Tropical Fish Forums

[mantella]

Hello, as the title says I have two ten gallon tanks, and, when I move from the dorms to a house in September, I want to set them up.

Tank 1:

I decided I wanted to do something South East Asian. Kind of a sandy bottom with round rocks and pebbles, and cryptocorynes scattered throughout. In one tank I was thinking a school of about 5-6 small rasboras with a centerpiece fish like a pair of Licorice Gourami. Is this feasible in a 10 gallon tank or would I be pushing the stocking capabilities?

Tank 2:
I don't necessarily know if I want to even set up a second tank, but if I were to I would want to keep a single RTBS. Would this be possible?
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John Hancock

[diademhill]

The first is possible but no room for error.

The second -No!

[Danikins]

I think max size for an RTBS is like 6", which is way too big imo for a 10 gallon.

One setup for a 10 gallon I like is a betta, an African dwarf frog or 2 and maybe a couple of otos.
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In the beginning, the Universe was created. This made a lot of people angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

[mantella]

OK, I debated a little and changed my plan a good deal. It could prove difficult to provide the proper water conditions for the licorice gourami, plus the bio load seems to be a tad heavy.

3 options (all weighed evenly):
1. a trio of dwarf cichlids (Apistogramma trifasciata would be ideal) with a single oto (or some small invertebrate algae eater). I feel like the oto would be lonely in this situation.

2. 5-6 Dwarf Pencilfish with some, probably invertebrate, algae eater (unless the pencilfish are algae eaters in their own right).

3. 5-6 Checkered Barbs and either a sincere hope that they will help me clean the tank or an invertebrate algae eater.

Which is easiest to maintain (I am a student), cheapest to set up, and most beneficial to the well being of the fish. Also, it would be a real joy if the fish bred easily.
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John Hancock

[mantella]

Quick Question:
What is a filter that create only a little water turbulence? I'm only really familiar with HOB filter most of which cause quite a bit of turbulence.

Also, I asked the same question as I did above on another forum and got a reply saying 8 Dwarf Pencilfish and 6 Cherry Shrimp. Does this sound good to you guys? If not what would be a better set up.
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John Hancock

[diademhill]

Whatt is your tapwater like?

TBH if you want to breed fish in a 10g I would get a trio of shelldwellers.

[mantella]

Well since I don't know where I'm gonna be living next year (college student presently in dorms) I have no idea what my tap will be like. I expect it to be roughly basic because from my experience that is what tap tends to be. I realize Pencilfish like low hardness (below 10 at the very least) and acidic water (6.5 would do the trick I think). My plan is either to lace the substrate with peat, or the filter with peat, or both. I really don't mind tannins. In fact, I'm going for a plant-less tank with a dark, fine grain substrate, a butt-load of wood, and Amazon Frogbit. Kinda want to get as close to a real biotope as possible. I will do anything short of buying artificial pH and hardness modifiers to get the water conditions right. Will the peat not do enough alone?

I find shell-dwellers immensely interesting. That's a really good suggestion I hadn't of thought of before. When I find out what my tap will be like I can choose the more appropriate setup.
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John Hancock

[Dolphin Dip]

[mantella]

Yeah. Shelldwellers are prime. Just to be safe I wrote out two plans.

10 Gallon Pencilfish Tank

Fauna:
8 Nannostomus Marginatus
6 Cherry Shrimp

Flora:
Amazon Frogbit

Substrate:
Dark Sand/Peat

Water Conditions:
pH: 6.5
Hardness: Below 10
Temp: 25
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John Hancock

[mantella]

How about

Nannostomus maginatus:
ADA AP-1
Frozen BBS
Cyclops?
Daphina?

Shelldweller sp.:
Hikari Cichlid Gold
Frozen BBS
(Foods needed here?)

How do you acquire/breed Cyclops or Daphina? I have no idea what they really are. I have just seen them talked about.
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John Hancock