10 Gallon Stocking Questions...please help

I've gotta say... there are a number of problems with this stocking...

1. Betta + Zebra Danios. Bettas pretty warmer waters and Danios cooler. I don't think either would be fully happy with any temp you had. Danios are also a bit fast and nippy for a slow moving, long finned Betta. Oh and Danios prefer larger groups than 3.

2. Betta + Bamboo Shrimp. Bamboo shrimp really need a good amount of current to filter feed effectively where as Bettas do not like a strong current. I also don't think a Bamboo Shrimp will get enough food from the water in a tank that's only 10 gallons.

3. Chinese Algae Eater - Danger. This sucker will get big and mean. Not a very effective algae eater at all in the long run and is a tank buster for a 10 gallon. Otos or snails would be a much better option. In the absence of Otos I'd go with some form of snail for the glass and maybe some amano shrimp for the plants if you can find em.

There are a number of fish you Can put with Bettas, but a little research and caution is advised. In terms of commonly available fish, Neons can make a colorful complement to Bettas. Various smaller Rasbora and Pygmy Cories are nice schoolers to go with them as well.

I too would recommend trying Aqadvisor. Good site to help you with stocking.

StygianSteel said:

I've gotta say... there are a number of problems with this stocking...

1. Betta + Zebra Danios. Bettas pretty warmer waters and Danios cooler. I don't think either would be fully happy with any temp you had. Danios are also a bit fast and nippy for a slow moving, long finned Betta. Oh and Danios prefer larger groups than 3.

2. Betta + Bamboo Shrimp. Bamboo shrimp really need a good amount of current to filter feed effectively where as Bettas do not like a strong current. I also don't think a Bamboo Shrimp will get enough food from the water in a tank that's only 10 gallons.

3. Chinese Algae Eater - Danger. This sucker will get big and mean. Not a very effective algae eater at all in the long run and is a tank buster for a 10 gallon. Otos or snails would be a much better option. In the absence of Otos I'd go with some form of snail for the glass and maybe some amano shrimp for the plants if you can find em.

There are a number of fish you Can put with Bettas, but a little research and caution is advised. In terms of commonly available fish, Neons can make a colorful complement to Bettas. Various smaller Rasbora and Pygmy Cories are nice schoolers to go with them as well.

I too would recommend trying Aqadvisor. Good site to help you with stocking.

Click to expand...

I agree fully, except with stocking levels. According to AQadvisor, both of my tanks are at 150% levels. They are both happy healthy tanks.

My questions would be, how planted is the tank going to be? A heavy planted tank can support more stock.

how aggressive is your Betta? Some bettas will be fine with tank mates, others get stressed, and get violent.


Larger fish tend to look out of place in a smaller aquarium, my 10 gal is stocked with quite a few species that range from tiny, to small.
My stock in the 10 includes
10 cross banded Danio's
8 Chili Rasbora
4 White Cloud Mountain Minnow
3 horned nerite snails
1 bumble bee nerite snail
2 Dario Dario (only will eat live or frozen foods very fussy)

my tank is a Jungle though lol, the first 1/3 of the tank consists of nothing but Crypt. Parva, and dwarf hair grass. The rest of the tank is stems and a small piece of driftwood. The fish hang out in the front most of the day, darting in and out of the plants. Evening the chili rasboras dissapear into the plants, while the white clouds and half of the cross banded rasboras continue to play. My Betta likes to attempt to chase the cross banded's but its like watching a school buss trying to catch a top fuel dragster lol

best recontamination is to add slowly, and check nitrates while stocking the tank. They give you a good idea of how far you are going with your stocking. My Nitrates rarely ever go above 10

Awesome thanks you guys. Thanks what I was thinking too. I haven't noticed any fin nipping from the Danios YET but I do know it could happen. I'd like to get some neons but the ones at my local store don't look too healthy. I don't have that much of an algae problem anymore so I definitely think I'll be returning the CAE. The Bamboo Shrimp doesn't add anything to the aquarium so he will be returned also when I get the chance.

I feel bad sending them back but I need to do what works.

My betta hasn't shown any signs of aggression but that could be because the danios are too quick for him. He didn't bother the bamboo shrimp when they were near eachother. He was curious at first about the CAE but has since left him alone.

My tank is lightly/moderately planted. I have an Amazon Sword (I know they get large) in the back right corner. The back left has some crypts although one has succumbed to crypt rot...I was expecting that would happen though. I have some Java Moss on a column decoration (attached with fishing line for now). I'm also trying out a small patch of Micro Sword. Depending on how it looks/thrives I may not go with it. It also depends on if/when I upgrade my substrate (still planning that addition). I also have a Marimo ball (algae ball) and another plant (i forgot the name of it...maybe nano amazon sword) but it lookes like a small version of the amazon sword with more densely compacted but smaller leaves.

I knew I shouldn't have let the guy at PetCo talk me into the CAE :/

I was trying some different things on AQAdvisor earlier today. That does seem like a very helpful tool.

Any suggestions on stock though other than Neons?

I'm thinking of returning everything and just sticking with a lone Betta for now. It'll give me some more time to do the extra research

Stocking with a Betta can be tricky because a lot depends on the Betta. Mostly in community tanks you actually have to worry about the Betta getting picked on, I had Betta in my 30g with lots of nano-fish and recently had to set him up his own 5g because his fins got nibbled away. Luckily he's still in good health.

I think it's definitely a good idea to bring back the bamboo shrimp and the CAE, bamboo shrimp are really cool, but they're hard to keep and really need a larger, well established tank to get enough food without needing to supplement. I had a bamboo shrimp in my 30g for a while....until he jumped ship

As for other fish you could stock with the Betta in 10g, neons are definitely a good option, but if you think the ones at PetCo don't look healthy, a few smallish fish off the top of my head are Harlequin Rasboras and White Cloud Mountain Minnows. But I don't know whether either of those tend to be nippy. I used to have Neons and Glowlight tetras in my 20g with a betta and no fin nipping issues, so you might looking into glowlight tetras too (similar to neons but with just a red stripe and bright red dot near their eyes). If you continue not to have fin nipping issues, you could contemplate adding more zebra danios (or the leopard variety). DON'T get male fancy guppies, in my experience, bettas can be very aggressive towards them, I think they see the large flowy tail and think it's another betta or something. You might consider male endlers livebearers though. Definitely let others chime in too though, because I don't have a ton of experience keeping male bettas in community tanks, I do know that my betta didn't work in the 30g with Ember tetras, celestial pearl danios, chili rasboras (boraras briggitae) and pygmy cories. I don't know who was doing in the fin nipping though. I've actually heard (i think) that CPDs can be kept with Bettas without issue so you could look into those too.

Again, I'd let others chime in with their experiences, but a few potential options other than neons would be Glowlight Tetras, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Harlequin Rasboras or maybe Celestial Pearl Danios (CPDs).

Yeah tinker I think it all depends on the Betta's personality. I'm going to take a trip over to the LPS (and PetCo which surprisingly has a better stock) to see if either has any B. briggate.

This is of course not set in stone but how does a stock like this sound?
1 Male Betta
10 Chili Rasbora
10 Ghost Shrimp (or RCS)

AqAdvisor has this stocking level at

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 120%.
Recommended water change schedule: 30% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 101%

This is a general picture of my aquarium (for planted level purposes)

I'm sorry to report but the Crypts behind the columns have disintegrated. I was half expecting this though. Everything else pretty much looks the same. The Amazon Sword is still growing nicely I may have to do another pruning soon