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I'm starting a new tank. It'll be 10 gallons, and I plan to have 2 or 3 ottos, a pair of guppies, a pair of bettas, and possibly some gourami. I also want to have some dwarf cichlids. What types are there that are common, easy to keep, and good community fish? Fish like cichlids are rare in these parts.

P. S. I would like easy to keep cichlids, and I am going to try live plants.

Your current stock list wont work out for a couple of reasons:
A pair of bettas probubly isnt good to put into a 10g permenently as they may and will get violent twords each other. If they choose to mate the male will kill anything it sees as a threat. Another thing that worries me is your guppies. They are best kept as one male to two females and will easily fill a 10g once they multiply. Gourmis may be too big for a 10g, and if you plan on breeding them, its the same thing with the bettas. Also bettas may attack your guppies or gourmi due to thier finnage.

I think if your wanting to breed and you want a 10g community tank you could try this:

3x Ottos
3x Guppies (1 M 2 F)
1x Small Centerpiece fish.

Inky

You really have to make the choice between community fish and cichlids in a tank of that size. If this is your first tank I would reccomend starting with a community, as cichlids can be more challenging. If you do choose to go with a community Inklings stocking list would be great. If you are going to go with cichlids I would reccomend a pair a dwarf cichlids. Bolivian rams would be best. Also, are you going to keep live plants in this tank? By the way I wouldn't get ottos unless you have an algae problem. Good luck.

About the bettas: I've had good experiences keeping guppies with the males, and I've had good experiences with ottos. I've read that the calmer cichlids can be good community fish, and I originally wasn't planning on getting gourami... Happy fishkeeping!

Well it is up to yourself if you put the betta in with the guppies, its good to try something a little different, I have defied some fish laws myself hahaha. But still keep an eye out for any fin damage to the guppies fins. Ottos are great, but hold off until you get a bit of algae in the tank then get 2. In terms of a cichlid, I would go with one male Blue Ram. The Bolivian rams get to be a little bigger and even one would be a bit big for a 10 gallon , just b/c they do a lot more swimming then the BLue Rams. A male Blue ram will only get around 2.5-3" and will be ok with live plants. But yet agian you can try the Bolivian rams, but only go with one though.

I am nottrying to be mean, but there is a big difference between breeding bettas and breeding guppies. A Pair of Bettas will never work in a community tank.

Inky

That is true, if you were set on a betta why dont you get one or two females, or just one male. Ig you had a pair the male would most likely kill the female.

It sounds like you're pretty much set on what you want. We're only trying to help by giving advice and suggestions from our own personal experience and knowledge.

As far as the cichlids see what types are available at lfs in your area, let us know, and then we can help you.

If you're willing to pay for shipping-which can get quite high unfortunately-there are many types available online.

Good luck

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

pH is 7.4, so I don't think rams would work.

It seems like you're trying to put too many fish in a small tank. Fish that shouldn't go together.

A 10g is a small tank. Stocking is limited. If you want to mix the community fish with cichlids I suggest:

5 guppies (2m/3f)
1 bolivian ram
2 ottos

or

3 guppies (1m/2f)
1 male betta
1 bolivian ram
2 ottos

or skip the guppies and go with:

1 male betta
6 harlequin rasboras
1 bolivian ram
2 ottos

The pH range for Bolivian rams is 6.8-7.6, so one would work. They get to be about 3 inches, maybe a little smaller.


*Kristin*

Hi Wfish, since you answered my last post about what to put in with a Betta. I see your having a delema too About dwarf chiclids, well a couple of months ago I got 2 Bolivian Rams. I like the brighter colour of Blue German Rams and they're smaller, but harder to keep. So I chose these guys and they are my FAVORITE fish. They are so comical to watch and seem almost cartoonish they way they swim and interact with each other. My PH is 8 by the way, but they are from a local breeder here and are supposed to be accostomed to this high PH in our area. But I wouldn't put them in only a 10 gallon, they need more room for sure! Hey just start yet another BIGGER tank.

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

The bolivian Ram and guppies w/ bettas and ottos seems to be the best suggestion that I've gotten yet... ever since I found out about Bolivian Rams, I have wanted to get at least 1 for my new community tank that I'm setting up.

Yep, definitely a Bolivian Ram.

I guess I'll get 3 guppies, a pair of rams, ottos and a male betta. I figure that'll work good and it'll provide a nice range of color.

Just out of question, what about a shell dweller? I have seen some online, and some locally, too. What are their requirements, and what are some websites that offer help on their care? Any help would be great!

Shell dwellers are little cichlids that live in shells.

Shell dwellers would be great for your tank.

Here's a good website about their requirements: click

Here is a link to their article on the basics.

Also, PM Theresa_M. She keeps a few different types of shellies and is very knowledgeable about them.

That website will tell you all about them. They like a higher pH, like alot of cichlids. They need a sand or crushed coral substrate. The site will go into more detail. Make sure you look at all the articles.

*Kristin*

You could definitely keep shellies in a 10g. Being Tangs they need hard, alkaline water.

In a 10g you could have a pair of brevis or start a colony of multies.

Brevis like a sand substrate and you could start with a minimum of 2-3 shells each, although having more is nice for fry once they start to breed. Being a bit larger (for shellies) I provide mine with shells like these.

Multies do not like substrate. Any good-sized amount of it will be moved out of their way. The like a lot of shells...I have ~50 of these in my 10g multi tank. You could start with 5-6 fish.

I had fry from my brevis pair 1 month after buying them, and 2 months afer getting my first multies. My brevis have given me so many fry that I had to start a new 10g just for their fry.

This first pic is my brevis tank, which is a 5g:



And this is my 10g multi tank:



If you have any other questions feel free to ask or pm me

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Rams are one of my favorite cichlids I've seen. They have such a personality, and I think that all the fish in my tank would interact well. My current setup plan includes:

2 rams
2 female guppies
1 male cobra or snakeskin guppy
2 ottos
1-2 female bettas

Please tell me what snakeskin and cobra guppies look like, and some good breeders to get them from.

I responded to your post in Livebearers Lane with a link to a site with many fancy guppy photos.

You'd most likely lose any guppy fry to the rams and/or bettas.

I'd also be concerned about keeping more than 1 female betta. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Well, I just set up my 10g, starting with the guppies. They are running all over, chasing each other, etc. Anyway at Petco they have blue rams, how do I keep these?
I know what they are, that they are more sensetive, etc. But what does more sensetive mean?
Anyway I am so excited!!!!