STOCKING: two 5s and two 10s

[underdebate]

Oh boy, I bet you guys hear this a lot.

With a sorority starting up on Friday, I've decided my summer project will be stocking the remainder of my non-betta tanks. I've been poking around the internet and have several ideas, but I figured I'd get some opinions from you guys, since you've always been so awesome for tips in the past. :)

What I have:
- 1 5g Minibow setup with gravel bottom, filtered moderately, heated to a tropical range
- 1 5g basic rectangular tank with gravel bottom, filtered lightly; not currently heated because I wasn't sure if I'd be getting a species that needed it or not
- 1 10g basic rectangular tank, bare-bottom aside from smooth river rocks, filtered lightly, not heated for the same reasons
- 1 10g mostly-rectangular tank (I say mostly because it's more like a long hexagon), not set up yet and free for me to do as I please with

What I can get:
- pretty much any form of heater, filtration or aquarium accessory sold in major petstores
- more additional aquarium-specific items, as we have a pretty awesome aquarium store about half an hour from here
- I currently have kind of a lot of large-ish silk plants. My choice of live plants is LIMITED but not terrible.
- I also have a ton of leftover smooth gravel from the sorority setup, and can easily access sand and other forms of substrate.

What I'm looking for:
- Likely solitary fish for the two 5 gallons; I'd opt for bettas but I have quite enough bettas on my hands now. I realize space makes my options limited, so really I'm just looking for something that'll be good on its own. I'm also considering non-fish, such as shrimp and snails. (I've heard gouramis might work?)
- One schooling species for one of the ten-gallons. I am NOT interested in a multi-species community tank; I would feel more comfortable without having to worry about how different species interact, and just taking care of one species per tank. Obviously the ten-gallon is still sort of limiting, but both were freebies so I'm not complaining. :) I'm less interested in having a tank full of fish, and more interested in having fish whose personalities and habits I can get to know.
- I'm also considering, if possible, one or two larger non-schooling fish for the other ten gallon. (I've heard certain breeds of gouramis also might work for this? Maybe cories?) Again, getting to know the fish is more important to me than having a perfect pretty tank with colourful fish swimming in all directions. (Can you tell I'm used to bettas?)

So, YEAH. Any opinions from people more experienced than me would be greatly, greatly appreciated. You guys rock.

[thekoimaiden]

You've got some options here. You didn't mention anything about plants, but I'm guessing you're willing to try them. A lot of the species that are small enough to fit in those tanks need plants to help keep the water pristine as they are rather sensitive. This is why we will need your tap water parameters. PH and GH are most important, but KH is important, too. A lot of these fish are wild-caught and not very adjustable in terms of parameters.

In the meantime, I'll throw out some ideas. Keep in mind some of these species may not work once we learn your parameters.

5 gal - Dwarf Puffer , Sparkling Gourami or a colony of cherry shrimp (not much else off the top of my head; there just aren't many fish that can thrive in a tank that small)

10 gal - (now you've got options) Scarlet Badis , Mosquito Rasbora , Eyespot Rasbora , Emerald Dwarf Rasbora , Dwarf Rasbora , Dwarf Pencilfish , Dwarf Cory , Pygmy Cory , Licorice Gourami , Eyespot Gourami .

You'll notice that some of these fish state they can be kept in a 5 gal with a small group, but as (almost) all of these fish are sensitive schooling fish, the more you can have the better. That's why I recommend them for a 10 gal tank.

[underdebate]

You are wonderful. :) I knew I was forgetting something! Our local water tends to be slightly hard (not incredibly-- just enough to cause the occasional fin-twist in a crowntail), and neutral for the most part, leaning slightly acidic. I'm unsure of the KH, however. (It's on the to-do list.) I'm definitely up for live plants, although admittedly I'll only be getting my first experience with them this Friday.

The dwarf puffer looks like it could do alright in one of my five-gals, and maybe a pair of licorice gouramis for the other. For a school I think I'd be looking at eyespot rasboras or dwarf cories.

Thank you for the suggestions! (I love how you seem to know, like, everything. It's awesome.) Time to do more internet-poking-- if anyone else has other ideas, I'm welcome to hearing them.

[thekoimaiden]

You're very welcome! I really enjoy making stocking plans. I think Olympia lives in Ontario. If you two live close by, you could ask her about the water parameters. She might also have some more suggestions for you. I looked into a lot of those species for my 29 gal community, but they were just a little too small for my tastes. I wanted a centerpiece fish that is a little bigger.