The Great Debate

[Toki]

For our 10 gallon, which we just got, I wanted to put some small fish in it, like some guppies and maybe a few swordtails. My husband wants neon tetras.


So, how many neon tetras do you think I can keep in a 10 gallon tank by themselves?

Are there any good tank mates for neon tetras?


We're not planning on getting fish for another couple of weeks--we keep going back and forth on what kind to get.

 

[snowyangel]

if you wanted just a tank full of neons, I'd say you could fit 7 or 8 easily. Companions for neons is quite wide range, i found other, non nipping tetras like white skirts are good companions. Also smaller tetras do well with them like black neons and glolights . Guppies work great with them too. You could try for say 5 neons(b/c they need to be schools) then 2 guppies of the same sex unless you want babies.

 

[WILDER]

I tank just full of neons can look stunning, but I would rather go with cardinals over neons as they are hardier, and don't get NTD as long as they haven't been kept with neon tetra's.

 

[sylvia]

I agree. Cardinals are much hardier than neons. Neons don't do well in a newly set up tank. Cardnals don't realy either but they have a much higher chance. I reccomend, once you've cycled the tank, that you first put in some small livebearers like guppies or platies to let the tank mature. A couple of the same sex, prefferably male as there's no chance of fry then, will work very well. Then add a small school of 5 cardinals about a month later to fill out the tank. Other fish you could keep with them that would look very nice are pygmy/dwarf corydoras (a group of 4 with 5 neons/cardinals) or a couple of otos. Unfortunately, none of these fish (other than the livebearers) do well in a new tank so watch the water parameters very carefuly and keep them as stable as possible.

 

[Toki]

I have a kissing gourami in my 44 gallon tank and it's been there since the beginning--of all the fish I've had, those seem to be the easiest to keep for me. That and my gorgeous parrot fish who eats out of my hand.

I think it would be neat to have baby fish...never had that before...

 

[sylvia]

If you want fry, deffinately go for guppies. The problem with this though is that you'll be forced to get one male and 2 females (they always need to be kept at a ratio of 2:1) and before you know it your tank will be over-stocked by all the baby fish... so that basicaly means you can't keep a school of tetras unless you have another tank to raise the fry in.

 

[jflowers]

A ratio of 3/1 is better with guppys, the more the less harrased the females will be, males are an arse

Jon

 

[Toki]

Ooh, I just read sword tails shouldn't be kept in anything less than a 15 gallon.

Will small gouramis be ok in a 10 gallon? We've nixed the neon tetra idea already.

Also, if I have gouramis, will they eat live plants because I was kind of hoping to try my hand at a planted tank. I figured it would be ok to put some live plants in there now (the tank has been running for 2 days).

(I definitely don't want fry, then I'd probably need another tank...it would be neat but, no. )

 

[sylvia]

Gouramies won't eat plants and several of the smaller species could work:

I'd reccomend honeys (colisa chuna/sota) because they are small and quite hardy. Don't confuse them with dwarfs though. A couple of males and 3-4 females would work.

Then there's croaking and sparkling gouramies - both of which would work and are small but could prove less hardy. You could keep about 3 comfortably IMO.

Last there's dwarf gouramies (colisa lalia - don't confuse them with the honey gourami or other colisa species). These grow to 2" so are a good size and they are quite peaceful. Unfortunately, they tend to carry disease and are not very hardy. The males have impressive colors but I'd only put a single male in a 10 gallon as they are territorial. A male and 2 females would work.

You might have space for a few other species but that depends on what you go with, the maintainance of your tank and whether it's planted, has hiding places etc.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Vote for Platys! I looove platys at the mo... although you can get some lovellly guppies, we went to a fs today and they had a tank full of different coloured guppies Although I'd maaaybe start with Platy's they cope better in a new tank than, say, guppies

 

[Toki]

Is it just me or do platys look a lot like swordtails, minus the sword tail?

 

[sylvia]

Yep they do, they also hybridize with each other very readily. Plus platies are smaller than swords and you don't need to worry about the males fighting (which is something swords do) and they're are great for new tanks or beginners cause they are so hardy but also great for more experienced fish keepers cause they are so pretty. But, again, they are livebearers (like guppies) so you will get fry if you keep females.

 

[Toki]

I didn't know if I should make a new thread for this, but does anyone know where I can buy rocks that look natural? At the pet stores around here, they only have brightly colored castles and lil fishing signs and whatnot.

Although, now there's so many plants in my tank there's barely any room for rocks. I need to get a good background though--I didn't realize how annoying it would be to stare at the wall behind my tank.

Here are pictures of my tanks.

My 44-gallon, although now all my tiger barbs are dead.

And the 10-gallon I just started--think there are too many plants? Some are real and some are fake...

 

[sylvia]

I think you should get more plants! Looks great actualy. The fish will like having extra places to hide.

You can get rocks from your local garden center I suppose. The thing is that you will need to make sure they aren't the type that will leech toxins or any chemicals into your water or that'll alter your pH. There's a pinned topic (either in chit chat or beginners) about rocks that you may find helpful. You can also get them from your back yard or something but make sure they are clean (boil them) and that they won't alter your pH. Then, of course, there's always the option to order them online.

 

[dirtydogg]

What happened to your tiger barbs?