I want some color without overcrowding.

I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 black skirted tetras, 2 phantom tetras, and a pleco. I would love to add a fish or 2 with some color but I don't want to overcrowd the tank. I just moved them a couple of days ago from a 3.5 gallon tank and they love the bigger tank. Yes I know the other tank was too small but it was all I had when they were given to me. What can I add to my 10 gallon tank for some colorful fish if anything?

I’m afraid you’re already overstocked with the pleco.

Deanasue said:

I’m afraid you’re already overstocked with the pleco.

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I was afraid of that. The person who had them before me had them for a couple of years in a 10 gallon tank and was moving and couldn't take them. I hardly ever see the pleco, he hides all the time. I am new to fish keeping and have been doing a LOT of googling.

It takes time. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll learn. If your fish store will take the pleco you can move up to a 20G long and have more options. A 10G really isn’t good for much more than a betta, IMO. Petco often has $1/ gallon sales.

Hi and welcome to the forum

How long has the tank been set up for?

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Is the suckermouth catfish an actual Plecostomus or is it a Bristlenose catfish?
Both are referred to as plecos but one grows to 2 foot long and the other reaches 4-5 inches long.

If you can post a picture of the fish we can identify it for you. If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

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What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).


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All tetras naturally occur in groups of thousands out in the wild and should be kept in large groups in aquariums. A minimum number for any species of tetra is 6 and they do much better when kept in groups of 10 or more.

Black widow/ skirt tetras are fin nippers and will chew the fins on any fish that is slow moving or has long fins.

Black phantom tetras are lovely peaceful fish. The males have a bigger dorsal (top) fin and black pelvic (little fins under their belly). The females have red pelvic fins.

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Because you have black widow/ skirt tetras, it will make it more difficult to find compatible tank mates. And if you have a genuine Plecostomus catfish, that will cause problems later on when it grows.

Several options are available. Remove the black skirt tetras and get some more black phantom tetras and some cherry barbs or ember tetras. Alternatively, keep the black skirts and get rid of the black phantom tetras, then get some serape tetras, which are also fin nippers. Make sure you get a group of 6 or more of each species.

Personally I would go with black phantom tetras and cherry barbs and get rid of the black widows.

Then you can work out what you want to do with the pleco.

Here's 3 of the pleco.

It could be a female albino Bristlenose catfish, or an albino Plecostomus. Unfortunately the albinos can all look the same and make it difficult to identify species due to the lack of colour and markings. However, I am inclined to think Bristlenose due to the spots on the back. Plecos have lines not spots so you might be in luck and have the smaller variety, which is better suited to your tank size.

I have to disagree with @Colin_T on this one. Bristlenose plecos still have a huge bioload and are not suitable for 10G tanks. Minimum tank sz is 20G long and most recommendations are for 25G minimum depending on other fish you have too.

It looks just like my lemon yellow Bristlenose.

Why do Bristlenose have such a heavy bioload? I have two that are just so adorable. The website said max size of 4 inches over several years (they are about 1 1/2-2" now. They are also the most amazing algae eaters I have ever seen - they work constantly. My favorite of all fishes although I'm fond of my Gold Dojo Loach - which would bring some color to the tank - they rest a lot but also get in moods where they swim about 80mph. They would also match his yellow Bristlenose.

One of my Bristlenose got a fin nipped by a Chinese Alae eater (I have 4 that frankly I just want to wash down the toilet) - supposedly "peaceful" fish - that's only in adolescence and now I find out that they turn into fin nipping, eye eating monsters who have disrupted my peaceful tank. They are lucky they are so fast I can't catch them. They've turned eating time into piranha time making all my bottom feeders behave like maniacs.

BTW : who has ever had any success getting a store to take fish off your hands? They say "NO WAY" due to possible contamination and they don't keep inventory for a couple months in quarantine just so you can unload some fish. They don't have the time and don't have the room.

Bristlenose plecos are vegetarian, and all animals that are vegetarian have to eat more in order to obtain the necessary nutrition than do carnivores and omnivores, so there is more waste produced.

Jan Cavalieri said:

BTW : who has ever had any success getting a store to take fish off your hands?

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We used to take customer's fish any time they wanted to get rid of them. We considered it our duty to take fish back because we sold them. However, these days a lot of the chain pet shops I have been to won't buy fish from customers, or take them back for free. I get told it is store policy and the store doesn't want sick fish being added to their tanks. I point out that if I buy fish from a shop, then the shop has an obligation to take the fish back if I can no longer care for it. I also tell the shop that my fish would be just as healthy as theirs, if not healthier because I would not be adding new fish to the tanks every week. I usually get asked to leave after that.

Shops that refuse to take fish back, are encouraging people to dump fish into rivers or flush them down the toilet and both are bad.

If you can find a mum and dad pet shop, they usually take fish from customers. Otherwise put them on Ebay, Craig's List or something similar and say "FREE algae eaters, pick up only". Someone will come and take them away. Just be sure to catch them out and put them in a bucket before the people come to get them, otherwise they could wait a bit while you try to catch them.

One way to tell if they are BN pleco’s is by the shape of their head. They have really flat heads. Their heads are very different from other pleco’s as far as shape goes - shorter, flatter, wider.

Here's one I took this morning.

Jan Cavalieri said:

It looks just like my lemon yellow Bristlenose.

Why do Bristlenose have such a heavy bioload? I have two that are just so adorable. The website said max size of 4 inches over several years (they are about 1 1/2-2" now. They are also the most amazing algae eaters I have ever seen - they work constantly. My favorite of all fishes although I'm fond of my Gold Dojo Loach - which would bring some color to the tank - they rest a lot but also get in moods where they swim about 80mph. They would also match his yellow Bristlenose.

One of my Bristlenose got a fin nipped by a Chinese Alae eater (I have 4 that frankly I just want to wash down the toilet) - supposedly "peaceful" fish - that's only in adolescence and now I find out that they turn into fin nipping, eye eating monsters who have disrupted my peaceful tank. They are lucky they are so fast I can't catch them. They've turned eating time into piranha time making all my bottom feeders behave like maniacs.

BTW : who has ever had any success getting a store to take fish off your hands? They say "NO WAY" due to possible contamination and they don't keep inventory for a couple months in quarantine just so you can unload some fish. They don't have the time and don't have the room.

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You have to go to a maw & paw local fish store. I have 2 in my area that take them.

Your picture looks like a female BN pleco with the shape of the head and the spots. If you got a 20 gallon minimum you could keep one of the BN pleco’s but you’d be at the minimum. Have to agree with everyone else and say rehome or see if a ma and pa shop near you would take them. It’s not their physical size but the size of their output that puts strain on the water quality.

If your LFS won’t take them and you have to try and rehome - Pick up some algae wafers for them if you don’t already have some. I’d also do frequent water changes and make sure you have some driftwood in there, the fiber aids in their digestion.