What kind of fish should I get?

[lilsd]

Just did a makeover on my 10 gallon planted tank and I think I'm finally ready to add fish. The plants were very dense, I trimmed them back quite a bit and even removed a few to open up the space, but they’ll definitely fill back out in a few weeks.

Right now I have neocaridina shrimp and some accidental ramshorn snails, the snails are multiplying like crazy and I’ve seen at least one shrimp that looks full of eggs. I also seem to have an excessive amount of detritus worms, and have recently noticed some daphnia in the tank. Ideally, I’d like to get fish that will keep the populations of baby snails and shrimp in check, without bothering the adults. And also eat the worms and daphnia…

My top 3 choices as of right now are chili rasboras, celestial pearl danios, or a betta.

Leaning pretty hard toward chili rasboras since they’re the smallest and most peaceful, and least likely to mess with the shrimp and snails. How many chilis would y’all keep in a tank like this?

Any thoughts in general on chilis or on the other two options? Or anybody want to add a fourth choice?

 

[jaylach]

Would need your water parameters before and stocking advice can be given but I'd forget the beta as I'd be surprised if it didn't chow down on the shrimp.

 

[lilsd]

Ph 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Kh 35ppm
Gh 35ppm

I was thinking the same about the betta…

 

[Essjay]

35 ppm GH is very soft so perfect for chili rasboras They are a species that likes to be in a large group, so lots of them.

 

[Naughts]

The tank looks very small but I know pictures are often deceptive. What is the length, height and width?
And what amount of water do you have - using a measuring jug to fill it is a good way to tell on small tanks. The big pebbles are displacing a lot of the potential water volume.
Chilli’s are a good choice and readily available, they need a minimum of 10 but probably not many more due to the suspected small water volume.

 

[Sparx]

I wouldn’t have any more than about 5 small fish in a 10 gallon tank, especially with the amount of rock work you have in there.
Nice looking tank though

 

[lilsd]

Thank you! The tank is 19”x10”, and 13” high. The water level was low when I took the photo, I topped it off right after. But yes there are several big rocks and relatively deep substrate in the back. I’m not 100% sure on the total volume of water it took to fill the tank, just that it was advertised as a 10gal…

 

[hamfistUK]

Just to comment on your quoted water parameters. 35ppm GH is not compatible with life for Neocaridina shrimp. I suspect a testing inaccuracy. But, anyway, I guess your water is fairly soft, so OK for species which prefer it on the softer side.
A small group of pygmaeus corys, or even khuli loaches, might also fulfil your needs for predation of worms and daphnia, but would also be relatively shrimp-safe.

 

[ClownLurch]

Could you not remove a few big rocks and replace with a plastic rock formation type thing with caves and holes which would increase the water volume?

 

[lilsd]

HamfistUK - it may have been a testing error on my part. I re-tested the water parameters today before doing a water change, and got KH 53ppm and GH 107. My tap water tests at zero for both.

Clownlurch - I tried to use some of the rocks to kind of build caves and caverns and hiding spots, and the shrimp seem to enjoy hanging out in them. My substrate probably doesn’t need to be as built up as it is, but it might be too late to change that…

 

[emeraldking]

In your case, I'd look at dwarf rasbora species. There are a number of them. They'll fit in fine with your parameters and don't bother your shrimps that much.