How Many Fish In My 10gallon Tank?

[ashcroft7]

Afternoon

My cycle was complete last week and at the weekend I brought my first bunch of fish
I purchased 3 white fin tetras, 5 diamond flame tetra, one bristle nose and a tiny Congo frog

They all seem very happy so far, but was thinking about maybe adding a few others? I'd really like to get another Congo frog, and possibly a small group of bottom feeders?
I'd also quite like a sort of "feature fish" something a bit more colourful or interesting? Maybe a Siamese fighting fish or even a small puffer?
What do you think?

Obviously I don't want to overcrowd it but I'm not to sure what my max capacity could be!

Thanks
Ross

 

[snazy]

Your tank is already overstocked.

 

[ashcroft7]

Speaking to the guy in the fish shop he said I could have about 20-30 small white fin tetras!
Is there a sort of rule of thumb with how many fish per gallon/litre?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Speaking to the guy in the fish shop he said I could have about 20-30 small white fin tetras!
Is there a sort of rule of thumb with how many fish per gallon/litre?

I would, in all seriousness, ignore anything else the guy in the fish store advises if that is the type of comment he is coming out with.... remember, when fish die (and that amount in a tank your size will) then where do you go to get more? Yup, back to him. Unfortunately we live in a consumer world.
I would get rid of the frog if at all possible, WAY too small, messy and potentially deadly in a tank your size.
How did you cycle your filter prior to the fish and frog going in?

Terry.

 

[ashcroft7]

Ah I love my frog I can't get rid of him now ha! I didn't realise he'd be messy! In what way can they be deadly?

I did the full fish less cycle with ammonia etc etc.

Terry would you also agree anymore than 10 fish is to much in a 10 gallon tank?

Many thanks.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Ah I love my frog I can't get rid of him now ha! I didn't realise he'd be messy! In what way can they be deadly?

I did the full fish less cycle with ammonia etc etc.

Terry would you also agree anymore than 10 fish is to much in a 10 gallon tank?

Many thanks.

I wouldn't like one to die overnight without me noticing, they would poison my whole tank and filter. Plus, it is difficult to know wether or not they would eat your fish... frogs just aren't for me i'm afraid.
The 'how many gallons to how many inches of fish' rule is, and always will be, deliberated. You must keep in mind many factors, with fish size and well-being at the forefront.
Personally, i would have either a Betta fish with some 'Micro' fish, or half a dozen Ember/Neon Tetra with some shrimp.
for doing the fishless cycle though.

Terry.

 

[ScholasticSpastic]

Speaking to the guy in the fish shop he said I could have about 20-30 small white fin tetras!
Is there a sort of rule of thumb with how many fish per gallon/litre?

The guy at the fish shop is smoking the wrong sort of herbs. White fin tetras are too large for a ten gallon tank and should be kept in a 20 gallon at minimum. Their size in the store may be small enough to cram them into a ten gallon tank, but fish grow up, and those tetras are an active, schooling fish.

The rule of thumb has always been one inch of (ADULT) fish per gallon. However, this rule breaks down in several ways:

Fish with elongated, slender bodies and long, inactive periods of behavior (say, khuli loaches) take up less effective tank capacity despite their four inches of length.

As fish get larger, the volume of waste produced by the fish increases as a function of their volume, not their length. So the rule is absolutely useless for any fish over two inches of length.

Now, regarding your fish:

Let's look at adult sizes- 6" of white fin tetras + (What's a diamond flame tetra because diamond tetras are a thing and flame tetras are another thing? so... ) at least 7.5" of whatever that is + 6" of bristle nose pleco + at least 2" of frog = 21.5" of fish or more than twice the one inch of fish per gallon rule of thumb.

There is no plecostomus species which is small enough to live in a ten gallon tank. If you want algae control beyond water changes and elbow grease, you're limited to snails and otocinclus and, frankly, a school of otos will use up at least half your space so I usually just take care of it myself in a tank that size.

Stick with the smaller, torpedo-shaped tetras in such a small volume of water: neons, cardinals, embers, etc.

There are quite a few fish which will be fine in a small tank. You haven't picked any of them.

 

[Aquascaper]

I'm assuming by 'Congo frog' you mean an african dwarf frog (ADF).

These guys require 1g per frog and due to being virtually blind and feeding by smell need target fed a variety of frozen foods and watched to make sure they eat. It is ridiculously hard to feed them in a community tank as the fish will steal the food before the frogs have chance to find it and as such most are kept in species only tanks. Keeping ADF's and Plecs is not a good idea as any foods left on the substrate by the fish will be hovered up by the Plec making it even more difficult for the frog to find food.

Once fully grown anything that will fit in their mouth will be a target, especially at night and if the frog is not being fed properly.

They are not something you can add to the tank and just forget about assuming they will fend for themselves, they require a lot of care and attention for them to survive. If you cannot give that care then I suggest you return it.

 

[ashcroft7]

Thanks for the advice terry, much appreciated

Aqua spacer, I'm sure I can give him the care and attention he will need thanks...

 

[Aquascaper]

What foods have you got for him and how often do you feed and how? Just asking as I don't want to assume you've done no research before offering advice and tips learned from our 9

 

[ashcroft7]

Got him some blood worm which I'm putting in twice a week I mix it with a tiny bit of water and I've brought my self a large pipette which I'm sucking it up and placing it right in front of him/her.
Any tips/advice is more than welcome please!

 

[Aquascaper]

Well you need a mix of foods as feeding solely bloodworm will cause digestion problems. Ours get a variety of bloodworm, mysis shrimp, cyclops, brine shrimp and reptomin pellets.

ADF's eat small portions and slowly so twice a week, even if you guarantee it eats everything offered, is not ideal. You should be feeding little and often, at least every other day and watching to make sure it actually eats. My wife used to spend about 60mins feeding ours when there was fish in the tank to give you an idea, now it's species only their food can be left for them to 'hunt' the next day.