[relaxedcrazyman]

Sorry to start another thread, but now that i have decided on which fish i want to get i want to see about what people think of the numbers and if they can live together:

I am going to be getting a 10g, filtered, heated tank. i will be using: CaribSea Aquarium Sand, tahitian moon black sand. I will be doing a fishless cycle with ammonia. My question is how is the following stock for the tank?

1 Betta
2 Ghost shrimp
4 Boraras maculatus – Dwarf Rasbora
4 Pygmy Corys
2 Nerite Snails

Thanks!


Edit: Sorry i keep posting, i am just so excited!

 

[SunsetGuardian]

That would be pretty badly overstocked in my opinion. That stocking would be more suitable for a 20 gallon than a 10 gallon.

You could do:

1 Betta
5 Dwarf Rasboras
1 Nerite Snail or 2 Ghost Shrimp
Or
1 Betta
5 Pygmy Corydoras
1 Nerite Snail or 2 Ghost Shrimp
Or
1 Betta
10 Ghost Shrimp
1 Nerite Snail

 

[BettaBoy51]

he would not be overstocked he could put more fish than that in the tank hes fine

 

[Rana]

Personally I would take out either the rasboras or the cories, and have more of whichever you left. Four is a low number for them since they both like being in large groups, so I'd go with one species and six or so individuals. I don't know a lot about shrimp, but I had two nerites in a 10g and they seemed to do okay, though one is probably fine unless you have a serious algae problem.

Your original stocking is definitely pushing it, it theoretically could work if you were dedicated to extra water changes, but again I wouldn't go with such low numbers for two schooling species anyway.

 

[amphirion]

stocking is fine as well in my book. the maculatas are barely an inch long and are very thin to boot. very light bioload, same goes for the ghost shrimp and snails.

pygmy cories are always fun to watch but they are quite sensitive to water changes.

you can actually push the bioload higher if your tank is well stocked with living plants.

 

[relaxedcrazyman]

These are the plants i am planning on buying:
Riccia Fluitans, 2" x 3" portion, Pigmy Chain Sword, Echinodorus tenellus, Narrow Leaf, Cryptocoryne undulata, Hygrophila corymbosa, Bacopa Carolina, Wisteria, a marimo ball, and java fern.

 

[alyymarie]

I think you could definitely do that stocking, as long as you're very dedicated to water changes and testing regularly. Having lots of live plants helps, too.
Pygmy cories have a low bio-load, but just to throw my own experience in there, I have found them to be VERY shy fish. I have a group of 11 and you wouldn't even know they're there, because they're always hiding :/

 

[relaxedcrazyman]

i think i recall reading somewhere that bettas do not do so well with more than one shoal at a time? is that correct? does it depend on the betta?

 

[Lucillia]

A lot will depend on your betta himself. Some don't mind the company, others will take advantage of it for a nice snack. My original 10 gallon betta came from a community tank so he didn't mind it too much, though he would take a nip here and there at my glow-lights. Other betta's of mine I wouldn't dare put in there.

When you are ready to stock make sure you do all of the other fish FIRST. Then when you put him in make sure you have a net handy, just in case. I found it was also good to change around the decorations and plants every now and then to give them all enrichment and so that the betta would have to lay claim to a new area.

A useful tool for your tank stocking is aqadvisor.com

As for pygmies, they're great! so are their counterparts dainty cories! I have Dainties myself right now and they're very silly little fish. They definitely need to be in a larger group though, its made a difference for mine. Perhaps when they're in too large of a group they'll hide more like Alyymarie's.

As for plants you definitely want to make sure you have high enough kelvin lighting. I have currently about 6,700K for just hygrophila and wisteria. I would recommend starting with those two as they are definitely easy to maintain and grow and they grew at about 5,000K when I started.