I have a 10 gallon, need suggestions on fish ...

[AgnesJG]

I have a 10 gallon, almost finished cycling, and need some suggestions for a couple of nice, easy fish to have. (No goldfish though- long story) Also, I have 2- 25 watt incandescent lights, can I have live plants? or do I need flourescent? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ljse]

You could just replace the 2 incandescent bulbs with screw in fluorescents and you would have pretty good lighting.

 

[dorkfish]

maybe anacharis, java moss, java fern and hornwort for plants ( of corse hornwort and anacaris would have to be left free floating. or you could upgrade to power compacts. I found 10 watt PC bulbs that go into the incandescent socket at the dollar store, so it's not gonna cost hundreds just fo the lighting upgraade. with the upgrade you could probably keep most low - light plants.

for fish you could have: bettas, apistograma spieces, smaller (1 -2 inch) tet's, drawf gourami, white clouds and paradise fish but as always, make sure you research each species and don't just ask the LFS and consider that research.

an article for low-light planted tanks:

http://www.gregwatson.com/NonCO2PlantedAquarium.htm

fish:

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_gallery.php

plants:

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_garden.php

 

[AgnesJG]

Thanks for your advice, I'm leaning towards a betta with something else but I want everyone to get along. I dont want any problems like I had with goldfish. Thanks for the links Dorkfish, I will definitely research Everything before I get any fish, I don't want any problems. Can you have 2 female Bettas together, or would you not advises that? What about golden algae eaters, are they too aggressive for Bettas? Thanks

 

[Emg]

If you want to do female bettas, I'd put more than 2 in there. You can probably have 5 in a 10 and it will keep any one fish from being overly bullied...unless it's a more timid one. Watch them for a bit and remove any overly aggressive or overly timid females from the tank. After a period of time they'll sort out the pecking order and should generally get along well.

I had a 10 with 5 female betta...I had to remove one that couldn't hack the settling in period. She spent all her time hovering in an upper corner of the tank, her fins all shredded from the others......that's a good sign that it needs to be removed. She was much happier in a tank to herself while the other 4 did just fine together.

A 10 with an assortment of colorful female bettas might just be a very nice setup Agnes. Females can be just as pretty as the males. Add plenty of plants and hiding places.

 

[graphicdesign_r]

I have a 10 gallon, almost finished cycling, and need some suggestions for a couple of nice, easy fish to have. (No goldfish though- long story) Also, I have 2- 25 watt incandescent lights, can I have live plants? or do I need flourescent? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Goldfish of any breed should not be kept in a 10 gallon tank. It is too small for them to remain healthy for an extended period of time.

 

[AgnesJG]

Can I really have up to 5 bettas in a 10 gallon? Cause if thats the case,that's definetely what i'm going to do. What kind of plants do bettas prefer? Yeah, I now know that goldfish need lots of room , unfortunately i had to lose 2 to learn my lesson. Even after I specifically asked the pet store for an easy maintenance fish and if they were positive you could have 2 goldfish per 10 gal. :duh: Needless to say two weeks later due to overcrowding and poor water conditions (even after 50% water changes for 1 1/2wks- still had everything out of whack) they passed away (you can get extremely attached in just 2 wks) :sad: . So this time around i'm making sure all my bases are covered.

 

[Emg]

Yes, you can have 5 "FEMALE" bettas in a 10gallon tank...........but NOT males. One male per tank is the rule, but females can get along together if they have plenty of room and places to hide. Having 5 in there, rather than just 2 will spread out any aggression issues.

For plants, you can do water sprite, java fern, anubia nana and most cryptocyrenes for a low to medium lighted tank. Provide a good plant substrate and 2 watts per gallon and these particular plants can do well without a lot of fuss. Some type of driftwood or cave structure would be a great addition as well.

 

[AgnesJG]

Thank you very much Emg, I appreciate all the helpful advice. I'm definitely gonna go with the Bettas (Females). I'm going to look into getting plants first, then if alls good, I' ll get the bettas.

 

[graphicdesign_r]

Female betta can be hard to find, the males with all that plumage are the more desirable (and therefore more widely distributed) fish.

Be SURE you use females and not males. Also, even females can get out of control, so keep a close eye for the first few days. I've never heard of 5 female betta kept in a 10 gallon, but then I have no truck with bettas, my tank would make short work of anything with fins like that... :thud: