Small Tanks have a bad name

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SchizotypalVamp

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Mar 18, 2008
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I love seeing an arrowana as much as anyone else, in fact probably more than the majority of the public, and I want to house an elegant silver one day. But I feel as if small tanks have an unwarranted bad name. It seems as though whenever there is a person asking for help on what to put in a ten gallon we all tell him to put in either Bettas or fish and inverts. I haven't really found any resources for nano tanks; maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but I'm going to start my own tiny fish list here, to help myself and others. So, let's start:

Commonly Seen(at least in what I've seen):
Endler's Livebearers
Fancy Guppies
Siamese Fighting fish
Dwarf Puffers
Neon Tetras
Zebra/Leopard Danios
Glowlight Rasbora
White Mountain Cloud Minnows
Harlequin Rasboras
Panda/Dwarf Cory
Dwarf Gourami
Otos
Bumblebee goby

Not so Common:
Ember Tetras
Microrasboras
Pearly Rasbora
Many, many Killies
Spike-tailed paradise fish (P. dayi)
Peacock gudgeon/goby
Sparkling Gourami
Honey Gourami
Licorice Gourami(thanks Lupin)**
Peaceful Betta
Betta cocina group(?)**
Betta picta
Dwarf croaking gourami
Chocolate gourami**
Samurai gourami**
Male Celebes Halfbeak
Cherry Barbs
Golden Dwarf Barbs
Three-striped Dwarf Cichlid
Nijssen's Dwarf Cichlid**
Apistogramma commbra*
Apistogramma geisleri*
Shelldwellers
Mosquitofish

*Hard to find to extremely rare
**Demanding requirements/difficult to keep


I got tired of looking up Dwarf Cichlids, and I know it's missing 10 billion tetras. This list is not 100%. It is not something that I would put my name or reputation by, it's based on a string of researched information. It is up here for suggestion and correction, as well as to be informative. I have not kept the vast majority of these fish.

Closed per OP request as second page cannot load due to possible server constraints.
 
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Lupin

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Good list. Actually, all betta species can fit in a 10g in pairs or trios.:)

Licorice gouramis will have to be categorized under difficult to keep. They need live foods to sustain them well. Chocolate gouramis and samurai gouramis (Sphaerichthys vaillanti) are also included here. You miss the dwarf croaking gourami (Trichopsis vittata) which is different from sparkling gouramis (Trichopsis pumila).
 

SchizotypalVamp

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Didn't know about the Dwarf croaking gourami, only the croaking gourami.

Post Edited, while I still can :).

Wait, chocolate gouramis are only 1.5 inches? I was lied to by somebody....nothing to make you feel like a newbie than a mistake like that. Though I mostly blame the book in front of me that says they are three inches.
 
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Lupin

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2 inches, Schizo. The vaillanti is a little bigger at 6-7 cm but all the same, a pair is still fine for a 10g. Sphaerichthys vaillanti are much hardier than the Sphaerichthys osphromenoides. The latter is really too delicate unless the pH is as low as 4-5.:shakehead:
 

KarlTh

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Feb 15, 2008
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The first sites I clicked on listed them as 1.5 /grumble. Heh, I'll probably be asking you/everyone else for final conformation on sizes if that's the way it's going to be looking things up.
That's probably how big the site owner got them before they died.
 

Sploke

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Oct 20, 2005
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I don't know about zebra danios in a 10gal. I know a lot of people do it, but they are so freakin frenetic I feel like they should have a longer tank for more room to zip around. JMO.
 

Notophthalmus

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Mar 4, 2008
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I don't know about zebra danios in a 10gal. I know a lot of people do it, but they are so freakin frenetic I feel like they should have a longer tank for more room to zip around. JMO.
I agree, and would say the same about mosquitofish.

There are quite a few small North American species that are available from online retailers that are suitable for 10 gallon tanks, including:

pygmy sunfish (Everglades, Okeefenokee, and banded)

darters (too many to list, but small species that I have seen for sale include rainbow, swamp, Savannah, tesselated, fantail, greenside, banded, orangethroat, blackbanded, sawcheek, Iowa, and johnny darters)

madtoms (tadpole and margined are the only small species usually available)

certain minnows such as southern red-bellied dace, though most small minnows are too active for a ten gallon

a number of small killifishes in the genera Fundulus, Lucania, and Heterandria

a few oddballs, such as swampfish and sticklebacks
 

Inka4040

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The Apisto nijsseni are far too agressive for a 10 gallon tank (unless you are keeping 1). Better apistos for a 10 are A. borellii, and if you can find it (and don't mind keeping unattractive fish,) A. wapisana. Agassiziis can sometimes do well in 10s, but need alot of plant cover. Other apistos in a 10 would be a dicey proposition. I'd also like to add badis badis, dicrossus filamentosus, kulhi loaches, Sawba resplendens, and goo obo gudgeons.

btw, my small tank's bad name is Bertrudina
 

Star_Rider

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:iagree::iagree: while some dwarf Cichlids may only need space in a 10 in appearance..in reality they are territorial and need space to establish the territory.

so not many Dwarf Cichlids fit the bill.
 
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