What do you think I should add?

[shakiigrrl]

OK so I went out and got a nice little 10 gallon tank(wanted BIGGER nut gf said no for now grrr)

So right now I set it up with
special bacteria filled sand
1 moss ball
1 floating bio ball (love it)
3 stupid little fake plants (once again gf`s opinon lol - will remove once I find real plants I want)
a heater
filter
and thermometer
(no fish...George is still in his gorgeous 1 gallon)

Water is starting to clear up...love this sand I have in there...my ammonia is at 0 YAY!

Anyways...
wanted to know what plants would you suggest? I would like to have some sort of green carpet BUT dont want a mess either...
And I am looking to getting some little ghost or cherry shrimp...
What other fish should I be looking at? I am probably gonna pick up a few little silver/black tiger barb (soo small) tomorrow...but will they be compatible with George (small CT)

[JorgeBurrito]

Dwarf Sagittaria or Mariselia quadrifoia are probably the two recommendations for low light carpet plants. You will probably have to get them over the internet. Java Moss and Java Fern is the two standard beginner plant suggestions.

Tiger Barbs are semi aggressive and big time fin nippers, not a good choice. A small shoal (5-7) of tetras would be my suggestion. Cory cats are great as well. Mollies and platies are an OK choice as well. A dwarf gourami is a nice looking fish but can sometimes be mildly aggressive.

[Lunatatice]

Are gouramis really that aggressive?

[JorgeBurrito]

Most of the time not, they actually tend to be more shy than anything. I had one though that was the bully of the community tank I had him in. I guess it just goes to show you that while their are traits that go through species, individual fish can be a crapshoot.

[MrVampire181]

Remember gouramis and bettas are related so they might fight. But in a big tank like 55 gallons a couple gouramis and a betta with other fish will do fine...my brother has done it several times before.

[BettaBoy84]

Hey,

i would use a mix of plants to give a hierarchy or areas, and canopy inderwater.

Start off with some bunch plants, seperate them and spred them out. These should be grouped together in one area of the tank evenly splaced..

Then you can get medium and smaller plants that surround the larger bunch plants..Start by placing the medium around the larger, then the smaller around medium..gives a good flow for the with to interact with.

As for others in the tank..I have used barbs before, and have not had luck with thier survival. I found the bettas picked on them and they were just hiding all the time..a laege group of tetras in a glass aquarium are cool to watch as they swim together. however i use plastic (tupperware) tanks and only see in from above. I have had great success with mystery snails (gold is easy to see), and cory cats (stay hidden and out of the way and clean the tank nicely (dead food and uneaten by bettas)....

Definitly go with the live plants. MAybe use a soil/ peat/ sand substrate..check my "indoor planted tank" thread for more info on this..

Good luck with everything!

[Posaune]

I would say definitley do NOT get tiger barbs. Years ago when I had my first tank, I had some tiger barbs in it and they beat the crap out of everything else (this seems cruel, but luckily they died) :\ They are beautiful fish, but would not do well with long finned fish at all.

I would personally suggest zebra danios :) Very peaceful fish in my experience. They also have a lot of personality, playing with their school :P

[Lunatatice]

I would recommend the zebra danios also! They're hardy and very playful, which makes them fun to watch.

[Jupiter]

Tiger barbs are pretty nippy and aggressive, and they belong in a bigger tank...they do better in larger groups, and you wouldn't have enough space in a 10 gallon. I can see the appeal though, they are pretty neat guys.

Some good choices would be Cory cats, otos, and white clouds. Neons are kept by people with varying degrees of success.

[Capricorn]

Ghost shrimp are a blast, just remember to keep an eye on your water params since invertebrates are -generally- more sensitive to changes in the water chemistry. (: