# 10 gallon tank inhabitants?



## Jerad Wilson (Jun 23, 2016)

I have heard a lot of conflicting opinions. Some people claim that you can stock a ten gallon tank with 20+ neons no problem, others say they at least need a 29 gallon tank or more. Same thing with CPD's, Emerald Tetras, and micro and normal rasboras. Others say that shrimp have such a small bioload that it won't make a difference how many you have, others say 15 or 20 max. Depending on what the facts are, what are some nice options for a simple planted 10 gallon aquarium. 

I'm also all about the fish. If they aren't going to be happy or thrive in my setup, I don't need them. 

Thanks!


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## gbb0330 (Nov 21, 2015)

a single betta will be happy in a 10g. 

shrimp will be happy too, once they start multiplying its hard to keep count, they will reach an equilibrium.


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## KarenSoCal (Jun 3, 2016)

A couple of African Dwarf frogs can live in a 10 gal. They are very cute!


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## myrrhiam (Oct 14, 2016)

If well planted, a small school of nano fish: (6-8) of: CPD, ember tetra, pygmy cories, boraras species (chili rasbora, dwarf spotted rasbora etc), 
also could house a few sparkling gourami, or one- possibly two - pea puffers.


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## Jerad Wilson (Jun 23, 2016)

A few cpds or micro rasboras and a couple pea puffers sounds awesome!


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## C10H12N2O (Nov 13, 2014)

The pea puffers need to be kept by themselves, they'll likely eat anyone else you put in there. I would also recommend caution keeping more than one - it can be done, but it depends on the temperament of the individual fish. I've had some that don't mind other puffs and some that will harass any others to death.
Also make sure you have a steady supply of snails for them to eat.


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

Everything is relative, it's all based off of available space, bioload, etc. You could probably keep 12-15 CPD's or micro rasboras in a 10 gallon tank, but with a different stocking, you could add only about 6 neon tetras safely. One shrimp may not have that high of a bioload, but when you get to herds of them, they start producing a large bioload. The one inch per gallon rule is generally regarded as defunct nowadays because each fish is different in requirements. In addition, it doesn't take into account aggression or other factors (i.e. you can't keep 2 bettas in the same tank without separating them, a 24 inch fish can't fit in a 29 gallon, etc).

I think for pea puffers, you could probably keep 3-4, in addition to maybe a small school of Hara catfish (the 1" kind). They're nippy, which is why you don't want to keep them with CPD's or micros. Adding in lots of sight barriers that prevent fish from always seeing each other (i.e. plants or rocks) will also reduce aggression as well.

For CPD's/Micros, like above, you can keep approximately 12-15 of either. They also like bushy plants.

Make sure to just do a couple of basic google searches on the web about the above species' care though! seriouslyfish is a good source, and I know there's a CPD forum on the web as well as one about puffers.


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## myrrhiam (Oct 14, 2016)

Ah yes, to clarify, when iI said 1 or 2 pea puffers - I meant just pea puffers, no other inhabitants  same with sparkling gourami


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## bigbadjon (Aug 6, 2015)

I don't think anyone could really tell you without knowing how often and how much you change the water. I kept a dozen zebra danios in a 10 gal for years doing two 50% water changes weekly.


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## Jerad Wilson (Jun 23, 2016)

Ohh I see. After looking into dwarf puffers a bit more I was curious how on earth they would go well with cpd's lol. 

I would do as many water changes as necessary.

It would be nice to have a nice schooling fish, perhaps green neons.

How would a smaller species of halfbeak work in a heavily planted 10 gallon tank?


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## Beer (Feb 1, 2012)

ichthyogeek said:


> Everything is relative, it's all based off of available space, bioload, etc.....



The other thing people don't factor in is that tank dimentions for a given volume, especially for the smaller tank sizes. People are starting to realize that certain species need a given amount of swimming room to thrive, but they still tend to give the inch per gallon rule, which was based around standard tank sizes, limited filtration, and extremly light (if any) plant stocking.

With tank some of the tank dimensions available today, you can get a long shallow tank that has more swimming space than a standard tank almost twice its volume. Or a tall "cube" that has far less horizontal swimming space than a similar volume tank and may be unsuitable for some species that would be fine in a standard tank of the same, or even slightly less, volume.

It is easier to provide extra biofiltration by doing things like running a larger filter with the impeller from a smaller version to limit flow, adding additional media to the filter, running some of the newer chemical filtration media...

Also heavily planting a tank helps take care of the nutrient issues (most people here end up dosing anyway), although it does nothing to reduce other waste products that may still build up in the water over time if regular maintenance is not performed.


I think people are a little quick to jump on others for stocking levels without understanding the setup that the individual has or what their plan is. Not that being conservative with stocking is a bad thing, but saying that 6-8 micro fish should be the max for a ten gallon might be excessive when those fish max out around 3/4" and have a lower bioload per inch than larger fish. If the tank is stocked decently well with plants and the individual is interested in more than just plants or the plants are there to just provide a more natural look (ie are not the main focus), they will more than likely get bored with a tank so sparsely stocked that they rarely see the fish and as a result, the fish will suffer from a lack of attention and maintenance.


I agree that 20 neons in a ten would be a bit much, but 15-20 micro rasboras in a well planted tank (once it is established) would be fine. They don't school like neons, but they do shoal and hang out together. A couple micro algae eaters would be fine as well if you find you need them down the road (some do better in groups of 3-4 or larger, so you need to pay attention to that as well).


Sorry for the rant, recommendations based on tank size is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. People are coming around quicker with lighting recommendations (shying away from watts per gallon), but still seem to be fixated on the fish per gallon rule and jump on anybody that goes over it no matter how experienced they are or how heavily their tank is planted and filtered.
I mean, an oscar in a 10 gallon fits within the inch per gallon rule. That is barely suitable for an emergency hospital tank for a juvenile oscar. Three mollies in a 10 is less than ideal, more so if you have more than just males or just females. Having two females and one male can result in over 100 fish in just a few months if you don't leave the juviniles in the tank for the parents to eat the majority of, not to mention a standard 10gal doesn't really provide sufficient swimming room for fully grown mollies.
Granted, an inch per gallon is a decent general starting point if people are sticking to the average tetra stocked tank that mostly has egg laying fish in the 1.5 inch range, otherwise it really doesn't work in my opinion.



Seriouslyfish is a pretty good resource that lists fish with minimun space requirements, not just volume. They also go into pretty good detail about parameters, campatibility, and care requirements.


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## ichthyogeek (Jul 9, 2014)

Jerad Wilson said:


> How would a smaller species of halfbeak work in a heavily planted 10 gallon tank?


Which species are you thinking of? They don't really care about anything below them, and I think clown killis would make a better choice to be honest. In a standard 10, I wouldn't go for it. In a 20 long, I would. Simply because they seem like riverine fish based off of body shape and they look like they would appreciate the space given to them.


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## BrynnaCC (Jan 5, 2014)

The downside to pea puffers is that you can get a super aggressive one like mine that won't put up with anyone else in their tank. The upside is that a 10 gallon with one pea puffer still feels like a full tank because they are *constantly* following you around. You will see them All. The. Time.


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## Jerad Wilson (Jun 23, 2016)

ichthyogeek said:


> Which species are you thinking of? They don't really care about anything below them, and I think clown killis would make a better choice to be honest. In a standard 10, I wouldn't go for it. In a 20 long, I would. Simply because they seem like riverine fish based off of body shape and they look like they would appreciate the space given to them.


I was thinking Dermogenys siamensis. It's one of the smallest halfbeaks and often called a dwarf halfbeak. It's supposed to only get around 4 cm.


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