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10 gallon stock ideas
- Thread starter Cmitch524
- Start date
Hello and welcome! 
Possibly.. A lot of members would advise to get fish that fit your water parameters, tank size, compatibility with other fish, etc. I’m not 100% clued up of properly stocking an aquarium as my method usually puts plant mass first, low fish stocking second.
Other members will have better advice than me
Possibly.. A lot of members would advise to get fish that fit your water parameters, tank size, compatibility with other fish, etc. I’m not 100% clued up of properly stocking an aquarium as my method usually puts plant mass first, low fish stocking second.
Other members will have better advice than me
Personally, danios are mega active and need a 30 inch tank to really thrive to their best happiness.
I'd first look at your pH, GH, KH, and temperature and go from there.
A 10 gallon is limited, but it also depends heavily on your parameters, and substrate as well.
My honest opinion--upgrade your danios to a 20 gallon long and you also open up a lot more options for stock as well
I'd first look at your pH, GH, KH, and temperature and go from there.
A 10 gallon is limited, but it also depends heavily on your parameters, and substrate as well.
My honest opinion--upgrade your danios to a 20 gallon long and you also open up a lot more options for stock as well
So update… I ordered 3 Otocinclus online since none of my local stores had any, however the seller accidentally sent me a dwarf snowball pleco. I have decided to keep him since he’s beautiful and I have the room if I don’t get the otos. My questions is this… he won’t come out of hiding. He’s been hiding in one of my plants for about 10 days now. I have a driftwood cave for him to hide in but he won’t budge. I have lots of other little hiding spots as well. When I feed him, I try to sprinkle the food over the plant he’s hiding in, in the hopes he’s eating but I have no clue if he is actually eating any of it. Any advice? Keep waiting and watching? I just hope he’s ok. Thanks in advance.
Dwarf snowball pleco, it will still need at least a 20 gallon long. Maybe small but plecos poop a lot and will eventually overwhelm a 10 gallon parameters--smaller tanks aren't as stable since they have smaller volumes of water to dilute waste.
And, given it's a pleco, you likely will never see it. Most plecos are hiders by nature.
Otocinclus also shouldn't go in a 10g for a couple reasons:
--They're shoaling fish who don't feel comfortable in low numbers, so ideally need 6 or more. A 10 gallon cannot supply enough biofilm to support this. At minimum, a 20 gallon is a good start.
--Never ever add them to a young aquarium! They will starve. They do not take to prepared foods easily at first since they're all wild caught, so they really need a good supply of biofilm. This isn't enough in a tank younger than a year. They already don't fare well during the importation process and have a very high death rare. Often don't make it past the 3 month mark after being purchased at no fault to the keeper as well. There's theory it is a gut bacteria die off during the importation process, but it's debated. Either way, they can be sensitive to start off with and really need the best setup to get a good footing in order to thrive. They do not eat all algae.
And, given it's a pleco, you likely will never see it. Most plecos are hiders by nature.
Otocinclus also shouldn't go in a 10g for a couple reasons:
--They're shoaling fish who don't feel comfortable in low numbers, so ideally need 6 or more. A 10 gallon cannot supply enough biofilm to support this. At minimum, a 20 gallon is a good start.
--Never ever add them to a young aquarium! They will starve. They do not take to prepared foods easily at first since they're all wild caught, so they really need a good supply of biofilm. This isn't enough in a tank younger than a year. They already don't fare well during the importation process and have a very high death rare. Often don't make it past the 3 month mark after being purchased at no fault to the keeper as well. There's theory it is a gut bacteria die off during the importation process, but it's debated. Either way, they can be sensitive to start off with and really need the best setup to get a good footing in order to thrive. They do not eat all algae.
Rule #1 in the hobby: always take advice from people responsible for selling things with a grain of salt. Their intentions often are simply to make a sale and aren't going to care where it goes so long as they make the money. Chain store or not, not all have credible advice, especially for stocking.
I'd say you got a couple choices, return and maybe look into something like Asian stone catfish or upgrade to a 20 gallon to move your danios and new pleco over to it and enjoy. Sell the 10g to make some of the money back. Keep your filter, heater, etc and just move everything over.
I'd say you got a couple choices, return and maybe look into something like Asian stone catfish or upgrade to a 20 gallon to move your danios and new pleco over to it and enjoy. Sell the 10g to make some of the money back. Keep your filter, heater, etc and just move everything over.
If you like it, keep it. Just do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate every week to keep the tank clean. Or get a bigger tank (as mentioned above).I spoke to my local fish store (not a chain) and they said it would be ok.I’m unsure what to do then, if I should just get rid of it?
Your pleco will probably be active after the lights go out. You can put some food in 30 minutes after lights out and see if it eats. Remove uneaten food within 30 minutes of adding it to the tank so it doesn't pollute the water.
Another thing I'd like to bring up...
Take some photos when you've got the opportunity of your pleco. Get a top photo, side photo, mouth+belly photo.
I say this for identification purposes, because there are many black and white spotted plecos and often get misidentified or mislabeled in stores. Many get a decent size, so it'll be reassuring to you if you know for sure 100% what you've got.
Example, this guy was sold to me as a snowball pleco (L201), which upon receiving, he was definitely not. Expected to get a pleco that stays 4-6 inch range and instead I got a L240 vampire galaxy pleco which gets 9-10 inches!
Unsure if you know or not since you were expecting a different fish, but plecos do need some good oxygen levels. So either a good air stone or a powerhead is very beneficial. Pay attention especially in warmer months because warmer water has less oxygen in it, and plecos don't fare well with less oxygen.
It's very normal for plecos to hide, many of the non-mainstream pleco species are notorious hiders and that's part of their charm in a way. They're usually very nocturnal. So feeding the pleco at night is often a good idea to ensure they're provided for. Most species are vegetarian, but a few are actually carnivores (such as my L240). Wafers, large sinking pellets, and slices of things like zucchini or cucumber are often good. Carnivores enjoy a bit of chopped shrimp too.
You can often scape the tank with a way that allows better views of the pleco, such as placing caves in areas where you have a clear view of it, but still in a sheltered area for pleco security. Having one cave in a higher flow area and one in a slower area is a good idea as well
These are the only pics I have of him unfortunately before he went into hiding 10 days ago
Attachments
Looks possibly L471These are the only pics I have of him unfortunately before he went into hiding 10 days ago
PlanetCatfish.com - Hypancistrus sp. (L471) (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog
Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.
www.planetcatfish.com
Which is one of the little guys, also vegetarian. Hard to tell in your photos but do you have natural driftwood? It's helpful to their digestive tract
Yes I just got some the other day after reading they like that. So, should I just toss the carnivorous pellets I bought? I also have algae wafers I’ve been giving him.Looks possibly L471
PlanetCatfish.com - Hypancistrus sp. (L471) (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog
Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.
Which is one of the little guys, also vegetarian. Hard to tell in your photos but do you have natural driftwood? It's helpful to their digestive tract
They should still be fine to enjoy as part of the diet, maybe once a week or so
they still enjoy some meaty foods, just should have a lot of vegetarian food as wellSimilar threads
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