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Hey all,
I am starting a 10 gallon tank, and will probably be putting in 4 or 5 small (1" cichlids to start with, and possibly a crawfish if he plays nice. My first question is, will 4 or 5 be ok in that size tank? I know the crawfish may be a problem, but if he is, Ill get rid of him. Second, I am buying live bacteria from my LFS, and was wondering if I could load the tank with fish the same day I put the bacteria in the water, after putting Amquel Plus in it. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate everyone's input!

Cichlids in a 10G?

Step this way a moment ...

There is only one American Cichlid species I know of that could conceivably live in a 10G, and that is the "Super Dwarf" Apistogramma angayuara. If you haven't heard of it before, don't worry too much, because it was a species new to science in November 2005. Which means it's unlikely to be in your local dealer's, and the few that DO make it into aquarist's tanks in the near future are going to command stratospheric prices ... try $500 for a breeding pair.

That leaves you with somewhat less rarefied Cichlids to choose from. Now, one possibility is shell dwellers from Lake Tanganyika - these are small enough for a 10G. But, they have specialised requirements, including hard, alkaline water and a substrate littered with suitable sized shells for them to colonise. Your maintenance routine is going to be an interesting one to put it mildly if you take these on.

So, if you decide you want something other than shell dwellers, what options do you have?

The bad news concerning the reminaing Cichlid species at your disposal is that NONE of them will live in a 10G except as juveniles, and only then for a limited period of time. Even something peaceful and relatively modest in size such as Anomalochromis thomasi will need a 15 minimum, and preferably bigger. As the size and strength of territorial instinct increases, so will the size of aquarium needed to house them. Don't even THINK of putting a baby Oscar in there, because that's a 14 inch fish as an adult and NEEDS a 125 gallon home! Even many of the so-called "Dwarf Cichlids" belonging to the Genus Apistogramma (with the unique exception I've cited above) need space for territories, and so, for something like Apistogramma cactuoides, you're looking at a 29 gallon setup to house them adequately. Similar caveats apply to other small Cichlids such as Dicrossus filamentosus. Likewise, Venezuelan or Bolivian Rams should be given a 29 to do them justice, and preferably something bigger.

So, unless you're going to launch into the wonderful world of shell dwellers, your options are, precisely, none. Sorry, but that about sums it up.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ok Im starting to get the picture about cichlids. Can anyone give me a recommendation of a group of fish that would be appropriate for this tank? Im a law student, so I need something thats nice to look at in times of stress...So something colorful, fun to watch, etc. Thanks!

First of all, you didn't by any chance get your tank at a certain large chain store beginning with "W" did you?

Were you handed any advice at all when you bought it? Or were you simply smiled at as they took your money?

The infamous ten-gallon setup that is sold throughout the US like so many Hello Kitty lunch boxes is, in the right hands, a useful tool. The trouble is, it's sold to beginners. in whose hands it's anything BUT a useful tool. To stand a chance of turning a 10G into a viable aquarium, its owner needs to acquire a battery of skills that are far more easily acquired on a larger setup - a 15 as a bare minimum. Those skills include the wonders of nitrogen cycle management, an understanding of basic fish anatomy (and how that anatomy affects your water management), at least some working knowledge of how an aquatic ecosystem functions, and some technical know how concerning such items as filtration technology. All of which CAN be acquired on a 10G system, but it's an uphill struggle all the way if it's your first aquarium. Why?

Pollution.

Your fishes, basically, turn your water into a dilute solution of fish pee. The more water you have to begin with, the longer it takes them to do this to the point where the levels of pollutants impinge critically on the health of the fishes. The maintenance load (in terms of managing pollutants) is, therefore, inversely proportional to volume - it's a 1/x type graph. Which, if you draw such a graph, you will notice starts to climb very steeply upwards as you head toward zero. The curoff point where maintenace effort remains something that can be done around once per week (water changes and such tasks) has been determined experimentally to be around the 15 gallon mark. Migrate down the curve to ten gallons, and you're looking at more intensive hands-on management to make the system work. Old, experienced hands at the game know this, and will quite often set up a 10 gallon system as a species aquarium for something unusual or special, but they'll do so knowing in advance they'll have to put in more effort . They'll do it with their eyes open, and their past experience will tell them what pitfalls need to be avoided. They'll also know how to go about avoiding those pitfalls, because if they don't already know about it, they'll go away and spend time doing the research - something I keep banging on about here, which is proven time and time again to be correct, is that every hour spent planning before a penny is spent and every hour spent researching the topic before a penny is spent saves expensive heartache further down the line. You wouldn't go to court in a big case without engaging in a LOT of preparation beforehand, because you'd know what a disaster would result if you did. So, the veterans at this game, who have spent years making mistakes and burying their heads in 1,000 page textbooks to try and ensure that the next time round will be more successful, can play a 10G system with the finesse and virtuosity of Perry Mason. But that virtuosity doesn't come overnight. In my case, it's taken thirty years to reach the point where I can say to myself "I rather fancy keeping Aphyosemion bualanum" and within three weeks have a working setup with those fishes in it, because I know in advance that these are West African Killies with a need for soft, acidic water, peat filtration, and a peat substrate for egg-burying when they spawn, and if I've forgotten any other incidental details along the way, I know I can find them in the 1977 section of my TFH back numbers because that's where the Exotic Tropical Fishes supplement for them exists - in fact I can close my eyes and see that supplement page in front of my eyes!

If you, as I suspect, are a beginner at fishkeeping, then you're in for something of a roller coaster ride. One in which you'll be tested physically and intellectually. And you may, lamentably, discover, that Nature is a lot less forgiving than even the most draconian of human criminal justice systems when it comes to mistakes - frequently, a blooper in a living system counts as a capital offence, with your fishes paying the ultimate price.

You might like to read this little editorial piece of mine before going further. Oh, I have several of these, by the way, it's one of the reasons (apart from my madly reproducing Panda Corys that seem to be intent on repopulating the entire Solar System with their fry ) I'm infamous on this Board.

Oh, by the way, there's an old gentleman I'd like to introduce you to. His name is Bill. More commonly known to the rest of the world as Dr William T. Innes, author of a particularly famous book on the subject that became a classic of its kind. While it's a dated book (the first edition appeared in the late 1930s, and the last revision was, if memory serves, of 1970s vintage) it contains a LOT of wise words. Hunt it down, enjoy the time warp trip into the past, and above all, absorb some of his more pithy aphorisms as if by osmosis, because they'll help turn you into a Fishkeeper with a capital 'F'.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

A pair of FW Dwarf Puffers would work, make sure the plant is heavily planted with a good filter such as an HOB Aquaclear.