Help With Stocking

[deannaerin]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and pretty new to the fish-keeping hobby as well. I have a few questions I've been needing some advice on...

First, some background information: I have a 10 gallon that I've established about 1 month ago. I used part of an old filter from a friend to get my tank going quicker, and I then added 3 long-finned danios, which have all be doing great, they sort of chase each other a bit, I don't know why, but none of them seem to be under any signs of stress and I've had them about 3.5 weeks. I also have 2 mystery snails, one gold one blue. My water temperature never goes below 70 degrees and never above 80. I try to keep it as controlled as possible.

Now, what I've been needing advice about:
I've been doing a bit of research reguarding mollies, platys, tetras, and guppies. I don't think tetras would be good for my tank, because I've read they should be kept in groups 5+, which would be too much for my tank. Mollies I read, breed a lot and prefer brackish water, so they're out.
I would basically like your opinion/advice on keeping a few platys and guppies in with my long-fined danios and snails. How many should I get of each? What sex? What breed/type is best for my 10 gal with what I already have in it? I've also been considering dwarf gourami too. Basically any stocking suggestions for a beginner that are both colorful and very lively with personality.

Thanks much for your time and help!

 

[WoodenChair]

Well let me just say first off-

WELCOME!


Now, onto your tank.

10 gallons are a good fun tank to start with, the upgrade fever will hit soon though!

-Danios

Danios never stop moving, ever. (ever) *ever ever
Danios, do not cease motion.
No less then 6. and that's being generous

A good point to mention is they also do not have much of an impact on your bio load, so add fish slowly still.

-Water Temperature

Its not good to have such a large fluctuation in temperature, even a sway of 2 - 3 degrees can upset a-lot of fish out there.

A good temperature for you to try to stay at right now is 76.2F to 77.8F
Remember, SMALL adjustments on the heater and as a rule of thumb i wait 2 hours minimum before checking and readjusting. You use your best judgment though.

-Dwarf Gouramis

An okay choice for your ten gallon as long as you keep them with fish that are smaller in size / non aggressive. You wont be able to fit many into a ten gallon.

Alot of plants, with top cover is what they like as a habitat. Mine have always been extremely jumpy with lights and noise, so if your keeping them, i recommend a low traffic area.

-Platies

Oh my, i sure do love platies. Hearty hearty hearty hearty, outlast almost all other fish. GREAT fish choice anytime. Make sure the male to female ratio is good, more females then makes so that the harassment is spread out, again, these guys like alot of plant cover, places to hide, especially around breeding time.

-Guppies

They breed fast. Very fast.
I would not keep them with platies in such a small tank, space competition and shoaling / school requirements.

-Snails

I like to keep snails around, introduce them to tanks to feed loaches or clean up an algae outbreak on the glass. They are a bit dirty though, and found myself changing the water more often when i had them. Plus they are actually quite finicky and require properly maintained water conditions (in my experience)

-Mollies

Ive kept mollies, not as hard as you might think, head on over to the live breeder section and read up on them, maintaining brackish water adds... i would say about 10 minutes to my morning tank routines. They are beautiful if you get well bred ones and keep the breeding pairs similar you can get some realllllly nice specimens.

Maybe it was just me, but i almost had to treat my mollies like bettas in terms of water flow, they were always skiddish and never seemed to just chillax. But at the same time they require good clean water, so i took a look over at the beta side of the forum and found a good way to reduce current while still providing good filtration. its been babies babies babies ever since. Same thing, well planted tank, spots for spawning, and in a 10 gallon ide say 2 females and one male, 3 females one male is also acceptable, but do try and remove the mothers to a spawning tank, the males can get nippy and ive watched mine eat all the babies as they were coming out.


Now someone with WAY more experiance can come along, correct my mistakes and hopefully give you better advice

Personally what i would like to know, and perhaps what some of the others would like to know is.

Current PH:
Current Hardness:
Current lighting:
Current filtering:
Current Substrate:


The more info we have, the better we can reciprocate.

And again, Welcome to TFF!


-ChairmanWood

 

[GSD]

I would steer clear of the dwarf gourami for now, simply because they are quite delicate and are prone to bacterial infections, and i wouldnt recommend them for a newly established tank. You could however look into the honey gourami if that is the route you wanted to go down.

I wouldnt go for guppies either, although good for a beginner i have found danios to be nippy and due to them being fast the guppies wont be able to outswim them.
Platies on the other hand are perfect for the beginner, i have had my 5 for about 3 years and they are fun, never hiding away and breed constantly so it is likley you wil have fry at some point. The ideal ratio is 1 male to 2-3 females to spread out attention from the male

You could also up the number of danios instead if you wanted too.

 

[tom16]

Hi i have got some guppys.They should be kept in agroup of 6+. The males are the pretty colours. You should keep 2 females to every 1 male.

 

[deannaerin]

Well let me just say first off-

WELCOME!


Now, onto your tank.

10 gallons are a good fun tank to start with, the upgrade fever will hit soon though!

-Danios

Danios never stop moving, ever. (ever) *ever ever
Danios, do not cease motion.
No less then 6. and that's being generous

A good point to mention is they also do not have much of an impact on your bio load, so add fish slowly still.

-Water Temperature

Its not good to have such a large fluctuation in temperature, even a sway of 2 - 3 degrees can upset a-lot of fish out there.

A good temperature for you to try to stay at right now is 76.2F to 77.8F
Remember, SMALL adjustments on the heater and as a rule of thumb i wait 2 hours minimum before checking and readjusting. You use your best judgment though.

-Dwarf Gouramis

An okay choice for your ten gallon as long as you keep them with fish that are smaller in size / non aggressive. You wont be able to fit many into a ten gallon.

Alot of plants, with top cover is what they like as a habitat. Mine have always been extremely jumpy with lights and noise, so if your keeping them, i recommend a low traffic area.

-Platies

Oh my, i sure do love platies. Hearty hearty hearty hearty, outlast almost all other fish. GREAT fish choice anytime. Make sure the male to female ratio is good, more females then makes so that the harassment is spread out, again, these guys like alot of plant cover, places to hide, especially around breeding time.

-Guppies

They breed fast. Very fast.
I would not keep them with platies in such a small tank, space competition and shoaling / school requirements.

-Snails

I like to keep snails around, introduce them to tanks to feed loaches or clean up an algae outbreak on the glass. They are a bit dirty though, and found myself changing the water more often when i had them. Plus they are actually quite finicky and require properly maintained water conditions (in my experience)

-Mollies

Ive kept mollies, not as hard as you might think, head on over to the live breeder section and read up on them, maintaining brackish water adds... i would say about 10 minutes to my morning tank routines. They are beautiful if you get well bred ones and keep the breeding pairs similar you can get some realllllly nice specimens.

Maybe it was just me, but i almost had to treat my mollies like bettas in terms of water flow, they were always skiddish and never seemed to just chillax. But at the same time they require good clean water, so i took a look over at the beta side of the forum and found a good way to reduce current while still providing good filtration. its been babies babies babies ever since. Same thing, well planted tank, spots for spawning, and in a 10 gallon ide say 2 females and one male, 3 females one male is also acceptable, but do try and remove the mothers to a spawning tank, the males can get nippy and ive watched mine eat all the babies as they were coming out.


Now someone with WAY more experiance can come along, correct my mistakes and hopefully give you better advice

Personally what i would like to know, and perhaps what some of the others would like to know is.

Current PH:
Current Hardness:
Current lighting:
Current filtering:
Current Substrate:


The more info we have, the better we can reciprocate.

And again, Welcome to TFF!


-ChairmanWood

Thank you so much, your advice was very helpful. What I know I'm not ready for is fry. So is it okay to just keep male platys together, or will I have a problem? Should I get a school of about 6 tetras instead of getting a few different species? Will the danios upset slower moving fish?

I would steer clear of the dwarf gourami for now, simply because they are quite delicate and are prone to bacterial infections, and i wouldnt recommend them for a newly established tank. You could however look into the honey gourami if that is the route you wanted to go down.

I wouldnt go for guppies either, although good for a beginner i have found danios to be nippy and due to them being fast the guppies wont be able to outswim them.
Platies on the other hand are perfect for the beginner, i have had my 5 for about 3 years and they are fun, never hiding away and breed constantly so it is likley you wil have fry at some point. The ideal ratio is 1 male to 2-3 females to spread out attention from the male

You could also up the number of danios instead if you wanted too.

Is it possible to keep all male platys together to avoid having fry? I don't think I'm ready for that.
Thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

You can easily keep all male platies or all male guppies in a tank with no trouble at all. These are not territorial fish like some of the cichlids so they can live together in relative peace as long as they are not overcrowded.

 

[WoodenChair]

As was said just above me. Platies don't mind frat living. Nor the gups.

Danios and other fast moving fish will upset angels because of their poor eye sight, they actually use the surrounding fish they are with as a method to alert them to predators. Having danios or other fast moving tetras usually keeps them on edge.


And as for the fry, just take a naturalist approach to the situation, which is what i do, i always keep proper ratios in the tank, because the fry become food, its not the best of thought but, some will survive, most will become breakfast lunch and dinner. Its if your not careful, things can start off slow, then over the course of months you'll have many many. I didnt mean to make it sound like you'll buy 3 on Tuesday, wake up weds and have a tank so full its leaking and another 200 flopping on the floor.

Personally i would have to advise you to keep a handful of platies for now, (3 fems and male) Its likely they will breed, and highly unlikely the fry will be anything more then food, you wont have to interfere with the breeding process and with the higher number of fems, the male should be kept at bay aggression wise. They are hearty and great for learning. I still have my first one. 4 and a half years old now. Peppermint plat. He took a mate last year and i cant separate him from her. Only problem is, the her is an adapted female German blue ram! They have their own specially altered tank where they live peacefully.

But whatever you land on as a choice, we will always be here to help you. Again, welcome.


-ChairmanWood

 

[deannaerin]

Just so everyone stays updated: I took a trip to my LFS and he recommended tetras, so I decided to get 3 phantom tetras and I also got 2 live plants, a heater, and some decorative slate rocks. I'm thinking in about 2 weeks or so I might add some rasboras or some other kind of tetra. I kind of gave up on the platys and guppies because they have so much fry. I did a 50% water change and added my plants and new decorations and also added a 1 tsp of melafix to help them out a bit.

Also, I never mentioned that I have a male betta in a separate 1 gallon. He's going through some hard times so I'm currently treating him with melafix. I'm not quite sure what he has, but hopefully I'll see some improvement with the melafix treatment. I've been doing frequent water changes and I bought bloodworms for all my fish too.

 

[vinylman]

Just don't forget that, with the different fish you're looking at, the limiting factor is your 10G tank. Danios are VERY active fish and need a lot of swimming space, a long tank is always best for Danios and other active fish.

 

[GSD]

Just so everyone stays updated: I took a trip to my LFS and he recommended tetras, so I decided to get 3 phantom tetras and I also got 2 live plants, a heater, and some decorative slate rocks. I'm thinking in about 2 weeks or so I might add some rasboras or some other kind of tetra. I kind of gave up on the platys and guppies because they have so much fry. I did a 50% water change and added my plants and new decorations and also added a 1 tsp of melafix to help them out a bit.

Also, I never mentioned that I have a male betta in a separate 1 gallon. He's going through some hard times so I'm currently treating him with melafix. I'm not quite sure what he has, but hopefully I'll see some improvement with the melafix treatment. I've been doing frequent water changes and I bought bloodworms for all my fish too.

Remember tetras are shoaling fish and like groups of 5 plus, so if you were going to add more fish up the number of phantoms.

 

[deannaerin]

Just so everyone stays updated: I took a trip to my LFS and he recommended tetras, so I decided to get 3 phantom tetras and I also got 2 live plants, a heater, and some decorative slate rocks. I'm thinking in about 2 weeks or so I might add some rasboras or some other kind of tetra. I kind of gave up on the platys and guppies because they have so much fry. I did a 50% water change and added my plants and new decorations and also added a 1 tsp of melafix to help them out a bit.

Also, I never mentioned that I have a male betta in a separate 1 gallon. He's going through some hard times so I'm currently treating him with melafix. I'm not quite sure what he has, but hopefully I'll see some improvement with the melafix treatment. I've been doing frequent water changes and I bought bloodworms for all my fish too.

Remember tetras are shoaling fish and like groups of 5 plus, so if you were going to add more fish up the number of phantoms.

You cannot add a similar tetra?

 

[WoodenChair]

They like to be in groups of 6+ of their own kind. not 6 different tetras all in one group lol.

That's why the 10 gallon is no dice for most tetras. you need too many, they like swimming / shoaling space, and cant really get it in the 10G.

The platies don't move fast, usually pick spots they like in the tank and don't go any further than is required (usually just to feed n breed).

Mind you, unless you have really well cultured bacteria and an oversize filter that you maintain rigorously; overstocking is not an option on a 10 gallon tank. Your pretty much limited to those 5 - 6 fish. And even then, tomorrow i would start thinking about how you can get them out of that 10gallon asap. Many might disagree with me, but tetra fish have no business in tiny tanks, its all just marketing from the LFS to sell you as many fish as they can out the door.

"oh you have a 10 gallon? well that's plenty big enough! here's 30 discus! remember to do water changes at least once a month! Oh and don't forget your tetratec whisper 10g filter and 3 extra cartridges for 400 dollars! and make sure to change those every 30 days or else!"

For most of these places the only thing that matters is the bottom line, and that means sell sell sell.

Sorry for the rant. and good luck with your fish!


-ChairmanWood