New 10 gallon stocking?

Hi all I'm new to the fishkeeping scene. My wife and I just acquired our first 10 gal aquarium (20"x10"x12") and I've been doing some research on the best way to stock this size of tank. Currently we have a couple little Rock decorations, a taller tower, and some plastic plants setup in the aquarium.

I'm leaning towards getting 5 neon tetras, 5 ember tetras, and then 2 or 3 otocinclus for cleaning duties.

We really like the neon tetras so definitely planning on those but is the ember tetra a good accompaniment? And also is the otocinlus the best option for cleaning duties or would something else work better for this small tank?

Thanks for any help and can't wait to see some opinions ? I'll try and get some pictures of what we have setup right now tomorrow

Fordman98 said:

Hi all I'm new to the fishkeeping scene. My wife and I just acquired our first 10 gal aquarium (20"x10"x12") and I've been doing some research on the best way to stock this size of tank. Currently we have a couple little Rock decorations, a taller tower, and some plastic plants setup in the aquarium.

I'm leaning towards getting 5 neon tetras, 5 ember tetras, and then 2 or 3 otocinclus for cleaning duties.

We really like the neon tetras so definitely planning on those but is the ember tetra a good accompaniment? And also is the otocinlus the best option for cleaning duties or would something else work better for this small tank?

Thanks for any help and can't wait to see some opinions ? I'll try and get some pictures of what we have setup right now tomorrow

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I would like you to stay clear of oto... they are fish which are probably not for a beginner. Most of them are wild caught and therefore some may come with disease. Sometimes, they don’t get enough food and starve to death. They also are schooling fish so in my opinion if you want oto then you should do a oto only tank... and that’s pushing it for a 10 gallon. Here are some alternatives which I reccomend:

Rather than ember tetras how about you use Chili Rasbora? (6-9) Or maybe even galaxy danio (3-4)

Instead of oto you could use amano shrimp (2-4) Or a single nerite snail

These guys have barely any bioload and will therefore make the tedious process of tank cleaning a tiny bit more convenient. Keep in mind, that the chili rasbora are rather delicate and should be taken care of carefully. I will send a list of what my 10 gallons contains.

I agree with Luffy on the Oto cats. The should never be put into an immature aquarium, either, as they often do not eat prepared foods. I LOVE nerite snails for clean up. They do not reproduce in fresh water, so having 1 at first is great and you can always add more later. In one 10 gallon, I have 3 nerite snails. They may lay eggs, but it close to impossible to raise nerites in a home aquarium (a good thing!).

Fordman98 said:

Hi all I'm new to the fishkeeping scene. My wife and I just acquired our first 10 gal aquarium (20"x10"x12") and I've been doing some research on the best way to stock this size of tank. Currently we have a couple little Rock decorations, a taller tower, and some plastic plants setup in the aquarium.

I'm leaning towards getting 5 neon tetras, 5 ember tetras, and then 2 or 3 otocinclus for cleaning duties.

We really like the neon tetras so definitely planning on those but is the ember tetra a good accompaniment? And also is the otocinlus the best option for cleaning duties or would something else work better for this small tank?

Thanks for any help and can't wait to see some opinions ? I'll try and get some pictures of what we have setup right now tomorrow

Click to expand...

Ok so using the calculator on the right side, I've notice your tank will not be 10 gallons when filled up (taking in all of the plants and decor). It will be more like 8-9 gallons. I'm sorry to shoot the neon tetra idea down but they need a 15-20 gallon minimum. Lot's of people think that neons are fine in 5 gallons and 10s but they aren't sadly. They need a lot more swimming room than you think. If you want to get neons, get a 20gal and get around 10 of them and add some corydoras for bottom feeders.

As for the tank you have right now, celestial pearl danios, amano shrimp, a betta and ember tetras are all good for that size of tank. If you want a betta, do a male with a pair of amano shrimp. If you want the ember tetras get around 6 of them and some red cherry shrimp.

Hi and welcome to the forum

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate 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).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.
Tetras, barbs, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm).

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies) occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

Welcome.
As Colin said above you really need your fish to suit your water hardness AND your tank size for them to have any chance of a decent lifespan.
seriouslyfish.com is the best science based website illustrating fish requirements. IE water hardness, water PH, water temp, tank size, tank mates, etc. Enter the fish that interest you into the search function then click on the fish name when it appears. There’s a whole world in there.
Theres also a whole world on here that know their stuff and can guide you. Colin and Byron frinstance are the two most knowledgeable fish people I’ve found on the internet, essjay has forgotten more about the chemistry side of things than the population of most other forums have ever known. You landed on your feet when you landed on here. Seriously.
Me? Im a “beginner” so help out by pointing people in the direction of seriouslyfish.com and their water providers website ASAP thus saving the brains of the operation for the stuff that’s way above my head. Which is nearly everything.
The sooner you find out your water hardness the sooner you get down to the best part.
Have fun.

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far! Sounds like neon tetras and otocinclus are out for now.

I'm on well water so no company to contact. But I took a water test with the following results:
Ph: 7.5
KH: 10
GH:7
Nitrate: 20
Nitite:0
Ammonia:0

Ember tetras are a good choice then. Go for 6 if you are to go with them. Then maybe red cherry shrimp or amano shrimp to clean. No corys are suitable for a 10gallon and the substrate is not ideal for them. Maybe if you had sand Corydoras pygmaeus would be an idea but it would be challenging and the tank probably is a bit too small.

Cherry shrimp also come in other colors, like yellow or black if you want the contrast (more expensive though).

All the advice given thus far is completely valid and reasonable... But remember at the end of the day all fish have their own unique personalities and will bring their own traits into your tank.

When purchasing fish make sure you get ones which don’t seem like bullies and don’t seem like they’re on death row.

Also, all we have given you was advice... At the end of the day only you and your wife will be the ones looking at the tank so you are free to do as you please but always prioritize the well-being of the fish because they are still lives nonetheless no matter how replaceable they can be. I hope that you have the best of luck and stay within the depths of this hobby!

I ended up with 6 embers for now. They seem to be acclimating well so far! Fed them this morning with a pinch of flake and they seemed to love that.

Being that our tank doesn't have live plants would the cherry/Amano shrimp or the nerite nail be better for cleanup? I am going to leave the embers in by themselves for 5-6 weeks before adding anything more. But I like the idea of a couple of the pearl danios just to get a little offset coloring.

Fordman98 said:

I ended up with 6 embers for now. They seem to be acclimating well so far! Fed them this morning with a pinch of flake and they seemed to love that.

Being that our tank doesn't have live plants would the cherry/Amano shrimp or the nerite nail be better for cleanup? I am going to leave the embers in by themselves for 5-6 weeks before adding anything more.

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If your tank is unplanted I say you should go with the shrimp because they don’t mainly eat algae and will be seen often searching through the substrate for any flakes that your fish have left behind. They are very effective cleaners and you will actually be able to see when they eat because the color of your flake food will be seen through their transparent bodies in their stomachs. You can see when they eat, when they are about to release fecal matter, and much more, Amano shrimp that is. They are very hardy and if it’s your first time I reccomend you get these guys over any invertebrates. These guys will never eat any other fish...(fish eggs maybe). They tend to reside at the bottom of the food chain so make sure to check if the fish you have in your tank will be peaceful towards them. If the fish are relatively small then it may not be a problem but in this hobby you can never be too be careful. Best of luck!

Fordman98 said:

I ended up with 6 embers for now. They seem to be acclimating well so far! Fed them this morning with a pinch of flake and they seemed to love that.

Being that our tank doesn't have live plants would the cherry/Amano shrimp or the nerite nail be better for cleanup? I am going to leave the embers in by themselves for 5-6 weeks before adding anything more. But I like the idea of a couple of the pearl danios just to get a little offset coloring.

Click to expand...

If you are to go with danios, 6 would be a good number. However, this will push you over the cusp for amount of fish which will mean no shrimp or snail. You could get away with 2 amano shrimp but that means weekly 30-40% water changes. It depends what else you add.