[Fishbeard]

Hi, new to the forum and relatively new to the hobby.

I've been working on a 10 gallon tank for about 2 months now, working through the process of cycling and deciding on stock. Currently it has some Guppy fry (from other tanks, doing what Guppies do) for a little less than a month now, keeping it cycled and entertaining me for the time being. Added 2 zebra nerite snails a few days ago, 1 as a permanent resident, 1 that will be moving to another tank as a gift soon. Looking to remove the guppies and move on to something less likely to breed to such extremes.

The tank currently has a sand substrate, rocks and a piece of Driftwood, and is pretty heavily planted (every day it seems the plants have filled out a lot more!). Not sure on some of the species, but just added a small crypt and some java moss. All the other ones are tall growing plants that I pulled from other projects. Still adding more plants whenever the funds are available (duckweed next?). Filtration is minimal for the moment, with a small sponge filter.

I've been doing some research, and some fish species that have caught my eye are as follows:

Sparkling/Pygmy Gouramis
Kuhli/Java Loaches
Chili Rasboras
Celestial Pearl Danios
Clown Killifish (if I can find them at LFS)

I'm pretty set on a community tank, with at least 2 species, just what appeals to me the most.

I'm open to suggestions, or combinations that might work. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[OVT]

Welcome to TPT!

Is there something specific you would like oppinions on? Otherwise, the question is pretty broad.

You are on the right track as all the fish on your list are "nano" fish, suitable for smaller tanks. The final choice comes to your personal preferences and on what's available.

Killifish are jumpers and loaches are escape artists - with them you should consider having the tank fully covered.

 

[geisterwald]

Khuli loaches do best when kept in groups of five or more, and are quite active and messy (at night anyways). They would be a little cramped in a 10 gallon (20 gallon+ is better). Everything else sounds like a good potential choice. Gouramis can be quite aggressive, I'd search around to make sure their tankmates won't get killed if you decide to go with them.

 

[Altheora]

I definitely vote Rasboras, whatever you do. They're fun fish!

Good luck deciding!

 

[Fishbeard]

Thanks for the ideas!

As for my question, I'm mostly looking for some combinations that might work. Since I'm not all that familiar with choosing species for community tanks, I'd just like some input before I go to my LFS.

Bump: So kuhli loaches are a no then?

I've read the sparklers are pretty calm generally as compared to other gouramis. Would agression be a factor if I added some small schoolers?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Suggestions: Danio tinwini (better nano fish than their cousins, the zebras, D. rerio), and Petruichthys sp. 'rosy' (rosy loaches, which are smaller than kuhli's). Just for you to look into.

The tinwini's are very good dither fish, they'll just swim all day, and are good at bringing out CPD's. Rosy loaches will school with CPD's and are endemic to the same area as CPD's. However, I've also heard that Chilli rasboras are good dithers as well.

Kuhli's are a tentative no. Some might be okay with keeping them in a 10, but I feel that they're similar to zebra danios. Both can be kept in a 10 gallon, but really, I feel that both are simply too active, and would appreciate a 20 long instead to go zipping around the tank.

Judging from the list you gave us, I'd go for the following combination of CPD's, sparkling gouramis and chilli rasboras from the list you gave us, since you're going for a community, rather than a species tank. Both the CPD's and rasboras like groups of at least 8 (I feel that most schooling species do better in groups of 8, rather than 6), and the gouramis could do with a trio, 1M:2F. Luckily, they're all nano fish, so water parameters won't be that hard to keep in line. Aggression in the tank shouldn't be a problem. The only aggression I've heard of in sparkling gouramis is with cherry shrimp and other assorted shrimp species.

Personally, I'd go for a modified biotope community, featuring tinwini's, CPD's, and rosy loaches. 8 fish each, which follows the general rules of top dwellers (danio tinwini), middle dwellers (CPD's), and bottom dwellers (rosy loaches). Again, water parameters shouldn't be too hard to keep in line since they're all nano fish. But again, no shrimp, since I'm unsure about rosy loaches and shrimp compatibility.

 

[Fishbeard]

Awesome post ichthyogeek!

Great ideas, I did a little research into those rosy loaches, they seem pretty neat! Perfect solution to the kuhli problem.

I like all the options, but do you think two groups of 8 would be overstocked? I didn't think I would be able to have more than one school in a 10 gallon... but I'd be happy to be wrong!

So would sparkling gouramis and rosy loaches get along well?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Honestly, since all the fish species listed come out at most, 1.2 inches...no. That's the best part about nano fish! They're so tiny, they don't make nearly as much of a dent into the bioload of a tank! So no, I don't think 2 groups of 8 would be too many in the 10 gallon, however, that is up to you once you see the fish and their activity levels.

I can't give you a definite yes or no about the gouramis and loaches, but I'd posit a yes.

So what's your tentative stocking list now? The gouramis, boraras, and cpd's? or...?

 

[Helmetless Stig]

I'd say a group of 6-8 glowlight tetras, and a single sparkling gourami. Maybe you could squeeze in a pair of gouramis if you over filter, but that's pushing it.

Sent from my 6045I using Tapatalk

 

[Fishbeard]

So right now here are my ideas:

I definitely want to go with the sparkling gouramis. They don't need a school or big group, so they're perfect.
I've got the 2 zebra nerites, so I think those are staying there. If that won't work I might need to find them a different home.
Sold off most of my guppies yesterday, so those are out of the picture.

While at my LFS, my girlfriend really liked the little cories, and I agree that they're awesome. After a little research, I thought maybe a few C. habrosus (salt n pepper cories) would be a good fit, with a small shoal working nicely. Any opinions on that?

Otherwise, I just need to see what is available in my area for small shoalers, since I've got so many options now to think about. I think a small shoal would make the sparklers a little less wary and bring some life to the tank.

 

[Nordic]

If you skip the gouramis you could make your corys a nice breeding colony.
I don't even miss other fish in my cory tanks, they are so playful and fun to watch, and super easy to raise.
Just hang a breeding net on the side, scrape off all eggs on some plants or leaves, sometimes I will just cut of a whole leaf if there are lots of eggs on. the bigger fry leave the small ones and eggs alone. Also the adult fish will come and suck any leftover fry food through the net, so it stays clean.

So, you need minimal invasive husbandry. I have a few baby ancistrus in my one tank, but only because it has plenty snails to help eat any leftover cucumber.

 

[Fishbeard]

That's a good idea, but I think I would want to set up a new tank with that in mind, rather than just make this one work for that purpose.

 

[SueD]

I have 4 sparkling gouramis in a 5.5g tank and really like these guys. I've had chilis with them before and just deciding now whether I want chilis again or maybe ember tetras. But the habrosus will work too and they are really cute. I have them in two different tanks so I just want something different in this one.

 

[Fishbeard]

Hi all,

So I made a decision this week, and I picked up 3 sparkling gouramis, which are getting along famously with the 2 zebra nerite snails in there (like that was going to be a problem). I think they're still pretty young, because their definitely under an inch now, but full of personality.

I'm afraid that my LFS gave me 2 males and 1 female, so I'm looking to add 1 more species to disperse any aggression that might arise as they get older. There are plenty of hiding spots, so it's not bad right now though, so just planning for the future.

I wanna get a schooling species that'll stay small, and will use some open water space. I know I've got some ideas above, but just looking for as many opinions as possible! Any ideas?

 

[Kateri22]

I absolutely love gouramies! I have kept gold gouramies for years. Glad to hear you got three as they do prefer some company. That being said, I know the golds tend to be semi-aggressive to aggressive if the odds are lopsided. I've never had the sparkling ones but if you truly want to reduce the chance id see if maybe you could exchange a male for a female. There should be a difference between dorsal fins but given their size it might be hard to distinguish. For company, they get along well with corys and neon tetras in my experience, again with golds.

 

[klibs]

try some of the micro-sized rasboras

 

[SueD]

Hi all,

So I made a decision this week, and I picked up 3 sparkling gouramis, which are getting along famously with the 2 zebra nerite snails in there (like that was going to be a problem). I think they're still pretty young, because their definitely under an inch now, but full of personality.

I'm afraid that my LFS gave me 2 males and 1 female, so I'm looking to add 1 more species to disperse any aggression that might arise as they get older. There are plenty of hiding spots, so it's not bad right now though, so just planning for the future.

I wanna get a schooling species that'll stay small, and will use some open water space. I know I've got some ideas above, but just looking for as many opinions as possible! Any ideas?

Great selection - I think you'll really like them. I think I may have 3 males and 1 female. Mine are now over 2 yrs old, so there's sometimes a bit of chasing but nobody gets hurt. You'll even hear them "croak" a little from time to time as they mature. More like a fast clicking sound.

 

[Finster]

I would go with 8 or 10 mosquito rasboras and call it done. I think they would look awesome with the sparklers in a heavily planted tank.

 

[Fishbeard]

Quick update.

Sadly, 2 of my 3 sparklers passed this week. I think the remaining one harassed them until they were trapped in a corner, where they eventually died. This happened on two different days, but in the same corner. I would go to feed them in the morning and find them floating dead.

My remaining sparkler is pretty aggressive, and is always dashing around the tank, and kind of freaking out. I believe it's a male. It isn't bothering the snails in there, but I am hesitant to put in any other fish, especially more sparklers, because I don't want to repeat the past week.

I think my water is fine, since the snails are comfortable (most of there time on the bottom of the tank, not near the surface due to poor conditions), so I don't think that is a problem, especially since the last sparkling gourami is doing ok.

Does anyone have any ideas for me to try? Buy more sparklers? Get other dither fish (schoolers)? Find the sparkler a new home and keep him alone? Bring him back to my LFS? Really any help would be welcome. Thanks!

Bump: Also, great suggestions, but this week has really put any new purchases on hold for now. I want to figure this out before doing anything rash.

 

[SueD]

If you really think this remaining sparkling gourami did the others in, maybe your LFS would swap him for another and you could add 2-3 more at the same time. Mine do a bit of chasing, but they've been together for about 2 years. They actually hide a lot under and behind some driftwood I have in there.