Barbs & Danios

[IDunnoWhy]

Hi, I'm a real newbie here, so please be kind. I purchased a small aquarium 10g. And now I want to stock it with some small fish. I have cycled it based on information I aquired in a book I purchased at the same time as the tank. I've got the water temp controlled at around 75-77 degrees (I can adjust this), I have a filter (charcoal variety) a under gravel air stone 3" dia. w/pump and a lighting/hood, as well as a few artificial plants and 1 small hiding "Cave". Now the question....I really like Tiger Barbs (Small ones) and any of the Danios, especially the zebra's. How many can SAFELY go in the tank, and should those breeds be in the same tank in the first place? Do I need some sort of algae eater in a tank this small? I read all the time about "newbies" putting the wrong fish together or too many fish together in small tanks, I don't want to make the same mistakes (I'm sure I'll find all kinds of new mistakes to make as I learn). I do intend to upgrade to a larger tank at some point (assuming I don't kill everything I touch), but that will be in the future. In the meantime I want to get all I can out of my "mini" tank setup. Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Mahamotorworks]

On the Tiger Barbs To house them properly you should have a school of 5 or more. A 10G tank is too Small for that. I have 8 in a 29G and that is about right. I dont know about the danios.

MAHA

I really like the Sig.

 

[James From Cali]

No Tiger Barbs. When they say small that means they are small for now and will get bigger. Any way. I would say maybe 4 Danios and a couple of Oto cats. Make sure that all parameters are safe before adding the Oto's. Add 2 or 3 fish at a time. Do you own a test kit?

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

Go with the danios they are a very hardy fish will survive almost anything and are super cheap. Get 3-4 and add to the tank, then wait like a week or two weeks and add the Otto's. I would keep the tank down to about 6 fish for a while till cycle is compelte at least then look at one or two more perhaps. Barbs get big for 10 gallon so not a good investment. Once you upgrade to bigger tank i would definately go with barbs they are sweet fish to watch. If you don't have test kit get the master test kit not the dip stick test kits. Test water daily for 7 days to get baseline of where tank is at. Then test every other day or weekly, until the results read ) ppm ammonia 0 ppm nitrites and something above 0 for nitrates. Once it reads that your tank is cycled. If you cycle with fish do w/c whenever the levels reach above 2 ppm. any questions let us know and good luck.

 

[MissFishy]

Danios are a perfect first fish. It is so refreshing to hear about someone taking their time and doing fish tanking properly with research. Great job so far! How did you go about cycling your tank? I'm hoping you cycled it with ammonia bought from a store to grow the needed bacteria? If not, you can read info on that in the beginner sticky notes. Danios also make great cycling fish. You can get probably 3-4 in there. You could even mix the colors as they all like to school together. I would say No to the otto cats. They are fragile, and for a beginner tank, they aren't very pretty anyways. Instead of danios, you could also look into some cherry barbs, they are pretty and hardy. After you've kept the fish alive for a month or so, you could probably add some more fish that hang out mid-low level in the tank, like corycats. Keep the questions coming!

 

[angel51431]

Get the hang of doing frequent water changes, and you can probably test your limits a bit. If you keep the water clean and well-aerated, you can probably manage fine with 6 danios and 4 cories. As long as you're sure that the filter is fully cycled and can handle the bioload.

I would have said go for the tiger barbs - I've been keeping 3-5 tiger barbs in my 10 gal at a time for years and they're alright. Yes they would prefer a larger space perhaps... but so would danios, and any other fish.

 

[Tayles]

Awesome advice so far, Barbs would be ok in a 10 gal for a little while, but they will out grow it quick. I have 5 in a 29 gal and they do great. Danios are an excellent 10 gal fish and if kept right, will live a long time. I've had the ones in my 10 gal for over 2 years and they are still kicking. I also reccomend silver tip tetras in 10 gal, and they are just about as hardy as the danios. Have had them for the same amount of time. Thanks for asking questions and doing it right. It will pay off tremendously.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Wow, soooo much good info, I'll try to answer a few of the questions. No I have no test kits for testing anything yet (Suggestions on brand/kind). Yes the tank was cycled for me by a friend, took almost a month but he says all set to go (He used various chemicals? as well as 2 gold danios) I tried to watch and learn, but still not sure on how exactly it was done....but getting there (lots of good books on the subject)...and lastly what the heck is an Otto?

 

[James From Cali]

On a test kit use a master test kit. It should include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, high range pH. Also you can get test strips for Alkalinity and Hardness!

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks to everyone for their input, I am now the proud parent of 3 way cute Zebra Danios (Crazy little freaks...never stop moving!) I hope to add a couple more in a few weeks.

 

[geekrockgirl85]

congrats on becoming a new fishie mommy/daddy.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thank You!!!!!!!!!