Neon Tetras For A 10g

[groovitudedude]

Thinking of restarting one of my 10Gs, and I wanted a large school of fish. Obviously, I couldn't fit in anything big (eg. Tinfoil Barbs, Bala Sharks, Pacus, etc.), so I wanted a cool little fish and decided on Neon Tetras. I have a couple of questions:

Should I get Neon or Cardinal Tetras?

How many?

Should I put in any tankmates (pleco, cories, etc.)?

I currently have 9 in another 10G but I don't want to overstock that one more, and these fish are pretty awesome.

Thanks!

 

[connorsbala]

IMO neons are hardier round my area... They cant adapt to live in tapwater better than cardinals.
Yeh, BNs, Cories are fine with them Obviously they arent vital and i think a species only tank would be great...with a loada plants of course

 

[groovitudedude]

New Idea: Focus on one betta with about 15 or so neons... Is this a good idea?

 

[n3ont3tra]

That's not a good idea. IMO 15 neons is pushing it with average filtration, and a betta will probably get torn up. What is your filtration and maintenance schedule?

 

[groovitudedude]

A betta will get torn up by neons? I've never really known them to be aggressive, but then again, I'm not really the betta expert either.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Well neither am I. From what I've read it seems to be hit and miss but most people don't seem to recommend it. I especially don't think it would be a good idea with so many neons.

 

[groovitudedude]

I think I'll do it anyway. If worse comes to worse, i can always put the neons in the 55G.

 

[Honeythorn]

Tetras are better off in 20 gallons upwards in order to have swimming space. They like to school together as you probably know, and 10 gallons really isn't enough space, even though they are small. The same goes for cories, and no plec, not even a bristlenose, should be kept in a 10G .

You'd be better off putting all the neons in the 55 gallon and keeping a single betta in the 10 ( or two males with a divider in the tank ) 55 gallons with a large school of tetras and not much else would look beautiful.