I am ready for my second set of fish. What would be the ideal type for a 10 gallon tank?

Question

How many and what kind should I get? I have been doing some research but would like some answers from some people with some experience with the type of fish they are recommending to give me some pointers.

There is nothing in the tank at the time but some gravel. I have one decoration but looking for more advice before buying anything else.

Answer 1

Pirahna reccommended exodon paradoxus (he didn't spell it correctly, though). That is not a good idea. If you did, in fact get 10 of them, they would whittle down their own numbers in short order. They are a very vicious little fish that is not compatible with anything.

You don't say what, if any, filtration you have (you need filtration) or if the tank is heated. Tropical fish need 72-78 degree water, goldfish need 60-65 degree water. Don't mix them.

One inch of small slim fish per gallon of water (don't count the tails). The fatter the fish, the more water it needs.

Tiger barbs are not good community fish, they are fin nippers. Cherry barbs are good, guppies are good, rosy barbs are good, white clouds are good. All of those can be mixed. Neons are good, but very touchy in the area of water conditions and temperature. They will get ich at the drop of a couple degrees.

Angels will eat what fits in their mouths, they don't mix well with small fish. They love to hunt baby fish (fry).

Go to the site "About.com" and follow their links to setting up and maintaining a freshwater aquarium. They have lots of info there, including what fish get along with each other and how many will fit into different sized tanks.

Answer 2

The rule you'll most often hear about is an inch of fish per gallon of water. However, full bodied fish such as Goldfish, require far more space than that. 10 gallons is not a big tank , so you won't be able to keep too many fish in that aquarium. I'd stick to small, slim bodied fish. A half dozen schooling fish, such as neon tetras would be good , with a small bottom dwelling fish or two. Or consider keeping a small school of danios and a couple of barbs. There are many options, just take care to avoid fish that reach an adult size larger than inch or two.

Answer 3

no. it needs to be cycled. When a lot of fish are put into a tank at one time, their ammonia waste builds up--in the wild there is "good bacteria" in the environment to help control the amount of ammonia so it doesnt get toxic, but when you put fish in a brand new tank there is no good bacteria so the ammonia levels get toxic and the fish get poisoned. I would start off with a single betta--they are extremely hardy and they will be able to tolerate the increase in ammonia in the water and still poop and stuff to help the good bacteria settle in the tank. After about a month, if you dont want the betta anymore you can return it and get a fish that is not as hardy as the betta but still hardy, like platies, get like three of them and have them in the tank for another month (you should be doing 25% water changes once a week when there are fish in the tank just fyi) after a month with the platies if you dont want them you can take them out and then put whatever fish you want in there because the good bacteria will be the gravel and in the filter to control the ammonia. If you get a bunch of fish and put them in right now i am one hundred percent sure they will die.

Answer 4

Since you are still a novice, I suggest you stick with guppies, swords and tiger barbs. Add maybe a couple of angel fish. and a small algae eater. No snails, no live plants, no black mollies, they like brackish water. Feed dried foods, no tubifex.

I only use natural pebble gravel and an underground filter. Aerate the tank and avoid painted ornaments. I use quality plastic plants and washed red shale.

Before setting up tank, wash it and everything that goes in the tank with bleach solution. Rinse well. Fill tank and do not add fish for a week. You can add a full hood or reflector with cover. Leave no openings.
Swords are jumpers.

- Hobbyist for 44 years now.

Answer 5

Fancy guppies, Get three or four females, and one or two males. the males have the large colorful tails, and the females are rather plain. You'll Have a tank full in no time, Also if you purchase females with a dark spot on there belly, they'll already be pregnant. It'll get you started faster. just make sure that you have some kind of thick brush style plant, such as a grass type. It doesn't have to be real, it'll just give the babies a place to hide, since guppies are cannibalistic.

Answer 6

If you want a community tank, I recommend tetras.
(neon, red eyes, etc.) Maybe some danios to add variety.
If you want a little more personality, you can move to barbs and guaramis.
For an aggressive tank, cichlids are always the most popular. (jack Dempsey, convicts green terrors. Red devils may be a bit too much to handle)

I would recommend about 10 exodon pradoxus tetras. Also know as piranha tetras. They are very active and eat well.

Answer 7

It depends on whats already in the tank!
All fish don't get along, some need special water, brackish, salt, fresh??
Need more info from you to say what would be a good match.

Answer 8

Well, you should get what they call "community fish", which means that certain fish like to eat other fish, and you shouldn't put them together...therefore community fish live together but don't eat each other. Example: Guppies and Mollies are compatible. Catfish are docile too. Tetras could be aggressive, et cetera...

Answer 9

Gourami's are nice, I had a pair of pink kissers in a 10 gal. tank for years.

Answer 10

I think you should get maybe four. I personally haven't had any fish but my friend has. Get some of those fish that are pretty and have long tails that they sell at like your local pet store. Best answer?