Stocking Advice?

[HarpyFishLover]

Hardness is about 200 ppm. Tank is a rectangular 10 gal(38.75 L), if that helps...

 

[fluttermoth]

The length (the longest side) would really help. Some fish need more room to swim than others.

That's really hard water, so most tetras are not going to do well.

 

[NickAu]

In my opinion 10 gallon is too small for Platys. How about some nice Endlers?

 

[Byron]

I will assume your 10g is the basic 10g that is widely available in NA, so it is 20" long.  I know it may seem larger than it actually is...I remember my first tank, a 10g, decades ago that seemed "large" too, then I got a 25g and I thought I'd never have enough fish in it.  We soon learn that fish grow, and need space, but also the water quality is impacted by fish and space limitations.
 
I whole-heartedly agree with previous members that a 10g is not sufficient space for platy, and any pleco including bristlenose.  With your hard water, Endlers (stay with males, females will mean fry everywhere in no time) or guppies (males here too) are good choices.  Some tetra will manage in harder water; the Pristella Tetra comes to mind.  But this is only if no endlers or guppies, not both.
 
There are considerably more "nano" type fish options with soft water, but small sized fish have more delicate physiologies, and often will be wild caught, which makes attention to parameters very important if they are to be healthy and live normal lifespans.
 
Byron.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

So. Somebody had the bright idea of putting a hospital tank in her bedroom.
Long story short, after a few cuts, bruises, sore backs, a few tears, and wet carpet later, I have to move half the stuff out of my room.
Moral of the story: never put a fish tank in your bedroom.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I decided to get another male guppy. Next week, when my LFS has tetras out of QT, I'll be buying two tetras. I hope she's got endlers!

 

[fluttermoth]

Most tetras are shoalers, so need to be kept in groups of a minimum of six, but preferably more.
 
What species of tetra are you thinking of? Many can be quite nippy (and grow too big for a ten gallon tank), and nearly all prefer soft water, whereas guppies and Endlers like hard water. With your hard water, you will need to be very careful which species of tetra you choose, or they'll have a very shortened lifespan.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

Originally, I was thinking of neon tetras, but I think they prefer softer water. The only hard-water tetras I have heard of are Endlers and Pristilla. I was also considering maybe one Harlequin Rasbora. Do they like hard water?

 

[fluttermoth]

Endlers aren't tetras, they're related to guppies.
 
Harlequin rasboras are shoalers too, so again need to be in a group of at least six (and that's six of the same species; you can't do two harlequins, two neons and two pristella, for example).

 

[HarpyFishLover]

Oh, I feel stupid. Lol...
Endlers are pretty, I will consider them.
Pristella tetras are... well... see-through... lol...
I'll stick with 6 harlequins. They're pretty.