# New 10 gallon tank setup...need advice.



## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Hello!

I'm going to set up a 10 gallon tank very soon for my nephew (of course I'll be the one taking care of the fish and their needs). So I ask him what he wants...and he wants fish that looks like sharks...*sigh* Later he choose those new glow fish...but he still goes back and forth with the sharks. Oh! and he wants a betta = p...but I won't get one...the water surface will have movements because of a volcano that throws bubbles to the surface.

I know those type of "shark" fish need more than a 10 gallon tank. I still haven't asked if he likes guppies, but I don't want guppies. They are too fragile. :-?

I want to add 10 or more fish if they are small enough, but if that is not possible, then 10 or 6-5 fish. And maybe some blue shrimps (his favorite color is blue)

I still don't know if I should go with live plants or fake plants. My nephew likes my live plants on my betta tank, but he also likes cool fake plants. Aaaaand, I kinda don't want to buy live plants because it will just be too much work already for me alone. Plus I'm the one who's going to buy all of this. :shock:

Can I use the usual normal light with the normal top hood *in case* I add one or two low light live plants? He likes my marimo moss ball.

Please, please, pleaaseee give me advice and suggestions. :question:

I'm doing everything slowly. So far I only bought the filter. (Fluval AquaClear 20 filter) and I'm comparing prices for a 10 gallon single tank and the hood and light between walmart, petco, and petsmart.


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## Animal Lover37 (Sep 14, 2012)

Walmart has the cheapest starter kit for ten gallon unless you keep your eye on petsmart cause right now I think they have the topfin starter kit for $25 which is the better brand compared to what walmart has (I have a walmart tank and it works great but I wish I could get the top fin one but I don't need an other starter kit). If you do get the starter kit you can return the filter or use it on an other plain tank. 

As for lighting my normal hood light works fine with java moss so I don't see a problem there. Now as for the shark type fish you can get bala sharks but keep in mind they are aggressive fish so don't mix them with glofish or guppies and such. And the general rule for how many fish you can put in a tank is for every 1 inch of fish you need 1 gallon. 

Now if you do get glofish they are schooling fish so you need three or more of those for them to be happy. But as far as other fish he seems indecisive so I would recommend taking him to petsmart or where you will by the fish and have him pick which ones he likes and maybe explain which ones can go together and which ones don't and then go from there for a lot of the tank questions like decorations and plants and water type stuff all really depend on what fish you end up getting .

I hope this helped a bit I remember getting my first tank and I wanted to put every fish I saw in it but I taught my self to restrain lol


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I asked my nephew today what fish he wants and he tells me now with big eyes that he wants globefish XD. I asked him many times if he wants other types of fish in case I couldn't get the glofish...but he still only wants glofish.

So I've seen in petco 2 types of glofish: the danio glofish and the tetra glofish.

There are only 2-3 glofish created...right?

I want to keep the filter I bought ...I kinda don't trust the ones that comes as a tank kit.

So...is it ok and not overpopulated if I add:

6 fish of glofish (either 6 of danios, 6 tetras, or both mixed)
1 nerite snail
6 cherry or blue shrimps


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## Animal Lover37 (Sep 14, 2012)

oh no you should be fine! if anything if you do go with the tetra glofish they might eat the shrimp. i used to feed mine ghost shrimp  the shrimp will walk all along the bottom, the danios and tetras are top water level swimmers and the snail will be all over the place so there should be enough room for them to be quite happy 

and ya i know what you mean about the filter mine has worked just fine for me but my brothers who has the same model shuts off every now and then which is scary. it was just a consideration.

For the Danio glo fish i belive they actually have 5 colors they have blue, purple, pink, green and orange but as far as the tetras go i think they are still developing the other two colors but i know they have pink green and blue. (sadly i havent bought any recently :/ so i dont know if they have all colors yet)

if you are going with the glo fish i would invest in the black lights and the neon decorations and it would make the tank look a whole lot cooler lol i wish i had done it when i had glo fish. so maybe something else to look into


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I took my nephew to petco yesterday and he went craaazily excited when he saw the place! 
His final decision in fish are the glofish TETRA...so that means NO SHRIMPS inside that tank. :-/.

I finally got the tank and added water, filter and it came with a heater, too.
But I always forget this one step...should I add the conditioner drops and the bacteria drops before or after adding the filter? I have the filter running right now... should I turn out off? Or is it safe to add the drops right now with the filter running?


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

What other fish can I add there besides 1 or 2 nerite snails? Can I add cories? Or just the glofish?


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

You could add a Honey Dwarf or Honey Sunset (differently labeled at Petco) as a centerpiece fish. They're both peaceful and probably won't mess with anything. You could do a single Blue Ram, but probably not a good idea for a new tank. Also, don't put Danio Glowfish in there because 1. They have a tendency to make other fish nervous 2. They swim too much for a 10 gallon. Your stock could probably look something like this 1 Dwarf Gourami, 6 Tetra Glowfish, and either 8 Pygmy Cories or 4 Peppered Cories.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Not to worry. My nephew went crazy with the glofish tetras. = )

Pygmy cories looks so much cuter than Peperred cories...but it all depends if petsmart or petco have them. o_o

Dwarf Gourami are beautiful! I've seen more of the blue/red/green mix ones than the orange one...but don't they grow big?


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

Dwarf Gouramis reach a max of only 3 inches, but usually stay around 2. The more common Gouramis that I think you've seen are the more aggressive, larger type. They look more longer than Dwarfs, and come in 3 Spot Blue, Opaline, Gold, Silver and Pearl.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Really? I hope I can find a dwarf gourami at petco or petsmart...they are so pretty to watch.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

So what are you planning as your stock?

The glofish tetras get much to large for a ten gallon.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I looked at petsmart yesterday and none of the fish recommended to me are available there. I'll have to look again at petco. (I'm referring to the cories and the dwarf gourami).

I would like to have different species of fish for my nephew's tank...as long as 10 gallons is OK for them. My nephew likes the idea of having a blue fish in his tank. His favorite color is blue, but he says he's liking orange. :lol:

Right now the tank looks cloudy because of the bacteria liquid and the conditioner I added last thursday or friday.


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

Wow, Petsmart doesn't have Dwarf Gouramis or Cories? That is VERY unusual! You've locked yourself out of a Betta though because GlowTetras nip fins. Cories and Dwarf Gouramis are VERY popular, Petco for sure should have at least one of them! Tankman12 is right, a lot of the Glowfish sold, including the Tetra variety, would definitely benefit from a bigger tank, but the GlowTetras will do better than the Danios would.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Don't worry. I wont get a betta for this tank. I wish I could have wrotten the name of the cories I saw...but they didn't look alot like the ones recommended here. The gouramis I saw were a mix of red and yellow if I'm not mistaken and another gourami had silver colors. I'll see if I can go to petco after work.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Also you probably wont find dwarf cories at petco or petsmart and regular cories get to large... 

The dwarfs you saw were probably the honey color morph (a lot of gouramis named honeys).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I saw dwarf gouramis et petco!! = D

But no dwarf cories...

What other type of cories in group I can get for the 10 gallon tank?

I want to get a fish that can help clean the bottom.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

There isnt really any other type that is meant to be in a 10 gallon. Maybe do some ghost and/or whisker shrimps instead.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

I personally think that Panda Cories would work in a 10, but given tankman12 has more experience with them, I'll stand down. Amano Shrimp could also work, Ghost Shrimp would work (but have a habit of dying!). I'm not exactly sure, but Bamboo Shrimp are VERY interesting, I don't think they get too big for a 10, but don't take my word on it!


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

The thing with pandas is this, males do stay smaller while females get around the size of juliis maybe a little larger, IME. So if you can get all males than ya pandas will work.

Bamboos are filter feeders and are actually pretty hard to keep happy and healthy(russeltheshihtzu has them and would know more than i do). Also get a little large, IMO not good. Amanos on the other hand are pretty good.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Ok. It's a bummer that they don't carry dwarf cories. I _did_ saw panda cories once at petco...but they all had the same body size...so no cories for this tank.

I got new glow in the dark fake plants and the fake volcano with the air box thing and the long tube to help blow air the tank. I'm still looking for some type of caves that's safe for the fish to hide...but all they have available are painted and I'm already worrying about a zombie ornament I first got while preparing the tank...it looks like the paint it's starting to bubble...

So...looks like my nephew's tank would have:

1 blue dwarf gourami (I only saw a light blue one with red lines)
6 glofish tetra fish
1 or 2 nerite snails 

Is it OK to add more fish? a new different specie? or just add more glofish tetra fish?


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

No bamboos fish in his tank...we both agreed they look like giant cockroach fish. = P

Can amanos survive with the tetras? Amanos are bigger than normal shrimps.


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

Haha, interesting way to look at them. Yes, Amanos will be able to co-exist with the Tetras without a problem. Usually when bought at the pet store they aren't even full grown then!


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

That's great!

How's this: 6 glo tetras, 1 dwarf gourami, 4 amano shrimps and 1 or 2 nerite snail.

Is this good for the tank? Can I add 2 tetras and reduce 2 amano shrimps? Or is the suggestion above good to fish-go?


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

That sounds like a good stock plan! I wouldn't add more tetras and subtract shrimp because the shrimp is you bottom feeder with a small bio load, so it contributes a lot. While tetras do have a small bio load, they don't do any sort of cleaning. More Tetras will also take away some of the swimming room that GlowTetras need.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Ok. tomorrow I'll do a water change and if the fish looks healthy, I'll get the first 6 glo fish tetras this friday and later the other fish.

Which is the safest way to introduce new fish to new tanks? Should I add all fish at the same time inside the tank? Or should I get the glofish first and later the gourami, nerite snail and the amano shrimps?


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I got 6 amano shrimps and 1 nerite tiger snail on thursday! They are exploring and so far looking good! = )

The amano shrimps looks so cool walking on the black gravels!

On thursday I'll get the 6 glo fish (dang, they are not cheap!!) and if they have a pretty blue dwarf gourami, i'll get one too and that's be all for this tank! (maybe add one more nerite snail...or maybe not 0.0)


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## CrazedHoosier (Mar 18, 2014)

Sorry no one has responded for the past couple of days! So far you are doing well! You should've added the shrimp and snails first, which you did, next is the Tetras. Put the Gourami in last as you have to be careful with selection, and they can also be aggressive sometimes.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

It is sort of a risk with the gourami. Cuz those tetras can be very nippy and in a 10 gallon, even more.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

*CrazedHoosier:* Don't worry! Thank you, tankman12 and Animal Lover37 for helping me out setting this tank (my nephew and I are loving it!). Hopefully I'm going to get a little cave or two tomorrow from petsmart (and hope they are not too big for the volcano and the tank) for whoever fish wants to hide or sleep in there. I'll save the gourami for last while I inspect the personalities of the future glofish tetras.

*tankman12:* I'll have to wait and see their personalities develop when I get them. And so far I'm just waiting for a pretty blue/green gourami to be available at petco. 

I just discovered a amano shrimp's old skin on the gravels! Too bad I couldn't witnessed the process...must have done it during the night. That's also one of the reason why I want to get little caves for them to hide. They become weak and vulnerable while removing their old skin, right?

Also............i'm not sure what i'm seeing is true or not...I think one of the shrimps is pregnant??? or maybe that one in particular just ate too much flakes...can someone explain me how to identify if this ir true or false alarm? 0_0


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## jennandjuicetm (May 4, 2014)

Petco can order you any fish you'd like. Or at least thats what their little card in the store says. I like them over Petsmart because of their 30 day policy.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

*jennandjuicetm:* I keep telling at petco that I want red cherry shrimps and apparently they never order them. @[email protected]


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## jennandjuicetm (May 4, 2014)

Hmm, thats weird. Maybe next time just ask them how you special order and tell then you'd like to order cherries for real haha.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

It's ok. I already got amano shrimps...and one of them IS PREGNANT!!! AAAHH!!! :shock:


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## jennandjuicetm (May 4, 2014)

I think amono fry can only survive in brackish.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I got 6 glofish tetras today!!


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