# Small Tank Centerpiece Fish



## Barbgirl (Feb 24, 2012)

I stumbled upon a Honey Sunset Gourami a while ago and he is awesome! Stays small and is not nearly as delicate or temperamental as a regular dwarf gourami. He is all over the tank, mostly the top and always comes out and follows me across the glass. Leaves all my plants alone as well


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## fraviz (Dec 7, 2012)

You could try pigmy gouramy.... depending on the type of shrimp.... :icon_idea


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## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

This is what was in my 10g when I first started.


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## laqu (Oct 17, 2012)

Neatfish said:


> This is what was in my 10g when I first started.


i have the same fish... he's very pretty.. (though mine has funky black stuff on him hmm...)

BUT he doesn't like tank-mates. 

HAS eaten shrimp small and large

it's all according to his mood.


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## ADJAquariums (Jul 5, 2012)

Have you considered a betta? they can be agressive but you wont get the sorts of color and fin variety in any other fish. What kind of shrimp? that could be a recipie for disaster (or eaten shrimp, however you want to look at it)


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

Gorgeous fish! 

If you're going to keep shrimp with fish, you need to have lots of hiding spaces. Otherwise the shrimp will most likely be eaten.


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## mnemenoi (May 28, 2012)

A school of Bororas Brigittae are a good choice, though no fish are 100% shrimp safe except otos in my opinion. Tube snouted pencilfish and other top water fish can be decent choices and with enough vegetation and a stout colony to begin with are workable. I have kept RCS with quite a bit and had them survive and breed, with more difficult shrimp I generally avoid fish tankmates.


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## Ashnic05 (Jan 7, 2013)

One of my favorite fish for smaller tanks is the Sparkling Gourami. Stays small and non-aggressive:


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

Ashnic05 said:


> One of my favorite fish for smaller tanks is the Sparkling Gourami. Stays small and non-aggressive:


YES! these are the best for a small tank so pretty and fun to watch.


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## Calmia22 (Aug 20, 2011)

Scarlet Badis are very easy to feed. Get the cichlid granuals. They drop to the ground. It's fun to watch them stare at it so curious before they finally start to eat it. They will eat blood worms too, and shrimp pellets but everything just has to sink. They wont go to the top for food. 

They will however scout out shrimp and eat babies and considering how small they are it's hard to create dedicated shrimp hiding places.


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

Calmia22 said:


> Scarlet Badis are very easy to feed. Get the cichlid granuals. They drop to the ground. It's fun to watch them stare at it so curious before they finally start to eat it. They will eat blood worms too, and shrimp pellets but everything just has to sink. They wont go to the top for food.
> 
> They will however scout out shrimp and eat babies and considering how small they are it's hard to create dedicated shrimp hiding places.


The sparkleing gouramis will do the same thing.


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## UGA_Grad_Student (Feb 14, 2012)

Stay strong and go Rams! You'll never regret it. Most fish+shrimp=fat happy fish (in my experience)


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

UGA_Grad_Student said:


> Stay strong and go Rams! You'll never regret it. Most fish+shrimp=fat happy fish (in my experience)



There's not enough room for a pair in a 10g.


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## Milhouse (Apr 21, 2007)

Thanks for the suggestions. You know, I've thought about a betta, I've had some nice ones from Thailand. The issue is....they're a little boring. 

I'm sure any fish I will run the chance of them eating the baby shrimp. That might just be a chance I have to take. As long as the adults survive right? Lol

Out of curiosity why would a 10g be too small for a ram pair? My dad used to breed them in 10g tanks when I was a kid (they lived in a 10g).


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

I have always heard that rams need 1 pair per 20 gallon but in my 40 gallon I had 3 pairs all breeding. And with shrimp, the only fish I had marginal success with were vietnamese white clouds, they hardly touched the adults, but the babies hid quite a bit. When I took out the fish, babies were all over the place.


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

Milhouse said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. You know, I've thought about a betta, I've had some nice ones from Thailand. The issue is....they're a little boring.
> 
> I'm sure any fish I will run the chance of them eating the baby shrimp. That might just be a chance I have to take. As long as the adults survive right? Lol
> 
> Out of curiosity why would a 10g be too small for a ram pair? My dad used to breed them in 10g tanks when I was a kid (they lived in a 10g).


Sure you can breed rams in a 10 gal. if there are NO other fish in the tank. Cichids are protective parents and become very nasty to tank mates. If you have a small tank with other fish and a breeding pair EVERYONE gets stressed out. Stress is never good. Some times the pair can and will turn on each other. Then you have to remove one or both parents. 

There is really nothing wrong with keeping 1 breeding pair in a 10gal tank alone.


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