# Nano 10 Gal Tank stocking options (advice wanted)



## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Hi All,

I recently moved cross county to a small NYC apartment and, with the Pandemic and so much time inside it has really reignited my desire to keep a tank. Being space constrained, I opted for the largest practical size I could have which wound up being the UNS 60L (that's 60cm LONG, not Liters, and its about 6 gallons); the tank is 60cm x 20cm x 20cm so its a long, low tank. *Update: * My UNS arrived broken and, although the seller will send me a new one at some point, they have none in stock and no idea when they'll be getting them so I've impatiently ordered a new tank, the JBJ Rimless Desktop Aquarium 10 Gallon (Dimensions H: 23.6" L: 10.2" W: 10.6" H ).

I'll be doing a lightly dirted tank, capped with Fluval Stratum and then a layer of decorative sand in order to handle a moderately plant the tank for long term growth. I will have an Aqua Worx Orion 24" LED Light, a tiny 4gal HOB filter which I'll be filling with Seachem Matrix Bio Media 250ml complimented by a Submersible Aquarium Internal Filter with Pump on the other side of the tank to ensure proper water circulation from end to end.

I've currently got a 3gal with Cherry Shrimp that I'll be breaking down and transferring into the new tank once I've got it fully cycled but I'd like to include some kind of shoaling fish also, if possible (Not looking for Bettas or Pea Puffers who will eat my shrimp) and I'm finding conflicting information around what kinds of fish can live in a 6 gallon 10 gallon (using 5 gallon recommendations as those seem way more common) and whether the shape of my tank will meaningfully affect stocking as it gives longer swim lanes but less vertical room.

Fish I'm considering:

Celestial Pearl Danios
Some flashy Guppies
Green Neon Tetra


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## Cawafuoshi (May 13, 2021)

I got a 5.5 gallon tank going, and I opted for just one species. 5 Glow light tetras, hardier than neons, usually available at most LFS. I planted heavily so they feel at home, but left open swimming space over the entire length. While most will say tetras are for 15 gallon and larger tanks, mine perked up and do not show abnormal or overly aggressive behaviors. YMMV, but just focus on one species. Probably a betta is the best choice for tanks that small, but I don't really dig them. At the very least, my Glow Lights have the tank to themselves, I tried to match their habitat as good as possible, there are no predators, they are on a well balanced diet, and water quality is superb.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

A trio of male guppies or endlers might work. I think medaka can live in 5 gallons, possibly chili rasbora. I'd say pygmy cory but they would most likely eat shrimplets at a pretty high rate but some people have good luck with them with shrimp. You're going to want a not so active nano school, not an active school. Good luck!!


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## Cawafuoshi (May 13, 2021)

Chili rasboras were high on my list if it weren't for the fact they are not available locally, usually wild caught, and shipping to my region is not really an option unless guaranteed next day air and even that could be complicated not to mention the high cost involved.


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## Ewest (Apr 21, 2021)

GPDs are gorgeous! Chilli rasboras are as well if you can find them or are willing to pay shipping.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Cawafuoshi said:


> Chili rasboras were high on my list if it weren't for the fact they are not available locally, usually wild caught, and shipping to my region is not really an option unless guaranteed next day air and even that could be complicated not to mention the high cost involved.


I 100% sympathize- I currently have to travel 45 minutes to receive anything I order and on average they are 5 days later than scheduled. CPD could work, possibly. A trio of male guppies would definitely work if those are easier to access for you. CPD might require a little more maintenance simply because you'd have to be technically overstocked in order to keep a proper school.


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## Cawafuoshi (May 13, 2021)

I'm not the op, and I decided to try the Glow Light tetras as mentioned above. So far, fingers crossed, they seem to have adapted rather well.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Cawafuoshi said:


> I'm not the op, and I decided to try the Glow Light tetras as mentioned above. So far, fingers crossed, they seem to have adapted rather well.


My bad 😅


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## Cawafuoshi (May 13, 2021)

Plinkploop said:


> My bad 😅


No problem! Your info is still relevant to the op.


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses! I'll update as soon as I make a decision (more recommendations are always welcome!)

I'm not going Betta as I have always loved the look of nano fish shoaling and this will be the largest, and only, tank I'll have for the foreseeable future - this is as large as I can go without disrupting the rest of my decor.

As far as cost and shipping, I'd rather pay more for the right fish than limit myself as this will be my one and only tank. As long as they're buyable within the Continental US so any and all recommendations are great!


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

*Update: *Well, unfortunately my UNS came broken and, although the seller will send me a new one at some point, they have none in stock and no idea when they'll be getting them so I've impatiently ordered a new tank, one which just barely fits the space I have available and will give the inhabitants some more room to roam.

I bought the JBJ Rimless Desktop Aquarium 10 Gallon (Dimensions H: 23.6" L: 10.2" W: 10.6" H ) which will not make a HOB filter impossible so I'll need to figure out some kind of external filter like an Oase that can use lily pipes. I dont want to use the clip in filter that comes with the tank.

Ideally, this will also make a shoal of 5-6 nano fish more comfortable now that I'm at a 10 gallon common size.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise? Still a tough disappointment.


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

*Update:* So the JBJ Rimless Desktop Aquarium 10 Gallon (Dimensions H: 23.6" L: 10.2" W: 10.6" H ) arrived and, while I wont be using the filter or light that came with it, the tank seems good. The tank came with a plastic stand - is this better or worse than a leveling mat for sitting the tank on?

I've ordered a custom cabinet to support the tank and hide away an external filter, I'm deciding between the Oase Biomaster 250 or the Oase FiltoSmart Thermo 100.

For stocking, I will have:

a group of Cherry Shrimp (no idea how many as they're always breeding)
1 amano shrimp for algae control
An unspecified amount of pond snails and 1 assassin snail to hopefully fix this
*And ???*
I am not interested in a Betta fish or a pea puffer as it would likely kill off all my cherry shrimp*..*. so now that I've bumped up to a 1p0 Gallon, I'm really into the idea of a shoaling fish but what can I safely stock based on the filtration and planting I'm planning? I see a lot of contradicting information online.

A shoal of 8 Cardinal Tetras
A shoal of 8 CPDs
*???*
*Here is how the hardscape is shaping up.







*


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## sudhirr (Apr 12, 2019)

Ember tetras, cpds, a school of some of the boras such as brigittae, some dwarf rainbows (they are jumpers). 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

I wouldn't do cardinals, personally, they aren't as small as they seem like they would be, mine are the same size as my rummynoses and if you're looking for true schooling behaviour there's not enough room. If you're okay with just shoaling they might work. Green neon, ember tetra, CPD, pygmy cory, any micro rasbora, rice fish, neons. I can probably think of more but those are the first that come to mind.


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Thanks all for the responses! I'm hoping for some additional numbers versus just fish recommendations. I'm familiar with CPDs, but continue to see conflicting information on *how many *CPDs can be comfortable in a 10 gallon etc.

Any recos for stocking numbers?

A shoal of X Cardinal Tetras
A shoal of X CPDs
A shoal of X Green Neon Tetras
A shoal of X Harlequin Rasboras
Can something like a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami live in a 10 gallon comfortably? Maybe a pair?


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

If you aren't planning on keeping anything else you could probably do a pair of powder blue dg, good luck finding a female 😉 cardinals, I honestly wouldn't do, personally. CPD 8-10 if just them, same for green neon (you could probably do up to 12 for these schoolers, though, if it's a single school). I'm on the fence about suggesting 5- 8 cardinals, but planted right, maybe...


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Plinkploop said:


> If you aren't planning on keeping anything else you could probably do a pair of powder blue dg, good luck finding a female 😉 cardinals, I honestly wouldn't do, personally. CPD 8-10 if just them, same for green neon (you could probably do up to 12 for these schoolers, though, if it's a single school). I'm on the fence about suggesting 5- 8 cardinals, but planted right, maybe...


Thank you, this is what I was looking for! I wont be mixing species other than their shrimp/snail tankmates the fish will be just one species, trying to get as many as humane into the tank rather than breaking them up.


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

It's a toss up if dg go after shrimp, but a heavily planted tank should give you the least amount of potential casualties. I have no personal experience with shrimp yet, however, so I'm not saying this based on experience, just a crap ton of research I've done for my most recent expedition lol. The fish aspect of it is first hand. I treat dwarf gourami and betta very similarly in the context of having tank mates lol it all depends on the fish.


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Plinkploop said:


> It's a toss up if dg go after shrimp, but a heavily planted tank should give you the least amount of potential casualties. I have no personal experience with shrimp yet, however, so I'm not saying this based on experience, just a crap ton of research I've done for my most recent expedition lol. The fish aspect of it is first hand. I treat dwarf gourami and betta very similarly in the context of having tank mates lol it all depends on the fish.


That is my thought as well. I'd assume the DG would go after at least shrimplets and juveniles, perhaps not fully grown adults, but I will have the tank fairly well planted and will let the shrimp establish prior to adding any fish, so I woul think some level of balance should be achieved without wiping out the colony.


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Quick update here, the tank is coming along.

It is fully cycled and I've moved my CRS over from their 3.5g, the tank is 10g (23.6" long x 10.2" deep x 10.6" high). My Shrimp colony has grown from the 15 that I originally purchased to roughly 35-40. I purchased an OASE FiltoSmart Thermo 200 filter which is good for up to 55g so I should have way more filtration than any bioload in the tank.

I've purchased plants from BucePlant and unfortunately had some damsel fly larvae sneak in which I'm worried about eating my shrimplets, I've already pulled two damsels out and search daily for more. I tried a number of stem plants but all melted away completely and never came back so right now I'm limited to epiphites until I try again for stems.

Plants in the tank

Mini Bolbitis (Baby Leaf)
Anubias Minima
Anubias Nana Petite
Java Fern Narrow Mini
Java Moss
Plants that didn't make it... buckle up

Potomageton Gayi
Mayaca Sellowiniana
Alternanthera Lilacina
Dwarf Nomaphila Siamensis (Hygrophila Corymbosa Compact)
Limnophila Aromatica
Rotala sp. Araguaia Red Cross


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## Jason K (Jan 3, 2009)

Filtosmart 200 for a ten gal seems like serious overkill. Your shrimp may be hanging on for dear life?…

I have a filtosmart 100 running on a ~10 gal tank and I’m get 5x turnover at the lowest settings for both the inlet and outlet.

It’s a lovely looking tank!


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## mzhammer (May 11, 2021)

Jason K said:


> Filtosmart 200 for a ten gal seems like serious overkill. Your shrimp may be hanging on for dear life?…
> 
> I have a filtosmart 100 running on a ~10 gal tank and I’m get 5x turnover at the lowest settings for both the inlet and outlet.
> 
> It’s a lovely looking tank!


Surprisingly not, but I used nonstandard lilly pipes that are smaller than the filter comes with which may be reducing the flow further (or perhaps I set up the filter the wrong way) but the flow is very manageable for the shrimp and they seem to often jump up into it for a ride around the tank.

After watching a lot of GreenAqua youtube videos it seemed that over-filtering was the better option, so I opted for the larger filter when I was between the 100 / 200 thermo options.


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## fishandplantsguy (May 27, 2020)

That's a really nice setup! I can see where you going with the scape! I have had high tech and low lighted tanks. Made some mistakes but learned a lot from it. Filters is totally up to you but remember as the filter collects dirt it will slow. I think I remember seeing a Green Aqua video which recommends slowing the flow in the beginning. They are great with all the tips!
I would also suggest lowing the light intensity with a dimmer if your light does not have that built in option. The beauty of LED lights! Didn't have that 10 years ago. In the beginning with just epiphytes plants you will start to get algae growth. I made that mistake but fixed it by getting a dimmer. Algae died off. Nutrients, CO2 and Light are the factors. If one is lacking then you get algae. Once you get more stem plants and maybe CO2 then you can slowly increase your light intensity.
I ordered from Buce before and it's hit or miss with them. I find better plants on ebay, which is strange I know, but all of them come in great shape and have not melt. I also have a store near me. Aquarium Roots they specialize in planted aquariums.
Hope this is useful. Enjoy!


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