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I recently set up a 10g for my dad. It is at his office and he is just thrilled about it! i had previously started this tank but it crashed due to neglect and he lost all of the juvie tiger barbs he got... so at christmas my little brother and i got him a few long finned zebra danios (6 to be exact)...

he is really interested to add more fish to the tank but i am skeptical of adding to many fish. He doesnt want to spend muc and we found a sale at PetCo. (yeah i know of their crappy fish selection)...

here are the options:
Serpae tetras
Red-Eye Tetras
Scissor-Tail Rasboras
Rainbow Blue Platies
Blue Danios
Leopard Danios
Gold Danios
(more) Zebra Danios
Opaline Gouramis
CAE

i was thinkinh the tank would be to small for more than one gourami and doesnt have much room for more fish but he insists... i could also just restock and tank the danios for my own 29g tank...

any ideas?
THANKS!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

deeno-

I would be wary of the serpaes... as elegant as they are, they are also notorious fin nippers.. the long finned danios, might present too much of a temptation for serpaes...

you know, you might consider 4-5 panda corys for the bottom of the tank. I know I was considering those to go with my betta and harlequin raspboras. But, I decided to bump up my shoal of harlies so they are more comfy together. With my Betta and 7 Harlies, I don't have room for a shoal of Pandas. But, they (or other corys woudl go nice with the danios...)

Or, you could get a few white cloud mountain minnows, they would go nice with the danios...

I also like your idea of a different kind of danio, like gold ones for instance....

Even some neons would go well...

Good luck, lemme know what you decide!

thanks scott! i am also in the process of trying to ceup with a good squascape for his tank... tight now it has a green substrate a treasure chest and a skull+crossbones... it alos has a few sprigs of anacharis.. the lighting is 1 18W CF and one incanescent (wattage unknown)... any plant recommendations?


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

I'd say you're right about the limited stocking room, although how much you have left depends on how many zebra danios are in there at the moment.

Of the fish listed, the gourami and scissortails will grow too large for a 10G, the danios ideally need more room as they are active fish and the serpaes or red-eyes would be best kept as a species tank of ten or so fish (enough to spread out their nipping). That leaves the platies, but being livebearers I'd recommend getting only males as having a mixed sex group (2-3 females per male)will result in a lot of fry and even allowing for predation by the adults the tank stocking will quickly be exceeded by the survivors.

Mature, sensible signature required for responsible position. Good prospects for the right candidate. Apply within.

I'll take a risk, and say (although many wouldnt) that a pair of dwarf gourami's would be fine in a 10g tank with no occupants other than the danios, you'd be able to create a nice planted environment with these fish, too..
James

that was my thought too... the zebras i have are lazy and they like to float arround lounging in the anacharis rather than wswimming and they exhibit no sign of un health... maybe i jus got a lazy bunch... also dwarf gouramis are out of budgit as we need a hardy species that doesnt require much care as well as wont be a huge loss if it dies (DG are like 10$ a peice arround me)... also i was thinging a three female bettas and a couple ADF.. i figure that wil provide lots of life and activity as well as color...
thanks for all your help!!!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

i am considering taking the danios to my tank and investing in 10 serpae tetras... would that be ok? or if not which would be better the rasboras, or the red eyes?


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

If your looking for the low maintenance concept then I would get Mountain minnows and Corys to help with potential over feeding.

How about some kuhli loaches? They'd be a little less expensive than panda cories and probably easier to take care of. A bottom feeding fish would be nice so you'd have the danios on top and something on the bottom to fill out. You might even be able to add 1 dwarf gourami on top of the kuhli loaches since the kuhlis don't add much waste to the tank.

i have yet to see a khuli loach or a WCMM in the LFS arround here...

i would have considered those, but they just arent an option unless i find them somewhere...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

He needs to pick a species he finds attractive. Buy six or less then resist the temptation to add anything. (I don't mean 6 gouramis)

That tank is too small to set up with a bit o' this and that.

A tank that size you have to do the research, commit to your decision and not mess around.

Good luck



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

got it.. thanks wish-ga... the zebra danios he likes... maybe i will take 3 of them and add 3 gold and 3 blue danios... for a goo aesthetic mix.. then maybe a ADF or two and some shrimp...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

You could try asking your LFS to order some fish for you. The PetCo that I work at carries kuhli loaches so mostly likely they could order them. Your LFS should be happy to order something if they know its going to sell right away. Also, be careful mixing african dwarf frogs and shrimp. In doing a bit of reading, sometimes the shrimp can actually harm the frogs.

$10 a pair? what's $10 of anyones money?! Dwarf gouramis i would consider hardy fish, they certainly don't require any specialised requirments..

sorry mex, but i try not to spend more than 4$ on a specific fish... unless i know it is going to last forever or nearly... the only fish i have bought over that is my large oscar who was 40$... and i SAVED up for it.. and being a teenager and a student i dont have ajob to fund all the time so i gotta rely on the parents.. they dont get super happy when i buy a bunch or aquarium stuff...

so right now i am gonna ask my LFS if they can order khulis i will buy 2 for my dad and 3 for me...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

surely 5 kuhli loaches cost roughly ten dollars? or more?! i dont get it

well if i was to buy 5 khuli loaches it would be an investment on my part. i usually try not to buy too many fish at oce and also try not to spend much on them. but if it something i have my hear set on i find a way to get to it within reason. it would be like saving money for them but i probaly wont do thins for a while because right now i have things to work out with my tanks... need heaters, a test kit, a new filter, and many other things.i was gonna buy a few of those fish on sale and add them to a tank with everything it needs, but now i am gona order some fish and wait to pay for them until i can afford it and have everything ready for them. it is mostly that i am trying to save for these other things first, but i wanted to treat my dad to something so i was wondering about those above fish.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Don't worry about it Brandeeno..... Sometimes we all forget what it was like to be young, with no steady income. (Or credit cards!!!)
Buy what you can when you can, and improvise in the meantime. The most resourceful and inventive times in my life have been when I have had little or next to nothing.
It's very nice that you are setting up a tank for your Dad. I would love it if some day my Sons did that for me.
Cheers,
Dan

55G -5x Bosemani, 3x Emerald Cory,3x Red Rainbow, 3x Turquoise Rainbow. 20G-Empty. 10G -4x Danio 3x Cory Fry 1 Gold Mystery Snail. 10G- 1x CAE, 2x Tetra 1x ADF

Thanks FIshsage.... glad someone understands what it was ;like ...

as for me i knew my dad loves fish and well i knew it was time to set him up a tank as he is always funding my 5 tanks...

jope one of your kids do it for you sometime soon!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"