New 10 gallon tank

Anne L.

Anne L.

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Dec 3, 2003
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I need some help in deciding what sort of fish I should put in this new aquarium. It is for my two boys, so I want something fairly easy to keep and long-lived so that the boys' pets stick around for a while.

It sounds like goldfish will get too large for this size of tank, so what sort of tropical fish would you suggest. Also, how many plants/decorations should go in a tank this size?

Please help a real newbie to this; we've never had fish before, except for the goldfish in the little bowl when I was a kid.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Welcome!
I think a nice little school of corys and some sort of tetras will make a nice tank to look at for the kids, and fairly easy to keep. 10 gallons is fairly small so you dont want too many fish that get too big.
If you want to try plants go for some java fern and anubias, and crypts are really easy to grow and like to send up runners.
Make sure you read up on cycling your tank first and all the water requirements of the fish you want to keep.

:)
 
hey !!!

well welcome to the hobby!!! I'm glad you posted here to get some info n get on the right track!!! the first thing you need to do is cycle your tank - don't get fish until you do as they will probaly die because of the ammonia level in your tank as well as nitrite! this stuff can be a little confusing i know when i was a newbie i was lost till i found this site unfortunatly for me though i already had fish in my aquarium! So,,,,,,


set the tank up add some live bacteria you can find this in your local pet shop it comes in a bottle about 3 bucks or so


let the tank cycle this can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks IME


test the water every few days for ammonia and nitrites these are poisonous to your fish


once your ammonia goes to 0 your on your way! your nitrites will spike shortly there after at this point it won't be much longer once your nitrites got very low (they shoul be 0) then it is safe to add a few fish


The simplest types of fish woul be zebra danios their fun, fast, and cheap!!! anywhere from 69 cents to a buck a piece and very common they now come in gold colors as well!!! They are hardy and are tough to kill they can live through it all some people cycle their tanks with them!!! Because of their price even if they die it's no biggie because it's a learning experience you might lose some fish along the way
or
you can go with whitecloud minnows or some kind of tetras althoug i woul avoid neon tetras at first as they haven't been too hardy IME
or for color a lot of people start with platies they are beautifull and hardy about a buck to three each and are fun to watch the only thing is they will reproduce quickly but IME most of the babies are eaten by parents - if you go this route you can either keep all of one sex or go with two females for every male just ask the employee to show you which is which hopefully they will know!!!


some other good fish for 1st timers woul be guppies, swordtails,maybe mollies these are all live beares so the same thing woul apply with the ammount of males vs females in the tank
oh yeah almost forgot cories are a great fish too!!! (they are the only type of catfish i woul go with at this point they don't eat algae but will eat scraps form the ground if you get them don't let them them just survive eating scraps they won't get enough to stay alive- supplement them with some sinking shrimp pellets or crumbles - mine love hikari sinking wafers!!!) also keep them in a group of 3 they like to be together are very peaceful and will be a fav of yours in no time!!! awesome fish!!!

some people start with gourami's which are fun too but i woul suggest getting to know some other fish 1st as they can be a bit territorial and might be hard to mix some other fish with although they are generally peacefull


basically you want something to survive some mistakes


i woul avoid angel fish they will get to big they are pretty though
avoid cichlids
avoid most catfish with long whiskers and tiger barbs these are a little tougher to keep just thoughts
goodluck hope this helps !!!
p.s. if you have a friend who has a cycled tank ask to borrow some of their gravel place it in a nylon this will get you some good bacteria n cycle your tank quicker as long as their tank is in good shape of course!!!
 
Don't forget about bettas! Of course, you should only have one, but they are very colorful and do not require too much effort. Their pretty flowing fins are a target for nippy fish though, so keep that in mind in case you think you might want to get some tiger barbs or another aggressive fish a little bit later on.
 
LmouthBass has the most in-depth description I have ever seen for setting up a 10-gallon pet aquarium. If you ever want to get into the hobby seriously, I think he's a great person to talk to.

All the testing supplies and constant water checks are not necessary if you want your kids to maintain any type of interest. Here's my two cents:)

1. Make sure you have a thermometer (stick on is fine), a heater and a small bottle of water conditioner. The instructions for use on the heater are easy to understand.

2. Rinse the gravel before you put it in the tank! Put the gravel in the tank and fill with water. Put in the water conditioner. Place plants in a beautiful arrangement (this is great for the kids). Place the filter and heater on the side.

--You can put as many decorations as you want in the tank, but keep in mind, the focus is the fish. I would say 4 or 5 plants (if you're going synthetic) and a nice castle or driftwood. Fish do need hiding places to act normally.

--I do NOT recommend real plants. They require a little more attention and although they are beautiful, if things go wrong, the tank quickly gets very unsightly.

3. Let the filter run overnight. Go to the store the next day and buy ONE or TWO hearty fish (mollies, platys, a betta, guppies). Leave these two (or one) fish in the tank for about a week or two. After that, add fish slowly, up to three at a time, with the same amount of time between.

THAT'S IT. If you want to set up a tank without spending $150 bucks on testing equipment and water additives, add 2 hearty fish, wait about 2 weeks and I promise you it will be cycled.

This is a fun and interesting hobby. If your kids are going to be the caretakers, get the MOST hearty fish you can (the ones I mentioned are EXCELLENT).

One final note. The general rule for fish is 1 inch of fish per gallon. The fish I mentioned will grow to about 1.5 in. Therefore you could keep about 6-8 fish in a well-run 10 gallon tank.
 
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Thank you all ever so much! Your replies have been so helpful to me.

It seems as though we are on the right track as to the type of fish I have been thinking of getting. I'm glad a betta fish will live in the tank with the others because they are so beautiful.

We are going to set up the tank this weekend and run it, and then likely get the fish the next weekend after. This is a Christmas present for our two boys, so they are getting it a little early to avoid all of the rushing around at Christmas.

They can't have other pets because of allergies, and you should see how excited they are about this aquarium.

I'm sure I will be around this forum for the next little while looking for tips and hints.

Must get to work here, so thanks again, all.
 
Remember to load up the tank slowly with fish. I realize that it is a Christmas present and therefore fishless cycling is probably out the question therefore you need to only get a few fish (1 per child) to satisfy them over Christmas. No point getting a bunch of fish and then have them die due to the tank not being cycled. Cycling is also important part of the overall lifespan of the fish. The less stress on the fish the longer they are going to live.
 
Actually, viboy, we are going to cycle the tank this weekend, probably for the whole week, and then add the fish the next weekend. This is for the health of the tank, but also because we likely won't have time to get the fish this weekend.

We've talked to the kids, who are 6 and 9, and told them how the tank works, and why it's important to only get 2 fish to begin with and add more later. They're really interested in doing this, and are o.k. with waiting and doing everything the right way.

I' d also like to get them the fish closer to Christmas, so it seems like they're getting a present then.
 
Ok, folks, now I have another question. I've been reading about cycling the tank. Do I have this right?

We should set up the tank with everything, plants, decorations, etc. and let it run for 24 hours.

Should we then add a couple of fish right away or is it o.k. to leave the tank empty until the next weekend? Which would be best?
 
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