Want to start 10 gal fish tank....Sharks

9492 Views 22 Replies 4 Participants Last post by spacefunk, Mar 28, 2008

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2008

Hello PawTalk,
Iv had fish as a teen (Guppies, gold fish, mollies, angel fish & barbs) I found these fish messy and uninteresting to watch. I have a 10 gal tank which I plan to start a "fishless" cycle before I start making a "community". Have looked at the different types of sharks and was thinking about a "Shark" tank. I under stand that a 10 gal is way too small for most sharks was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Am researching the fish that I'm interested in. A Scissor tail with a Redtail shark and a Gold Algae Eater would these be ok for a 10 gal (plan to up grade to a 20 gal as time and money permits) Honstly id like a 75 -100 gal so I could get 3 balas 5 scissors and 1 rainbow shark. Along with a few other singles. Will more than likely start to "cycle" my tank in a week or so till about June 1st before buying any fish because of my 2 week vacation in Belize in May. Wanting to get it right this time cause the sharks are very interesting and like them very much. Anyway thanks for any input you guys might have!

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Sasami

· #2 · Mar 21, 2008

I wouldn't recommend any of the "shark" species for a 10-gallon aquarium...it's just not enough swimming room for adults. One red tail shark might be alright in a 20-gallon but even that's kind of pushing it.

Scissortails are schooling fish so you would want more than one

. A small group of five or six would be good.

Golden Algae Eaters are really just albino Chinese Algae Eaters. They get too large for a 10-gallon and can be very aggressive. As they age they stop eating algae anyways

. Better algae eating fish would be oto cats or a bristlenose pleco

.

Although you can't keep sharks in a 10-gallon, there are a lot of other interesting fish that you could keep. Dwarf pufferfish, killifish, and bettas all come to mind.

Keep an eye out on craigslist as you can often get really good deals on used tanks...sometimes you can even get one for free

.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 21, 2008

5 or 6 Scissortails In a 10 gal? Just wanted a group of 3 or 4 (for the moment). Am planning on buying babies and upgrading the tank as they grow. Would a small group (3 or 5) of red tails and/or balas be ok in a 55-75 gal tank? No bettas for me thanks dont like the fact about how over bred they are and they are kinda boring lol. Am looking for fish with abit energy. These fish would be starter fish for a bigger tank. Am kinda stuck on the sharks. Will have to look up the killifish. I read on the net that balas make sound at night...do you know if this is true?

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 21, 2008

just checked out the killifish the banded and long nose are nice the others kinda look like guppies. Are killifish hard to find? Great info! am gonna read up on these more.

Angelnstuff

· #5 · Mar 21, 2008 (Edited)

Have you looked into Dwarf puffers at all? http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/

i think there really interesting to watch. Theres alot of videos on youtube if you wanna see them swim around and stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_X57R7zdG8&NR=1

The next 10gallon i set up will be for a dwarf puffer or two, With lots of plants and snails so we can watch them hunt

Heres a video of them hunting and eating snails.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o1fw9jtRNc&feature=related

Kendalle

· #6 · Mar 21, 2008

i have a betta in a ten gal with some other fish and they really aren't boring in a big tank mine swims alot and comes to see me when i walk in the room and likes to hang out with another one of my fish. but i have it with guppies and platys and normally guppies will pick at a betta i guess but mine's best friends with him

Sasami

· #7 · Mar 21, 2008

spacefunk said:
5 or 6 Scissortails In a 10 gal? Just wanted a group of 3 or 4 (for the moment). Am planning on buying babies and upgrading the tank as they grow. Would a small group (3 or 5) of red tails and/or balas be ok in a 55-75 gal tank? No bettas for me thanks dont like the fact about how over bred they are and they are kinda boring lol. Am looking for fish with abit energy. These fish would be starter fish for a bigger tank. Am kinda stuck on the sharks. Will have to look up the killifish. I read on the net that balas make sound at night...do you know if this is true?

Red Tail sharks would do really well in a 55-gallon but the Balas would need at least a 70-gallon. So it would depend on which tank you went with

.

Bettas are actually very active fish when well cared for. Although you're right that they tend to be very over-bred (of course, you can always go to a private breeder).

I haven't kept Balas since I don't have a large enough tank but I have heard the same thing

.

spacefunk said:
just checked out the killifish the banded and long nose are nice the others kinda look like guppies. Are killifish hard to find? Great info! am gonna read up on these more.

It really depends on your area. I would call your local fish stores

.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 22, 2008

Those puffers are very cute they are freshwater right? Was thinking about the mosquito eaters from my small pond outside. It houses a few water plants that iv had for years. About 10 years ago the guy at the nursury gave me about 5 mosquito eaters along with the water lilies I bought. They have mated and died, mated and died and a few winters ago when we had the freeze i thought that was the last of em but one or two survived...just noticed some babies last week. Mosquito eaters are minnows right? The one that lived (big momma) is about 2 1/2 inchs long have never seen them grow bigger than 3 inchs. Thought a small school would be good for my 10 gal. Btw I never fed the mosquito eaters in the "pond" that houses the water plants they just always seem to survive.Anyway i have a photo of the mosquito eaters

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spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 23, 2008

Plants...?

What would be a good plant in a 10gal? Would like a smaller one thats easy to maintain also a slow grower? Just cleaned the gravel (black and white) and bought a small red pagota arch its looking so neat and clean

anyway am of to find plant/s on the net just thought id ask you guys first!

Sasami

· #10 · Mar 23, 2008

spacefunk said:
Those puffers are very cute they are freshwater right? Was thinking about the mosquito eaters from my small pond outside. It houses a few water plants that iv had for years. About 10 years ago the guy at the nursury gave me about 5 mosquito eaters along with the water lilies I bought. They have mated and died, mated and died and a few winters ago when we had the freeze i thought that was the last of em but one or two survived...just noticed some babies last week. Mosquito eaters are minnows right? The one that lived (big momma) is about 2 1/2 inchs long have never seen them grow bigger than 3 inchs. Thought a small school would be good for my 10 gal. Btw I never fed the mosquito eaters in the "pond" that houses the water plants they just always seem to survive.Anyway i have a photo of the mosquito eaters

They aren't minnows (they're actually livebearers) but would do fine in a 10-gallon

.

spacefunk said:
What would be a good plant in a 10gal? Would like a smaller one thats easy to maintain also a slow grower? Just cleaned the gravel (black and white) and bought a small red pagota arch its looking so neat and clean anyway am of to find plant/s on the net just thought id ask you guys first!

What kind of lighting do you have? Either way, java ferns are great beginner plants. They are very hardy and easy to care for. Anubius, hornwort, and water sprite are great but the latter two grow very quickly (but won't get too big for the tank with some trimming...I've kept both plants in even smaller tanks than yours).

Don't buy a plant if you don't know much about it. Unfortunately, I've noticed that a lot of petstores are selling non-aquatic plants for aquariums (which die within months). There are also a bunch of plants commonly sold that need good lighting/CO2/plant substrate which the average tank won't have.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 23, 2008

Ah cool thanks...No lighting as of yet am still in researching mode lighting options is next on my list. Its going to be a while before my little tank is fish ready. Every time i browse the fish store am temped to buy the cute little fishy on the spot lol

Am pump shopping at the moment was wondering if i should get a pump that can move from a 10 to a 20+ gal tank trying to think ahead hehehe. Ill be looking up those plants

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 24, 2008

Just started to distill and treat the water Yay! In a week or so I'll pour it in the tank and start cycling it! Trying to bait my mom into getting a bigger tank hehehe

but i dont think shes biting... yet... What would be a good plant to grow in gravel? Oh and do female betta fight with each other or other fish? Just wondering.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 24, 2008

oh opps...

http://livingdigitalphotography.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-prodjectfish-tank.html

heres a link to pics of pond fry and tank so far...

Sasami

· #14 · Mar 24, 2008

spacefunk said:
Just started to distill and treat the water Yay! In a week or so I'll pour it in the tank and start cycling it! Trying to bait my mom into getting a bigger tank hehehebut i dont think shes biting... yet... What would be a good plant to grow in gravel? Oh and do female betta fight with each other or other fish? Just wondering.

Water sprite will usually grow in gravel provided you have good lighting

. Water wisteria might work too.

I like Amazon swords a lot but they get pretty big.

Microswords and crypts are other options too. The thing is, though, in lower lighting (which most hoods come with) you usually want to mostly stick to floating/tied plants. In general, a floating plant won't require as much care as they are very close to the light and also absorb nutrients through the water.

But if you get power compact lighting or something then you'll have a bunch of plants to choose from

.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 26, 2008

Good for 10 gal tank?

3 or 5 (male) zebra danios, 1 (male or female) betta and a shrimp of some sort? Still have plenty of time to make a choice just wondering if this fishy clan would work.:think:

Sasami

· #16 · Mar 26, 2008

spacefunk said:
3 or 5 (male) zebra danios, 1 (male or female) betta and a shrimp of some sort? Still have plenty of time to make a choice just wondering if this fishy clan would work.:think:

Sounds fine to me except that the betta might eat the shrimp. Depends on the fish but some do. It also depends on what size the shrimp is.

You might want to start with some ghost shrimp (they're usually sold as feeders) just to make sure

.

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 27, 2008

Thxs

Cool I'll keep that in mind. Just got my new pump

Aqua clear for 5-20 gal...for when I upgrade. Guess the shark tank will have to wait till then

Think it was your article that said bettas don't like strong currents is this right and if so would a 10 gal have the space for a betta to avoid the current? Which (small schooling) fish would like if not love strong current?

Sasami

· #18 · Mar 27, 2008

spacefunk said:
Cool I'll keep that in mind. Just got my new pump Aqua clear for 5-20 gal...for when I upgrade. Guess the shark tank will have to wait till then Think it was your article that said bettas don't like strong currents is this right and if so would a 10 gal have the space for a betta to avoid the current? Which (small schooling) fish would like if not love strong current?

If you add some plants, the current won't be a problem at all

. I had a 10-gallon betta tank set up that had a pretty strong filter...but because of the plants the water was literally still on one half of the tank. Obviously you don't need the water to be completely still but that really shows how much the plants slow the current down.

Most fish don't mind stronger currents. Bettas are an exception because they normally live in rice paddies (no currents there). Plus we've bred them to have longer fins which make swimming against currents much more difficult. The danios will be fine unless they're of the long-finned variety...in that case you'll want to take the same precautions as you would with a betta.

Most tetras would do well (neon tetras are personal favorites of mine) as would a lot of minnows (I like white cloud minnows a lot. They're really hardy and easy to care for...they don't even need a heater!).

spacefunk

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 27, 2008 (Edited)

Nice, thxs again.....oh hey i was looking at your other thread and was wondering how you post photos and also how you inserted them so big??? A tad of topic

Sasami

· #20 · Mar 27, 2008

You can attach images from your computer by going down to "Additional Options" underneath the actual post box (you'll need to be doing a regular, not "quick", reply by clicking "Go Advanced" first). In the "Additional Options" section, click on "Manage Attachments" and from there you can upload pictures.

Or you could upload the pictures from your computer to a website like http://www.photobucket.com. Then if you want to add a picture, you can just click the button that looks like a photo (between the button that looks like a letter and the one that looks like a speech bubble). When it asks you for your URL, put in the one photobucket gave you.

I hope that helps!

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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