Colorful 10G Stocking Ideas?

[woodstock]

Bear with me here, I know how you guys "love" the 'Stocking Ideas' here, lol.

Anyways, my mom is vastly disappointed with my two bettas in divided 5 gal. She says they're too boring (but I beg to differ) and don't understand why I have them. Instead, she wants a pretty, flowy colorful tank thats... interesting. Surprising thing is, she's actually WILLING to re-decorate the house for this. (But not for another betta, pshhhh~)

It's just an idea for now. Chances are I'll end up with a 10 gallon to work with.

Again, she'd like a more colorful, cute tank. I was thinking a schooling fish, then. Definitely something like cardinal tetra, or neon tetra (I don't know the diff. between those two). Panda corys seem cute too. No need to lecture me on how to properly raise them, these are all theoretical ideas. Once I've started deciding will I look more into those.

I'm also gonna try live plants as well, gonna definitely get at least one nerite snail. Maybe a bunch of shrimp as well, since they hardly affect bioload.

Very much appreciated!

 

[Hunterprey]

Cardinal tetra's red stripe goes all the way to the tail (caudal fin) Neon's only go highway their body. I heard Cardinal's are hard to acclimate though to your tank
I was gonna suggest Tiger barbs, they're fun to watch schooling fish but u'll need at least 20g long tank for them.

 

[woodstock]

I'm gonna have to go with neon tetra, they seem to take up less bioload capacity for a 10 gal. I'm gonna try and push the stocking on this as far as I can. But just know I do water changes religiously

Neon tetras (or any colorful alternative) are gonna have to be in for me. I'm definitely gonna get at least one nerite snail for any algae outbreaks, and for just in general. They're cute. Also some shrimp, I've always wanted shrimp, but the bettas don't let it happen.

And corys! I'd like some corys as well. I'm looking them up currently.
(I went to Petco to see the price on Panda corys. Goodness they're expensive.)
Ah, so... let's say I do decide on panda corys...how long can they last in pairs? I'm probably gonna have to buy singly, or in pairs.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

I'm gonna have to go with neon tetra, they seem to take up less bioload capacity for a 10 gal. I'm gonna try and push the stocking on this as far as I can. But just know I do water changes religiously

Neon tetras (or any colorful alternative) are gonna have to be in for me. I'm definitely gonna get at least one nerite snail for any algae outbreaks, and for just in general. They're cute. Also some shrimp, I've always wanted shrimp, but the bettas don't let it happen.

And corys! I'd like some corys as well. I'm looking them up currently.
(I went to Petco to see the price on Panda corys. Goodness they're expensive.)
Ah, so... let's say I do decide on panda corys...how long can they last in pairs? I'm probably gonna have to buy singly, or in pairs.

if youre going for color i think kuhli loaches would look cooler than corys
http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/p/Pangio_kuhlii_04.jpg/image_mini

a dwarf gourami would be a nice show-fish too. either a 'wild' type or a blue (the darker blue the better)

http/www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/colisa-lalia.jpg
http/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Colisa_lalia_Neon_Blue_2.jpg

and some cherry shrimp
http/www.aquascapingworld.com/gallery/images/1/1_shrimp2.jpg

and of course, the neons and hell, even a snail if you can find one with a nice colored shell. maybe an apple snail
http/www.calacademy.org/science_now/images/applesnail4.jpg



by the way, i think it'd be a good idea to get black gravel and provide subdued light. it'll really bring out the colors in your fish and i've read that the fish actually prefer black gravel and dim light anyway.

so the stocking would be somethin like

a dwarf gourami
6 neons
5 kuhli loaches
10 cherry shrimp
and an apple snail

I've actually been thinkin about setting up a small colorful tank so this is all pretty fresh in my mind. good luck, hope this helps.

 

[woodstock]

Thanks MrNiceGuy, that was real informatiave. And I was gonna ask about the sand anyway. Black sand isn't the favorite, but it may work out with these fish. White sand may not do the trick for them. I'm gonna keep looking at white sand though, because white sand and green plants are to die for. (And with enough green, the neon tetras will stick out a bit, too.)

Also, plants are also helpful here. I will do mix of real and silk.

For the fish, I've decided on these.

Neon tetras, Snails (to be decided), Shrimp (to be decided). I'd LOVE some cherry shrimp.

Kuhli loaches aren't exactly my favorite, I'm gonna have to stray from them, just personal preference.

Aw, the gourami will seem lonely, lol. I'll look those up.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

Thanks MrNiceGuy, that was real informatiave. And I was gonna ask about the sand anyway. Black sand isn't the favorite, but it may work out with these fish. White sand may not do the trick for them. I'm gonna keep looking at white sand though, because white sand and green plants are to die for. (And with enough green, the neon tetras will stick out a bit, too.)

Also, plants are also helpful here. I will do mix of real and silk.

For the fish, I've decided on these.

Neon tetras, Snails (to be decided), Shrimp (to be decided). I'd LOVE some cherry shrimp.

Kuhli loaches aren't exactly my favorite, I'm gonna have to stray from them, just personal preference.

Aw, the gourami will seem lonely, lol. I'll look those up.

yeah, a lot of what i said was just based on opinion... im just throwin ideas out there. but for the record, the gourami won't feel alone. actually, they're territorial towards their own kind so its best to keep them singly.

 

[woodstock]

Ah, like bettas, only less so. Sorry, my variety of fish is limited.

 

[Night61]

hope you feel better

anyways, try some pygmy cories, small and you can get more, then the pandas.

pygmy cory
cory hastatus

not as colorful as a panda, but they stay small and as cute as a button.
while i am also an avid fan on the khuli i understand your desire not to keep them. i am going to suggest a mystery snail. if you go to petsmart they actually have a verity of them, from black to yellow, and they are fun to watch.

mystery snails

also i just thought of it, there is always shrimp which i never have success with or a African dwarf frog.

 

[saz326]

For a 10G - teeming with colour and life I'd go for a couple of shoals of nanofish, some cories for bottom level interest and a couple of small shoals of either 5-banded barbs (not tiger barbs but have the lovely stripes) or black phantom tetra.

I have some of these guys - Boraras merah (google them). They play lots and are a brilliant colour. They love to play in the waves on the surface and inbetween floating plants.

There are some really colouurful kilifish out there too - dont know much about them though.

 

[Night61]

saz reminded me.
cherry barbs are sweet in nature too. have nice reds in them as well.

 

[Curiosity101]

I'll help increase the list with some ideas in a minute. But just for now, the only things I've seen which could be problematic are...

Dwarf gourami - These fish really are too big for a 10 gal. However a honey gourami would be a suitable alternative (and although don't need to be in a pair are peaceful and so can be kept in a pair). And there are also sparkling gouramis which have to live in groups, they don't shoal exactly but they do stick together and are much braver in a group. Sparkling gouramis probably aren't your best bet though cause they are still quite shy.

Nerite Snail - Just be careful, you can't just rely on them to feed themselves with algae. Often they starve in small tanks because people neglect to feed them.

Mystery Snail, or rather Apple Snails are a nice addition (so long as you only get one then there is no worry of breeding). P. bridgesii is the type you want to buy as some of the other species eat plants. www.applesnail.net - check there for how to distinguish between the different types.

 

[woodstock]

Thanks guys

Okay
Sailornight, I wouldn't be able to keep 3 pygmy and 3 pandas and call that a school, could I? Shouldn't it like 6 pygmy or 6 panda? And I'd be getting way overstocked if I got both schools. I'll flip a coin or something. Main problem is - i have no idea where to get pygmy cory. Apparently it's not at petsmart or petco (or at least not on the web), not sure about...*ahem* Walmart, and I don't know any other LFS. And pandas are so expensive it makes me want to cry. Well, expensive for my taste for fish. Hmm, if I can get my hands on pygmy, I'll get pygmy. The next cheapest one here is the Albino cory, then the panda.

Completely forgot about the cycle though - How many do I add in at a time to prevent mini cycling? I will have a sped up cycle from my cycled 5 gallon, although it may not do much.

I don't have honey gourami here D: - And not allowed to buy online here. Where do you guys get your fish?

I definitely plan on feeding the nerite snail other things as well, probably sinking wafers, along with the ___ cory. And I'll be getting myself one mystery snail as well, if the pet store doesn't mess that up, lol.

Cherry barbs are pretty cute too, I'll look for that.

 

[Curiosity101]

Well I'm not US based so I can't help you with fish shops. But I'll send a PM and get someone here who can help

Oh and I've just remembered, there are certain types of fish that are suceptible when put in a brand new tank. Even if it is cycled. Some of these fish are cardinals, neon tetras and panda corys. It's not really obvious why they don't do well in new tanks.

Also on the cycling side of things you should follow this link. You want to read the cycling links to get yourself properly clued up on the cycling process. My advice, once you've read them, is to seed your 10gal filter used your 5gal and then to complete the cycle process in a fishless way.

Also some more ideas for fish...
Ember tetras, galaxy rasbora, harlequin rasbora (these come in normal and copper), most fish in the Boraras genus (Boraras brigittae and Boraras maculatus are the most common)
Mosquito Fish, Norman's Lampeye, Male Guppys and lots of dwarf cichlids from the Apistogramma genus.

There will be more but those are all I could think of for now.

 

[woodstock]

Don't worry, I know how to cycle pretty well, but no harm in reading another. I'll get to that ASAP.
Yeah, again, I'm not aloud to buy online, which really really sucks in many cases, and Wal-mart fish just make me cry, for obvious reasons. Lol, petco and Petsmart are my best places.

If I can get my hands on pygmy cory, this is how it'll look. These are all approximate though.
3 Ghost shrimp (or cherry if they can be found)
1 Nerite snail
1 mystery snail
~8Neon tetra
~5 Pygmy Cory

I still want more fish, but it's getting close to the maximum stocking capacity, isn't it?

 

[Night61]

i would go with pygmy and check out your local fish store for them. pygmies are also cheap compared to the other cory's

neite snails are wonderful little guys, and clean up really well.
your new tank is going to be wonderful. also consider decor and aeration too, cory's like the bubbles. also if your planning on getting a mystery be careful, mine tend to find ways to get themselves in trouble. mine climb into ornaments then be unable to get out and drown as a result.