It would not be in the best interests of your fish to be purchased tomorrow because they will have a harder time surviving until your tank has cured. This takes about 1-2 weeks depending on the size of the tank. There are products that you can purchase at the petstore to make this happen faster, but I have never used them personally so I can't recommend them.

If you can afford it you should consider a 20 gallon tank instead of a 10 gallon. It will be a much healthier place for your fish to live. With aquariums it always seems to be the larger the better, but since you are new and still have much to learn I would not recommend anything above a 20.

Consider getting a few live plants instead of filling your tank up with plastic plants and "toys" that clutter it up. A good starter fish would be a neon tetra as they have always seemed to be a hardy fish to me. Also you could give guppies a try. They are very cheap, sometimes referred to as feeder fish..though I hate that. Some of them have very pretty tails. They would look outstanding in a 10 gallon tank. Try to keep it to one fish per gallon. If you have never had an aquarium before, make sure that you let your pet store owner know so that he can give you some good advice. Go to a real pet store, not walmart....

The fish are healthier in a real store anyways.

Do not forget to get one bottom feeder. A small one =)

But above all please let your tank cure before you put fish in it. If you put the fish in before it cures, then they may die or just become sick enough to die slowly, but at any rate it would not be a humane thing to do. I hope this info helps. If you need more information feel free to contact me via my profile. =)

Answer 3

Okay, here are the actual facts. Since you are new to community aquarium keeping, I strongly suggest you go to a book store, pet store, or your local library and get a beginner's book or two on the subject. You'll likely learn a lot of stuff you never thought about. Once your tank is set up and fully cycled, you can add no more than 10" of fish (excluding tails). This is the size they are expected to reach at maturity, not necessarily the size they are when you get them. You must add them gradually, to reduce the impact on your water parameters. There are many beautiful community fish that will co-exist peacefully and give you years of enjoyment. Personally, I would stock it with 3 Corydora catfish (they must be kept in groups of 3 or more), and 2 Platies. You could add 2 of whatever you want (of a similar size), Corys get along with almost everything. Another option could be 5 Guppies, or 5 of any 2" fish. Make sure each species are all males, or you could end up with fry, which you don't want. The best way to select your fish is to take a pen and paper and go down to your local fish store. When you see a species you like, write down what it is. Go home and consult a fish book or web-site and learn about that species. When you have selected 2 or 3 species that you like, that get along well together, you're all set. Don't rely on pet store employees, unless your fish store is a little mom and pop place. The employees at places like Petco are usually high school or college kids, who may not know any more than you do! Five doesn't sound like many fish, but the rule of thumb is 1" of fish per gallon of water. A 10 gallon tank is really small. If you want more fish, get a bigger tank. Stay away from Goldfish. One Goldfish requires a 20 gallon tank, with 10 gallons for each additional fish. They are a lot of work, also. One note about Catfish: If you get any, make sure your substrate is not sharp or jagged. A rounded pebble-type is better. Sharp, jagged substrate can damage and wear away at their barbels (whiskers). Make sure you provide food for different types of fish. Catfish, for instance, do not eat tropical flakes, they are bottom-feeders. They will eat what winds up in the bottom of the tank, but unless you are grossly over-feeding your fish, it isn't adequate as a complete diet. They would need some sinking pellets. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 4

Don't buy more than a couple fish tomorrow. Your tank needs to "cycle in." I would suggest a couple of zebra danios, they are hardy and not agressive. Once the tank cycles you can add some more fish. The rule of thumb is one inch of thin, small fish to one gallon of water.

Go to "About.com" and follow the link to setting up a freshwater aquarium.

It takes about 2-3 weeks to cycle in a tank unless you add a product called "Cycle." This will help reduce the time to about 10-14 days. It is actually bacteria in a bottle.

You need these good bacteria to help convert the ammonia that is produced when fish waste and uneaten food decays. First comes ammonia, then nitrates, then nitrites. All of these are toxic to your fish and will kill them if not taken care of by the bacteria and regular 25-30% water changes each week.

Too many fish right away causes what is called an "ammonia spike". This is what kills fish in newly set up aquariums and is actually called "new tank syndrome." More fish are killed by too much ammonia in a tank than any other problem.

Your tank will become cloudy for a while, that is normal and will disappear when the bacteria build up. Just do your weekly 25-30% changes and you should be fine.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Do you have a heater for your tank? Tropicals need to be kept at 78 degrees. Goldfish don't need a heater.

If you can have tropicals, you should start out with something that's pretty hardy like platys, guppies, danios, tetras and you'll need a cat fish to clean the bottom.

The amount of fish depends on the size of the fish you get. When you first add fish to an aquarium it's wisest to only get a few at a time until your tank is established. So you may want to start out with only 3 or 4.

Answer 6

Type Of Fish Tank

Answer 7

I started off by getting 2 zebras and two tetras (i got red eye tetras but neon tetras work just as well) they were very easy to keep and are very hardy fishes :) meaning they can take alot of punishment and they'll still be kickin! i've had mine for bout 4 years now 'n they endured african clawed frogs as well as a family of guppies!

I don't recommend putting the fish in right the next day as the water would not have matured enough yet for the fish to go into :) there are certain things you'll need to get from the shop such as dechlorinator ... a bottle of cycle (its a product) .. ph adjusting products (to adjust water conditions) as well as heater (since you use to have gold fish) and extra filter media wouldn't hurt :)

Whatever you do do NOT wash the aquarium with ANY soap it'll create a coating inside the tank 'n make it hard for the fish to breathe inside .. besides! the worst thing in those new tanks is just dust :)

good luck and have fun!

Answer 8

I rasie and breed guppies. They are fun to watch and don't take much care. But they breed like rabbits so if you get them becareful.

Before you get your fish you should cycle your tank for 3 weeks. If you don't you will get what is called new tank syndrom and its not good. It will kill your fish. Cycleing your tank is when you set it up the way you want it and let it run fishless for about 2-3 weeks before adding fish to it. After that you are good to go. If you would like to add fish sooner then I would wait a week then add them one at a time until the 3 weeks is up then you are good to go. I put my guppies in a 29 gallon tank the day I set it up and that was the biggest mistake I could have ever done. I got luck and was able to save them but it cost me a lot of money and time. I lost one fish in the whole messy mess up I did.

Also the rule of fish tanks is 1 inch of fish to 1 gallon of water. So I would no more the 9 fish becasue you have to count for the rocks, decrations, filter. and air pump.

Answer 9

Try black mollies. They are tough, cheap and look great. Not too much work for you and they hold up real nice. And you can add other types of fish later on , but not to many in 10 gallon. 3 or 4 mollies should be it. And don't go crazy with the extras. One or two smaller 'toys' to aerate the tank should be plenty. ENJOY!

Answer 10

10 gallon, either you have to change 1/4 of the water 2 times a week, or you're going to have to keep it very small, and little amount of fishes as possible. Go for guppies, they self breed, even the cheap colorless ones, they eventually make colorful breeds. A fighting fish. Little fishes that swims in packs.