What kind of fish to start out with?

[Kelbel]

I am setting up my very first aquarium. I have decided to go with freshwater fish, and have a 10 gallon tank set up and ready to go. I have tested my water and made my adjustment. Seems that I am ready to select some fish. Anyone's suggestions or input would be greatly appriciated, on what kind and how many to buy. I would like to start with a fish that would be hearty and easy to keep, along with interesting to watch. Maybe even a couple different kinds of fish that I could put together.

Thanks~Kelbel

[val]

Kelbel, to Aquaria Central, home of the most loving fishkeepers on the internet:)

I said "loving" because when you ask about "hearty" fish, did you mean lovey-dovey cuddly fish, or did you mean "hardy" those that will survive anything?

All kidding aside, the choice of your first fish is an important one. One of my favorite, almost unkillable fish, is the checker barb, which would do very well for you if you had 6 or 8 of them. They have a beautiful subtle coloring, are hardy and easy to feed, do well in a range of water types, and are easy to sex (the males have a reddish dorsal fin with a black leading edge). To give your tank the showpiece, you could have a single male betta, which is quite stunning obvisously. He'll hang out around the top of the tank. then at the bottom, you could try a clown pleco, which is quite pretty, if a bit dull. I have two in a 55g tank and they haven't grown more than 2.5 inches, so it shouldn't get too big. Some of your cory catfish would be cute, but they do better in small groups of 4 - 6 and your tank will be too small for than.

This tank, for example, (and there are lots more like it) would accomplish a number things. You'd have fish who live at all the levels of the tank: betta at the top, checker barbs in the middle, clown pleco at the bottom. You get activity in the shoal of barbs, with a stunning specimen fish in the betta. You also get to play hide and seek with the clown pleco (plecos are largely nocturnal). The fish will adapt to a wide range of pH, the most important aspect of water quality being that you keep it stable. Temp requirements are minimal, you could set your heater so that you get 76 to 78 degrees and forget about it.

HTH

Val

[carpguy]

I have to disagree with several of Val's fish picks. Several of them are to big and or messy for such a small tank.

Checker Barbs get big! Much too big for a 10. There are plenty of other barb-type species that are much smaller. Cherry barbs, zebra or other small danios, or small rasbora would all make a nice school of maybe 6 fish. A school of small tetras might also work nicely. Zebra danios in particular are known for being bulletproof, but also for being manically active.

I'd also stay away from plecos in general because of their reputation for messiness. Chemistry is dificult enough in a 10. Corys or otos are probably your best bet for bottom fish. 3 zebra loaches might also be good, most others will get too big or be too hard to find.

If you decide that you want to use a betta as the centerpiece fish, be sure that none of the other fish are too active or nippy. The zebras, for instance, might be a bad mix with a betta. There are other small centerpieceish fish.

[Kelbel]

WOW...Thanks so much for the info...this is a wonderful forum, and I plan on spending many days to come here. The barbs are a fish that I was originally considering, and have now decided to go with for sure. As far as a centerpiece fish...I am still undecided. Anymore suggestions on that? All are welcome!
Again thanks for the info!

Kelbel

[pinballqueen]

I might be setting up for a flame here, but a dwarf gourami would be a nice centerpiece fish, IMO. (In the same family as bettas, however, so the same rules about nippy tankmates apply.) I very rarely keep a small tank for anything other than growing out small fish, so I'm probably not as good for advising as someone else might be....

Also, I would have to agree with carpguy on the checker barbs, instead suggesting something like head & tail light tetras or rasboras. Still colorful and active, just they stay small...

NO PLECOS in a 10 gallon! You'll drive yourself nuts cleaning up after it... An SAE or CAE or a couple of loaches would be much better as you could have twice the fish for half the mess... (I don't even recommend having a pleco to 55 gallon owners unless they have a lot of free time and fish that can defend themselves)

[carpguy]

Barbs, gouramis, and loaches are my personal favorites and I'm planning on concentrating on them for the next couple of tanks. There are plenty of fish from these groups that would be suitable for a small tank, but there are also other groups, like tetras and small cats, that would be equally suitable. There are plenty of ways to go about this and you'll find your own areas and levels of interest.

I almost, like PBQ, suggested Dwarf Gouramis. They're very attractive and interesting fish that stay small. There have been reports that because of various breeding practices the commercial stock isn't all that healthy and that they can be a bit hard to keep for that reason. Something to look into and to be aware of, not necessarily a reason to disqualify. There are other small gourami, but many are sensitive or hard to find. You may want to make the centerpiece the very last fish in to give yourself some time to research and get the hang of keeping the tank.

As far as barbs go, Tigers get a little large and are famously ornery. Cherries are more slender bodied and peaceable. I have some very nice Golden Dwarf Barbs, but I tripped over them at one store and have never seen them elsewhere. There is a five-striped barb that vaguely resembles the Tiger but is smaller and calmer, but again may not be readily available. Lots of fish out there.

Picking my fish was one of my favorite parts of setting up my tank. Do a little research and see what you like and whats available in your area. Find a Local Fish Store (LFS) that you like and trust. And always feel free to post any questions here.

HTH and enjoy! :D

(And if you haven't already, check out some of the info hereabouts on cycling and on fishless cycling. Your fish will thank you).

[ChilDawg]

PBQ, I might be among the minority, but I count Ottos as Plecs. That having been said, unless you have an established tank (complete with algae), your Ottos will likely starve.

Also, CAEs are extremely aggressive, and will eventually beat up on any tankmates in a 10g. Plus, as they get older, they prefer fish slime to algae. I don't see keeping any in anything smaller than a 30g once they get growing a little.

A Betta would make a wonderful centerpiece fish for that tank, or a small shoal of the smaller tetras. I don't know much about dwarf gouramies, so I will not provide the spike to PBQ's set on that one.

I keep four Cories, an Otto, and a Betta in my 10g without problems, but I do frequent water changes and use only distilled H2O in order to combat water-quality problems.

[Slappy*McFish]

great beginner fish for a 10 gallon tank:

1. Betta, or dwarf Gouramis
2. Zebra, leopard Danios(don't mix with bettas)
3. Neon, Glo-lite Tetras (make sure they are healthy and at least 1" already)
4. Guppies, or a pair of platies
5. White clouds(prefer cooler water, but are very hardy)
6. Rosy, cherry, checker barbs (all stay 2" or less)
7. Cory cats
8. Otos(love brown algae/diatoms common in new tanks)
9. amano shrimp(great for planted tanks)

Just remember to stock lightly...It's best to choose 1 or a pair of fish for a center piece(betta, gouramis, platies), choose 1 type of schooling fish(danios/tetras) and a few scavengers and algae eaters.

[hitz2b]

I would also recommend the Dwarf Gouramis. I have 2 in my ten gallon and they are a blast. Very friendly fish if you ask me. Whenever they see me walk by they go crazy because they think I will feed them. I also have some zebra danios, neon tetras, and black phantom tetras. I have had great luck with these and I have just gotten back into fish since the first of the year.

[carpguy]

Checker barbs are not a 2" barb. Checkers can grow to over 5". Assuming they all topped out at an average of 4" a half dozen would still be way over the top for a 10. There are plenty of small and fairly mellow cyprinids, but you should consider size as well as disposition with this group, especially if you want to mix them with bettas or gouramis. There are small as well as big barbs with variable personalities, danios tend to be on the speedy side, there are a number of small and mellow rasbora. There are a number of tetras you might also want to look at. Don't really know a whole lot about them.

Schooling is an interesting behavior and schooling fish will be most comfortable in a group. Some fish school more intensely than others, but if you choose some schoolers I'd get a group of 4-6 rather than mixing a bunch of different single fish.

[goldfries]

and please do check out some nice calculators for your convenience.

[val]

Hey Carpguy,

You and I must have a different idea of what checker barbs are. Although the picture is poor (and I wouldn't buy any based on it), this is what I'm calling a checker barb, but they are not 5" barbs. I had 20 or so in a 55g tank for two years and they inch and half on average.

Val

http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/fw/cyprinids/checkered.asp

[Faramir]

Baensch also says 4-5" IIRC. I wonder if this is a fish species where natural selection has tended to favour the smaller individuals in captivity?

[VoodooChild]

I have never seen a checker over 2.5" and I've seen many. However, Baensch doesn't lie. And I'd recommend the dwarf gouramis only if the tank is cycled. They don't seem to do well in un-established tanks (you may have cycled, I tend to skim). Be careful though, this starts out as an interest, then a hobby, then an obsession, and if you're young enough, a career.

[Kelbel]

Hi all! I must giggle a little bit at voodoochild's reply...a month ago this started out as a hobbie, and today I went and bought my first 3 fish........and I can definetly see this becoming an obsession!! I am having so much fun with this. And my three year old daughter is really enjoying it also. And again I want to thank you all for your help!

Well here is an update. With everyone's suggestions in mind and a little help from a wonderful petstore that I found, I settled on 3 beutiful tiger barbs today! They seem to really be enjoying their new home, and doing well. And they are awesome to watch. Very active and playful. I am very satisfied with them. I plan on adding 3 more in a few weeks. (I can't wait!) And then a few weeks after that, I am going to get 2 spotted corys, I seen them when I picked out my barbs and just fell in love with them. Now....here is where I am needing a little more advice....I am considering going with 2 dwarf gouramis, but I am worried that they won't do well with the tiger barbs, or maybe 2 hatchet fish.
I am really undecided on what to put with the tiger barbs and the corys. Anyone have any suggestions??

Thanks ~Kelbel~

[carpguy]

I think Faramir may be on to something.

Baensch has them at up to 5, The Barbs Aquarium has them at up to 5.5", usually smaller (why I figured 4 as an average). Fishbase, which I always associate with wild specimens, has them at 5cm (2"). So then I opened up Gina Sandford's Aquarium Owner's Guide: "Size 2 in (5cm) although wild specimens can grow as large as 6 in (15 cm)". Mystery solved, and a new fish added to my candidate list.

And Kelbel, you may giggle now but you'll soon find yourself driving past fishstores (that aren't on the way home).

How does that song go? "A 10 is really much too small, I need a 29 or a 30… no, a 55. And if I'm going to get a 55, then why not a 75?"

[bmarcus]

white clouds, a type of minnow, survived bleached tanks, they can survive anything

[goldfries]

Zebra Danios. fast, hard to catch. and even harder to kill.

[VoodooChild]

Now see, the biggest problems lies in that when you upgrade, you don't take the old tank down. The 10 becomes a 10 and 30, a 10 and a 30 and a 55, a 10 and a 30 and a 55 and a 125, and so on...Too many tanks, but never enough.:)

[val]

Hi Kelbel,

I don't think I'd do gouramis with tiger barbs. They're an active fish that has a rep as being a fin nipper. Which means they take a definite interest in other fish, and in a 10g, you've not got a lot of room for the gouramis to get away or to create their own territory. Danios are usually good choices for pairing with tigers, since they are the greyhounds of the fish business, but again, you've got just a 10g. If you think you want more than 6 tigers and a pair of cories, I'd go more the route of adding a couple more tigers. You'll have plenty to see and lots of activity in your tank.

Val

[goldfries]

for one thing i never want a Danio again cos they only hang around at the surface.