Too Much for a 10-Gallon Tank?

[TPIRman]

I have seven Danios in a lightly planted 10-gallon tank that I'm currently cycling. When the cycle is finished, I'd like to gradually add some fish, but I'm wondering if my "ideal" 10-gallon setup may be too much. Here is what I would eventually like to have:

1 - Pearl Danio
2 - GM "Red Glow" Danios
2 - Longfin Blue Danios
2 - Zebra Danios
6 - Flame Tetras
3 - Cory catfish

Is this a reasonable stocking plan, or would I be overdoing it? Should I wait until I set up a new 20-gallon in the summer?

My full tank specs are linked in my signature below. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[DEmigh]

I'm counting 16 fish in a ten gallon... It's a nice assortment, but I'd wait for the twenty gallon.

[TPIRman]

I thought it might be a little much, but they are such small fish, I wasn't sure. Would it be more reasonable to get the tetras or the catfish in the meantime?

Also, might it be smarter to get more danios so that the different species had more "friends" to school with? There was another thread (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25892) about this recently, but I've heard different things on whether various types of danios will school with each other. For instance, will zebras school with leopards? Will longfins school with "shortfins"? Etc. I'm especially concerned about the lonely pearl because they seem to be "more different" than the leopard/zebra/blue danio varieties.

[dethjam316]

you should be able to add just the cory cats. this would be a better choice for now than adding the tetras, as the cats will eat food from the bottom of the tank, etc....with the tetras, the mid and top range of your tank would be extremely cluttered.

[mikedel]

I dont really think zebras are much of schoolers anyway. Yeah they do good in groups and should be kept that way, but they dont really seem to "school" together. The only time they ever seem to be in the same place is at feeding time. I personally dont really like the zebras because of this. I just keep a few on hand to keep a bio load in my quarintine tank, so I dont have to worry about if it is cylced or not when I need it. I say if you want a school of fish that actually schools together get rid of the zebras and go for the tetras.


Mike

[TPIRman]

That's interesting, Mike -- come to think of it, I'd never seen them schooling in the LFS, either. The tetras always do. So that makes sense. I'm not going to get rid of them just because they don't school, though! Danios are still my favorite -- all that energy. :)

[TPIRman]

What about this stocking plan for the 20-gallon?

8 danios
6 tetras
3 cories
m/f pair of rams

Basically wondering if the rams will be too much for a planted 20-gallon tank. I would not be planning to add any fish "down the line" -- this would be it. Again, it seems like a lot of fish, but most of them (tetras + danios) are small and don't generate much waste. Plus, I figure if danios and cories are OK for a 10-gallon, then essentially adding the tetras and rams should be OK for a tank twice the size. But what do I know? (Not much!)

Thanks again.

Edit: I'd also like a couple of snails, but I've heard they generate a lot of waste, so maybe this is too much.

[TKOS]

Fish only school when they perceive a danger. Tetras, minnows, danios, rasboras, none will school after awhile in a tank as small as a 10 gallon or even 20 gallon if they have no need to.

7 danios in that tank is pretty much a heavy bioload. Adding 3 cories is managable but I would add anything else.

[TPIRman]

7 danios in that tank is pretty much a heavy bioload

Is it really heavy? If you use the surface area rule of thumb and assume danios that get to about 2" in length as adults:

S=(2 + 2F) * F [where SA is required surface area and F is full-grown fish length]

S=(2 + 2(2)) * 2
S=12

So for seven danios, that's 84 sq. inches of surface area -- not even half of the "allotable" surface area in my 20 x 10 (200 sq. inches) tank. Now, this is just a ballpark formula, but it seems that for the 7 danios to be a heavy bioload, they would have to generate an inordinate amount of waste for their size, which they don't (AFAIK).

It's somewhat of a moot point since I agree with that adding three cories is a good stopping point, but I don't want to push the absolute limits of the tank (read: cram in every fish possible), so if the danios really were a heavy load, I would probably stop there.

Anyway, just my humble two cents. :rolleyes: Thanks, everyone, for your help!

Edit: Just realized that a 20-gallon doesn't quite have twice the surface area of a 10-gallon. Maybe a 30 is in order for my stocking plans...

[The Inspector]

Everyone has covered the stocking...one bit of advice. Remember any fish you buy at the LFS will GET LARGER. I get so frustrated when I wlk by and hear the customer tell the salesperson, "but they're so small". I know you probably know this, but I believe it bears repeating.

Have a nice day:)

[snakeskinner]

I'm no expert by any means but I think with good filtration and water changes, you should be able to squeak by with those fish. I have a 55gallon with an overstock of danio's, tetras and livebearers and use a penguin 330 along with a bio-wheel 60 Pro and do weekly 25% waterchanges. At first I was overfeeding and my nitrates spiked so I did a large waterchange and stopped feeding for 5 days. After that I changed my feeding habits and have not had a week over 10ppm nitrate since and never see nitrite or ammonia. My fish are very happy and don't seem crowded at all. On the otherhand, the danio's are a little more active than most fish and I think they would be happier with the added length of a 20 or 30g tank. If you had more tetras and less danio's, I'd say go for it. Kyle

[tomm10]

Having danios myself I would say they might be a bit much for a 10 in any real numbers. Its not that they can't be supported but the way these little guys dart around and chase each other I think they'd be much happier in a larger tank like a 20. This especially goes for the long finned variety as when they get full grown they are longer than a standard danio. the tail doesn't affect the bioload but it does have an impact on how crowded your tank looks.

I had four LF Zebras in a 10 for a while. When I transferred that tank to my new 29g I couldn't believe how cramped they had looked in the 10.

Add the three cories but make them small ones. Pandas worked great for me.

Tom