Smaller tanks like this can sometimes take up to 5-6 weeks to cycle, but usually closer to about 3 months. This is a pretty generalized estimate, because there is a difference between a tank just being cycled and it being "mature".
Keep a close eye on your water quality and watch your feeding (feed sparingly). with 5 fish in a 10g - you may have started out with a few too many.
as far as total capacity of your tank...there is a very firm scientific answer to that question...
it depends
some may crucify me for saying this, but the old rule of 1" of fish/gallon of water is a starting point, but you HAVE to consider other factors as well before you actually go out and buy 10 fish that are 1" long.
These are my general rules (and I stress general) that should be taken into consideration -
1)always use the maximum size a fish will grow to as your inch measurement - not how big it is in the LFS tank
2)I never put a fish in a tank if the fish will grow to more than 1/3 -1/2 the width (front to back) of the tank.
3)some fish produce more waste and are messier than other - for these guys I usually double or triple their inches.
4)less can be better - one of the most beautiful tanks I have ever seen was a 70 gal planted tank with a school of about 20-30 neons.
5)I try to keep social fish in groupings (tetras/barbs/danios - 4-6+,
livebearers - 1male/2-3females, etc)
6)when you are dealing with a 10g, after you've added your decorations and gravel - you are left with about 8 gallons of water maybe less
to summarize - read up on your fish before you buy to find out what their natural habitat and behavior is like - if you can match this and provide them with appropriate space, water quality, and food you're golden.
Well I hope you find this helpful and I haven't confused you too much
