Scattered Fresh Aquarium Q's?

Question

I would like to set up a 10G fresh water aquarium. I have the tank setup and bought rocks.

I plan to buy fake plants. Where should I put them and how dense should they be? Should the rocks be flat across the bottom or should they slope?

I plan to purchase any of the following: guppies, cichlids, angelfish, guaramis, tetras, barbs, etc.

How many happy fish can I actually keep in my tank? Should I use the 1" / 1G calculator?

Is it true they will be melancholic if not kept in a school of 5+?

Answer 1

As for decor, usually, it's to you. I like to slope the gravel so they are thicker at the back, making the tank look deeper. The fish don't care, though. As for the plants, technically tall plants should go at the back, and short ones at the front, but it doesn't really matter. If your have fish that like open swimming areas, like teras, then group all your plants together in one area. If you have fish that like dense planting like betta or gourami, then spread them out over a decent area so they have lots of plants to swim through. Try to get silk plants and not plastic ones, which are sharp. Do you have a fluorescent light on your tank? If so, you could get live plants if you wanted to.

Well, you don't have room for cichlids or angelfish in your 10 gallon tank, but you could get a combination of tertas, gourami, and barbs OR guppies. In your position, I would do it like this:
1 dwarf gourami
6 tetras (neons, glowlights, harlequin rasboras, or whatever)
3 cherry barbs OR 3 (1 male, 2 female) guppies
Cherry barbs are the only barbs suitable to a 10 gallon tank, because they are small and don't school like other barbs.
With small fish, the 1" / gallon rule sort of works, but as you get info bigger fish it ceases to apply. The stocking I suggested puts 10 fish in your tank and that's more or less fine for a 10 gallon tank. A little less would be better but as long as you keep up with 30% weekly water changes, it shouldn't be a problem. Your temp should be maintained at around 78F.

Some fish are schoolers, some aren't. Schoolers need to be in groups of 5 or more to feel safe and happy. Non-schoolers don't.

Don't forget to cycle :) Google: Fishtank Nitrogen Cycle for lots of helpful articles, as it is a very important step in setting up a tank and you'll want to do it before you start adding fish. When you are done cycling, get 1-2 fish per week (not all at once).



Edit: I thought I would mention that angelfish are, in fact, cichlids. And that there are several peaceful cichlids out there suitable to be kept in community tanks. This includes angelfish, rams, apistogramma, keyhole cichlids, kribensis, and others. Most are from South American and in general, South American cichlids are peaceful.
None are suitable for this 10 gallon tank (well, you could probably have a pair of apistogramma, but no other fish), but in a larger tank they are fine.
It's the malawi and tanganyikan cichlids you have to keep in dedicated (species-only) tanks.

Answer 2

Plants can be as dense as you want. Do not use the inch per gallon rule except for small narrow bodied fish like neon tetras. If you use that "rule" for any fish that grows bigger than 1 inch, you are going to overstock the tank big time.

So using the list of fish you want I will make a few stocking options. Even these are going to put you a bit on the overstocked side, but as long as you do weekly water changes you will be fine.

1. 4 male guppies, 1 mystery snail
2. 1 ram cichlid, 6 neon tetras, 1 mystery snail
3. 1 dwarf gourami, 6 cherry barbs, 1 mystery snail
4. 10 neon tetras OR 10 cherry barbs

You can mix and match, I just put the ram with the tetras because they are both from the same place. gouramis and barbs are from the same place, but different place than tetras.

Angelfish need at least 30 gallons, so you can't get one.

Make sure if you get a schooling fish like barbs or tetras, you need to get 6 or more. Less than 6 and they will get stressed and there will be problems. Some schooling fish will even waste away and die if kept alone. Glass catfish are one of these.

Your options are very limited in that size of tank, so make sure to do your share of research before getting fish.

Answer 3

A 10 gallon aquarium is a tight little community. I would slope your rocks with the lowest place being towards the front as most of your waste in uneaten food etc will go to the lowest point that will make it easier to syphon off the waste. I would choose my fish before deciding the plant types or density. My preference would be to get 4 guppies (3 females, 1 male) and then some black mollies or playties with the same male female ratio. These are all live bearers and would need adaquate covering for their fry to hide in and for them to give birth or you can use a nursery tank (recommended if you plan to grow your population) I prefer neon tetras and they are so striking with the black mollies and colorful guppies. Neons need a little room to swim so if this was my mixture I would plant dense at the back and choose one corner to also plant dense that would leave a lot of room out in the front for the fish to swim keeping your beauties out where you can enjoy them. As a side note I would recommend setting your tank up and letting it filter for at least a couple of days check your water for temperature and ph before going to buy your first fish. I would only buy a couple of your most inexpensive fish on your list and introduce them to the tank. If they live go buy a few more and proceed that way. If they don't live you don't loose your money and entire fish colony. Find the problem correct it and then proceed as above. This process has saved me a lot of money in the past. Good luck and enjoy your tank!

Answer 4

You can not put cichlids, angelfish, and some kinds of barbs in that small of a tank, they all get much too large. 1 angelfish needs 30 gallons, and while not all cichlids get huge, they will be very agressive in that small of a tank. Please don't use the 1 for 1 calculation., Try 1 inch per 2 gallons. thats a much more realistic stocking guide. I'm not sure I would put the gourami's into that small of a tank either...you could maybe do one dwarf gourami as a centerpiece fish, and a small school of neon tetras. Dont overstock, it will result in your fish dying. Add them one at a time only after you have cycled your tank. As far as plants go, if you arent going to use real ones, I would not get the gourami. You could get a male betta instead, and some neon tetras, but gouramis need live plants to thrive and be happy, and they are sickly in anything but perfect water parameters.

Answer 5

You haven't cycled your fish tank yet. I don't reccomend getting more than 1-2 fish at first. 1 inch of fish per gallon is a good start. I would worry about cycling your tank and getting the water right before getting fish. If you google tank cycling, that will give you a lot more information. The fish you mentioned are tropical fish so make sure you have a heater.

Answer 6

Don't put the chichlids and angles together in the tank.

Follow the 1" rule but don't forget to allow for growth. It is not a proven fact they are more melancoly if in groups of 5. Some begin to take over.

Learning how to set up a fish tank is not all that difficult, but there are some steps you should follow. First, you must realize a few things about an aquarium setup. A tropical fish tank is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successful freshwater tropical fish tank you will have to work at it. Once a week, or at most once every two weeks, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on the tank. Most of the time you will be performing water changes. You will also have to feed your fish at least once a day. If you are up to the challenge, please proceed!

STEP 2: Decide on an aquarium size.
It's a good idea to have in mind what kind of fish you want to keep before you purchase an aquarium. Some fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types of tropical fish can grow 12 or 13 inches or more in length! Knowing what kind of fish you want will help you decide the size of the tank they will need. If this is your first time with an aquarium, it may be a good idea to start with a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium setup for now and stock it with some smaller and hardier species.

STEP 3: Decide on the aquarium's location.
Place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. Sunlight that enters the room through an unshaded window could affect the temperature of your tank. This could also lead to green algae problems for your tank down the road. You will want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. You also want to be sure that the floor is able to support the total weight of the aquarium and stand. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water!

STEP 4: Buy your aquarium and equipment.
Now is a good time to decide on the type of aquarium filter you will want to use. You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the tank size you have. Buy the gravel, plants, a power strip and other decorations. A good rule of thumb for the amount of gravel that you will need is 1 to 1.5 pounds of gravel per gallon of water.

STEP 5: Set up your aquarium and stand.
Wash out your tank with water only! Do not use soap or detergents. Soap residue left behind will be harmful for your tropical fish. If you are going to use an under gravel filter (not recommended) now would be the time to set it up as well.

STEP 6: Wash Gravel, plants and decorations.
Be sure to wash the gravel thoroughly before adding it to your tank. An easy way to do this is to put some of the rocks in a pasta strainer and wash them out in your bath tub. Then place the clean gravel in a clean 5-gallon bucket for transport to the aquarium. After adding the gravel you can place your plants and decorations.

STEP 7: Add water to the aquarium.
To avoid messing up your gravel and plants, you can place a plate or saucer in the middle of your aquarium and direct the water flow onto the plate. Use room temperature water when filling. To remove the chlorine and chloramine, use something like Tetra AquaSafe for Aquariums. Don't completely fill up the aquarium until you are sure of the layout of your decorations. Otherwise, when you place your arm in to move stuff around water is going to spill over. Doh!

STEP 8: Set up equipment.
Install your heater but don't plug it in until the thermostat in the heater has adjusted to the water temperature. This usually takes about 15 minutes or so. Hook up your filter and any other equipment you have, then top off the aquarium water to just under the hood lip. Place your hood and tank light on the aquarium and then check your power cords to be sure that they are free of water. I would also recommend using a drip loop on all of the power cords to be extra cautious. For more information on safety, read this great article on aquarium electrical safety. Plug all of the equipment into a power strip and then "turn on" the aquarium.

STEP 9. Wait, wait, wait and then wait some more.
I know, you want to add some fish. But, in order to do this right you must wait until your aquarium has cycled before adding any fish. There are ways of speeding up this process. Check out the nitrogen cycle page to learn more about starting the nitrogen cycle and how to speed it up. If you must use fish to cycle, try to get a hardier species like the zebra danio or cherry barb.

STEP 10. Add tropical fish.
Only add one or two fish at a time. Adding a couple fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When you bring the fish home let the bag float in the tank for about 15 minutes so that the fish can become acclimated to the temperature and pH of the aquarium water. After 5 minutes of floating the bag you should add some of the aquarium water to the bag so that the fish can become acclimated to the pH level in the aquarium. This will help reduce the amount of stress imposed on the fish. Stressed fish often leads to dead or diseased fish! Don't feed your fish on the first day. They probably wouldn't eat any food on the first day anyway. Let them get acquainted with their new home.

STEP 11. Get ready for regular maintenance.
Be prepared to spend some time once every week or two to clean your tank. Performing regular water changes will reduce the nitrate levels and keep your tropical fish happy and healthy.

As you can see, the steps for how to set up a fish tank are not that complex and hopefully you now have your aquarium setup and running! Have fun, take care of and enjoy your fish!

Answer 7

guppies and neon ttras i would say at first guppies will mate easily

Answer 8

i would not put cichlids in this tank