Stocking my 10g tank?

Question

Hi, I have 2 mollies currently in a 10g tank (one male, one female.) They both can grow a max. of 2.5 in. So I have 5 inches of stocking space left in my tank. What fish can I add? I was thinking neon tetras, maybe a group of 4? Also maybe 3-5 ghost shrimp? Do these fish require the 1 inch per gallon rule also? I don't think they do.

If neon tetras don't work, then can you give me some advice about other small fish I could get? I thought about guppies but again I wasen't sure. Thank you!

PS: My tank has salt is kept between 78-82 degrees, and I have a filter, heater, 3 fake plants, 1 hiding tube-like cave, an air pump and large air stone, and a hood w/lights.

PPS: For all of you going to say "You should keep 2-3 female mollies per male" I just want to say my male molly is not a breeding machine. He is calm and doesn't bother the female alot. Actually, the female seems more aggresive than the male!

EDIT: Bettachris I don't own sailfin mollies. THE MAX SIZE FOR MY 2 MOLLIES IS 2.5 INCHES LIKE I SAID.

PPPS: When I said "Do these fish require the 1 inch per gallon rule too? I don't think they do." I was referring to the GHOST SHRIMPS not the NEON TETRAS.

Answer 1

With a male and a female Molly your going to be seeing Molly fry. Your best option is to get 3 Corydoras. I personally wouldn't get Neon Tetras because they like to be kept in larger shoals. Keeping 4 isn't a large enough shoal. 3 Corydoras will be fine and help keep the bottom of the tank free of scaps of food. Consider Peppered, Panda or Bronze Corydoras. Getting 3 Corys will also allow some space if any fry survive in your tank. But once the fry start coming you will need to look at getting a bigger tank.

Answer 2

What makes stocking this tank a little more difficult is the fact that you have salt in your tank. Mollies do well with salt, but most freshwater community fish don't require it and it can actually be detrimental to their health. A lot of other small brackish fish are aggressive (such as dwarf puffers) and would attack and probably kill your mollies. I wouldn't put neons or ghost shrimp in a tank with salt. Guppies might be ok, they don't really need the salt, but they would probably be ok with it. Just make sure to acclimate them slowly to your tanks water. You could probably add 3, but any more and your tank would be overstocked.

Guppies are not a schooling fish, but neon tetras are.

With the mollies in your tank, you might not need any more fish in there--they will reproduce quickly!

Answer 3

From my previous expirience with guppies and mollies I can say they get along like old pals! Also if you would like more free friends guppies would be a great investment! If you don't isolate the fry you will probably end up with 2-3 new guppies. If you isolate them on the other hand you could have up to 50!Ghost shrimp I agree are astounding creatures but are mostly used as food for other aquatic friends! (Poor little guys) That's why they are dirt cheap! (Normally around a quarter per shrimp!) Lastly, neon tetras are cool fish also. You probably won't have any babies because these guys lay eggs and the eggs are normally eaten by the time they are ready to hatch! But who knows? you may get lucky! Thanks for reading!

Answer 4

If your water is soft and acidic, go for the neon tetras. If not, I would go with some glow-light tetras instead, as the neons like acidic water. You can keep guppies, though you would be hard pressed to fit enough in there to keep them happy, as they are schooling fish and grow to 2 inches each. You should also get a couple apple snails (mystery snails) as they add interest to the tank and are not as invasive as many snail species. You could also add a small pleco, NOT one of the type that grow to 18-24 inches, but there are some that don't get any larger than 5 inches. They are neat looking bottom feeders. Good luck.

Answer 5

I used to have 50 fish tanks and bread 1000`s of African cichlids. Never herd of the 1 inch rule.It`s the size of your filter that governs the the amount of fish you can put in.With a filter that pumps 200 gallons a hour i put 60 baby cichlids in it until there ready for sale(11/4 inches)Your right on your male/female ratio Every fish has it`s own personality and not all fish are breaders.All fish are born female and your female might turn into a male and your male might be gay.Your choices tetras and ghost shrimp are great.

Answer 6

i dont like to 1 inch per gallon rule but nither is the molly= 2.5 inches..... my largest sail fin molly was a green male that was around 5-6 inches long. Now given that he was a wild strain sailfin, most mollies are 4-5 inches. ballons are around 2.5 max.

So i dont really recommend mollies for a 10 gallon, so i would even consider getting anymore.

just watch that you dont stunt the mollies in a 10 gallon.

you can look into 4 neons, but again you dont really have the much room left with the mollies.

Answer 7

Well, the 1 inch per gallon is BS

you could easily add a group of 6 neons to your tank including the ghost shrimp



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB

Answer 8

Neon tetras are very cool fish, and they're easy to handle, believe me, I've had about ten of them. You should probably want to stick with the one inch per gallon rule, just in case. It could seriously harm your fish if you add too many. Good luck with stocking your tank!

Answer 9

1 inch per gallon is crap. There really is no general rule. Add a few platies, 4 or 5 should be fine. I'm not sure how ghost shrimp fare with salt. I don't think neons do too well with salt either, they can be quite sensitive.

Answer 10

Neons aren't going to handle salt in the water as well as your mollies. You should stick with fish that enjoy the salt, like bumblebee or knight gobies, or glassfish.

Don't decorate your tank with any fine-leaved plants or piles of rocks larger than gravel (in other words, places for babies to hide), or your mollies will overstock your tank all by themselves. ;)