Fish that fit in 10g tank

So after I have been so warm welcomed and encouraged to ask away...AND couldn't find any detailed information about it in any topic here I dare now to ask:
What and how many fish can I put in a 10g tank?
My online research did not give me a clear answer, more like mixed information, the opinions on this vary.
I searched tons of profiles of fish I would like and considering my tab water being on the hard side with a high PH I narrowed it to the following candidates:
3 ghost shrimps (for the clean up)
5 to 7 Endlers OR cardinal tetras OR silver tip tetras
I would love 2 powder blue gouramis but not sure if that would be to much maybe?
Hubby wants a beta (instead of the two guramis) but I read that a beta doesnt get along with endlers or shrimp.

Thanks for your opinions

Tashina wrote:What and how many fish can I put in a 10g tank?

In general, after you have completed the cycling you can start with a few hardy fish. This will help get the nitrogen system ramped up and settled. At least you will not be looking at an empty tank.

I like to put some live plants in during the cycling and of course gravel. However since you are starting fresh, you will need to take the time unless there is a LFS that you can get some plants from. Try java moss; it is cheap and a good nitrogen starter. If you need you can order some plants from The Plant Guy, he is in Winnipeg and the shipping will be fast. Many aquarists do not stock until at least a couple of weeks have gone by. If you have some seed material, like old filter material, plants, gravel, even the algae from an established tank, that will get you started a lot quicker.

There is a guideline, like one inch of fish per gallon, for small fish. Though this is controversial it is at least a starting point. Take it slow with only a few fish until your aquarium is settled. I would start with the Endlers since they are cheap and are active and will entertain you. Shrimp may be too finicky and are sensitive to nitrogen more so than the Endlers. OK, why not a couple of Endlers and a male Betta to start ? A few tetras (like three or four) would be a good choice. Again, limit the a few fish until after the tank settles in. The main reason why new aquarists tanks end in failure is overstocking an uncycled tank.

As to which fish that is a personal choice. These fish will be in your care for a long time, so take care in the selection since all life is precious.

Thank you Alex, I know I have some time but I like to have a detailed plan in place lol.
I dont know any Aquarium people here and the next pet store isnt really safe I think. I think I'm better off to go fish shopping in Winnipeg (1 hour drive ) when my "toddler tank" is ready

Try a betta with a few endlers. This should not be an issue, unless you would like to raise endler fry. The Betta will usually keep the population in check otherwise. Of course, stock lightly and add a few fish at a time.

Trying out plants may seem like an endeavor, but it is a very enriching part of keeping tanks!

A betta would be a happy camper in a 10g, for sure! I cannot comment on tankmates for betta fish as I have always kept them 'solo' in tanks, but I know many members here have successfully kept a betta with other finned babies. I also think a couple of live plants would be fun to try out. Looking forward to seeing what you decide on for water babies

If you want a powder blue gourami, take only 1 as they are territorial towards each other. These dwarf gouramis have been heavily inbred and it is hard to find good stock.

If endlers are like guppies I wouldn't mix them with a long finned betta as they are nippy. I keep my guppies with a plakat and that goes well.

Hi there! Guess what? I found out i have MTS. but a new strain....
Multi TESTING syndrome !!! I love to test the water and could test every hour!

So it is now day 13 of cycling and my bacteria started showing on my tests on day 7. YAY me!!!

Sigh I also have something to grin about for you experienced Aquarianers: I just found out yesterday that I read the ammonia results wrong I was supposed to have an ammonia level of 4ppm and I took the reading of 0.4 for a reading of 4.0 ppm. So I had way little ammonia in my tank but it seemed to work anyway?

3 days ago I had a reading of Nitrite:10 and nitrate: 200 (ph was 8.5) and I did a 50% wc as recommended on a fishless cycling instrucion.
For the last two days my readings are
Temp: 82
PH: 7.8ish (was up to 9ish for the first 8 days)
Ammo: 3.0 after adding, 0 within 20 hours
Nitrite:10
Nitrate: 30ish
Should I wait longer or do a wc again to get the nitrites down a bit? I read that this is stage 2 and you have to wait for the nitrate bacteria to grow which takes a bit longer?

Oh and one more thing: Im still checking out what fish would be happy in my tank and water and..... there are many times totally different opinions on what water parameters are best for what fish.
Not just once was a fish recommended for a PH range lets say between 6.5 and 7.0 and on another site it was between 6.5 and 8.0!!!! Im confused now, why do I do all the research when I get mixed information and all I can do is to pick what might be right??? To bad I cant ask the fish, sigh.

Hello!
Ph is only really important if you are trying to breed the fish.
As long as your parameters are stable, you don't need to worry about this.

I have done a fishless cycle as well and from what I understood, I did not need to do any water changes, unless I had put too much ammonia.

If in 24 hours your ammonia converts to nitrates completely, you are safe.
That means, you dose 3ppm ammonia, and 24 hours later you have nothing but nitrates.

I have a 10 gallon tank myself as well, and I think that the next fish I am going to put in it is a dwarf puffer.

Day 13 ! Congratulations. Most of my tanks are 10 gallons. As you know I am a breeder of wild livebearers so all my fish are under 2 inches. Needless to say I am partial.

In general if you can find the fish at a local fish store, it will be just fine in your pH range. As l_l_l says above, no need to be concerned unless you are breeding them. As well many of these fish are from large scale farms, so they are not finicky.

As well, the research is variable as sources on the internet are not always reliable, especially in forums where most posters just parrot what they read, spread more misinformation. I rely on personal experience or what others have actually achieved more often than what others are posting (with no experience).

I would wait for the nitrate to go down a bit. But then again, many people will offer successful experiences. For myself I have no problem with putting fish in after two weeks, but it is taking chances, and then again, these are not large fish and never in large numbers.

Sounds like things are moving forward nicely, for sure

Our ph is fairly high, around 7.5-ish. I have honestly never picked fish based on ph levels, nor have I ever worried about ph; the big ones for me are ammonia and nitrites.

Have you narrowed down your choices for fish yet? It is so fun to start up a new aquarium! Our first was a 10g, and I can at least say that black skirt tetras are not a good choice for a 10g (they truly need a big group and lots of space! That was our first lesson in fish keeping!).

Keep us posted - looking forward to reading more about your journey!

I made it!!!!
It is alive!!! My tank I mean! 4ppm Ammonia got digested within 12 hours to zero Ammonia and zero Nitrite. Hopefully I can make it to Winnipeg tomorrow to get my first fish!
I really fell in love with Celestial Pearl Danios. According to what I found about them they would do well in my tank and the water conditions I have. I just hope I can find a fish store here that has them. Thank you all for your friendly support and I hope I can share some pictures soon!!!

Those Celestial Pearl Danios are cute, they need lots of plants if I remember it correctly. Maybe you want to call the stores to see if they have them, and safe yourself the trip if they don't. Some LFS might even order them for you.

Yes I was thinking of making some calls. Tomorrow its a family trip and I need a few things from the LFS anyway and there is one close to the mall we go so we just go in and look. If they dont have any then its time for a few phone calls and sigh... driving downtown too.

Tashina wrote:I made it!!!!
It is alive!!! My tank I mean! 4ppm Ammonia got digested within 12 hours to zero Ammonia and zero Nitrite. Hopefully I can make it to Winnipeg tomorrow to get my first fish!

Congratulations Tashina !!! We are all cheering for you ! Best of luck on the fish hunt !

I have a few fish that would fit in a 10g tank, they wouldn't be able to turn around but they would fit.

Good luck with your new tank.

Steve

Steve, that would make it easy to look at them wouldnt it, I mean they wouldnt hide eh?

Its been a month since I started the 10g journey and I think im settled Thank you all for your advise and interest
I got 4 "leftover" Zebra Danios as first inhabitants after my cycle was completed. Praised as hardy beginner fish I thought it is worth a try and I knew my LFS would take and re-home them if needed. At that time I still wasn't sure what I wanted as I wasn't able to find any CPD's here. Those zebras are nice looking and interesting fish and they did a great job with keeping my bacteria alive,  but as you certainly knew and I certainly do now too they are way to "wild" for the small space (AND my taste).
So after watching them 5 days I came to that conclusion and brought them to my LFS. To replace them I took 6  Glowlight tetras and 5 ghost shrimp home. I had no problems except with one little glowlight who kept separating himself from the group. Sadly, two days later I found him dead. All the others were fine so was the water. Because I was planing on a group of 8 Glowy's we went and got the one replaced plus two more.
Last edition recently was the Betta (with great difficulties caught on camera for my profile pic as he seems to be very camera shy), already better known as “Grumpy Sam”!
I would post more pics but I have to figure out how to do that first

Tashina wrote:Its been a month since I started the 10g journey and I think im settled Thank you all for your advise and interest
I got 4 "leftover" Zebra Danios as first inhabitants after my cycle was completed. Praised as hardy beginner fish I thought it is worth a try and I knew my LFS would take and re-home them if needed. At that time I still wasn't sure what I wanted as I wasn't able to find any CPD's here. Those zebras are nice looking and interesting fish and they did a great job with keeping my bacteria alive,  but as you certainly knew and I certainly do now too they are way to "wild" for the small space (AND my taste).
So after watching them 5 days I came to that conclusion and brought them to my LFS. To replace them I took 6  Glowlight tetras and 5 ghost shrimp home. I had no problems except with one little glowlight who kept separating himself from the group. Sadly, two days later I found him dead. All the others were fine so was the water. Because I was planing on a group of 8 Glowy's we went and got the one replaced plus two more.
Last edition recently was the Betta (with great difficulties caught on camera for my profile pic as he seems to be very camera shy), already better known as “Grumpy Sam”!
I would post more pics but I have to figure out how to do that first

Here you go Tashina (https://www.canadaquaria.ca/t291-how-to-post-a-pic), this should help you figure out our system for pictures. Then you can share your new glowlight tetra, shrimp, and "Sam".

#NewFish #Tetra #Shrimp #Betta

Thank you Indie
And the best: I did it
Oh and I became a shrimp how sweet and goes side by side with my tank progress

Yay! Added a LIKE to your tally as well! Congratulations

Biulu wrote:If you want a powder blue gourami, take only 1 as they are territorial towards each other. These dwarf gouramis have been heavily inbred and it is hard to find good stock.

Do you know if the Cobalt Blue Variety is a Honey Dwarf or just a less hardy Dwarf?
In any case I wouldn't want a dyed dwarf Sunset Blue Gourami.

Cobalt blue and powder blue are different names for the same fish: a blue dwarf gourami.

I have only seen dyed gouramis once and this was in China so don't worry.