Hailey's 10 Gallon Tank Stocking List And Suggestions - Updated Several Times By GoldLenny

http://tinyurl.com/10-Gallon-Stocking

Last Edited - August 14, 2010

You want to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches and are slow moving or at least not terribly active (that rules out things like tiger barbs...almost all barbs in fact, danios, most rainbows, etc).

Schooling fish appropriate for a 10 gallon:
(remember to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more)
neon tetra
black neon tetra
gold neon tetra
green neon tetra
ember tetra
red eye tetra
glowlight tetra
silver tip tetra
pristella tetra
green fire tetra
black phantom tetra
red phantom tetra
cochu's blue tetra
blue emperor tetra (Inpaichthys kerri...not to be confused with the emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri)
emerald eye rasbora
harlequin rasbora
black harlequin rasbora
golden harlequin rasbora
red axelrod rasbora
dwarf rasbora
celestial pear danio (formerly known as galaxy rasbora)
one-lined pencilfish
black winged hatchetfish
marbeled hatchetfish
threadfin (or featherfin) rainbowfish
blue-eye rainbowfish or forktail rainbowfish of the pseudomugil genus (many different kinds...all small schooling fish, but some are semi-aggressive, so research and choose carefully)

Semi-schooling fish:
(these fish prefer 6 or more, but can be kept with just 2+, though more is always better)
cherry barbs (not most other barbs)
emperor tetras (Nematobrycon amphiloxus, not the "blue emperor tetra", Inpaichthys kerri)
kuhli loaches
panda corydora catfish (good scavenger)
pygmy corydora catfish (smaller version of the same)
otocinclus catfish (good algae eater)

Non-schooling fish (so you can have just 1):
dwarf gourami (can also be kept one male and two or more females)
or
betta spelendens*(see asterisk section below)
or
betta imbellis*
or
betta smaragdina*
(never mix the above fish and never keep two males of any in one tank)
platy
guppy
endler
(the above three prefer more of their own kind but are alright alone...if you add more than one make sure they are all male or you will have tons of fry being born all the time)

Invertebrates and other non-fish tankmates:
(these would be good with anything that doesn't get big enough to eat them)
amano shrimp (great algae eater)
cherry shrimp (good algae eater)
blue shrimp (good algae eater)
redfronted shrimp (good algae eater)
tiger shrimp (good algae eater)
bumblebee shrimp (okay algae eater)
ghost shrimp (does not eat algae, but can be a help as a scavenger)
apple snail
mystery snail
malaysian trumpet snail (very helpful as a sand sifter to keep anaerobic pockets from developing in sand substrates)
ramshorn snail
[Note: all snails breed rapidly and can overpopulate a tank quickly if over fed. Keep feeding to just what the fish need...the snails will find enough that the fish miss during feedings to live on]
african dwarf frog (not to be confused with the african clawed frog, which will get far too large and aggressive for a 10 gallon tank)

Species tank fish (keep only them, with nothing else):
dwarf puffers (1 male only, 3-4 females)
german blue rams (male/female pair)
sparkling gouramis (one male and 1 or more females)
licorice gouramis (male/female pair)
(the gouramis can be kept in very sedate, peaceful community tanks but do best in species tanks because they are so shy)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') brevis (male/female pair)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') multifasciatus (1 male, 2 females)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') similis (1 male, 2 females)
(the three tanganyikan cichlids above must be provided with plenty of small shells that they can fit in, since they are shell dwellers)

Remember to try to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more...this makes it hard to stock a small tank, but if you get only one school of something you can do it, or if you stick to the tiniest schoolers like ember green neon, or neon tetras, and then add some non-schooling fish like a gourami, platy, betta, etc.

*Bettas can be particularly tricky to keep with other fish, so I thought it best to elaborate on the subject of proper tankmates for bettas. Some good tankmates for bettas include corydoras, otocinclus, small, peaceful tetras and rasboras like the ones on this list (some others may not be appropriate), kuhli loaches, pencilfish, snails, african dwarf frogs (only one in a 10 gallon), and occasionally shrimp, if the betta doesn’t eat them. Avoid fish of the same color or shape (especially with long fins), fast swimmers (which I didn't put on the list anyway because they don't do well in 10 gallon tanks), labyrinth fish, or fish which occupy the top of the tank like the betta. This rules out gouramis, guppies, hatchetfish, any species of long finned tetras, and various other fish depending on the color of the betta you choose.

Recently, a group of freshwater fish classified as nano-fish are becoming available to the hobby. Frank's Aquariums sells a good selection of nano-fish - http://www.franksaquarium.com/nanofish.htm

And here's an article in the works on http://www.plantedtank.net/, called Nanofish List http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a.html but it's more for stocking what would be considered a Nano Planted Tank (10G or less) and it doesn't really break things down into which fish can go into which tanks but there may be some more information to be gleemed from the entire thread. As I read more into the thread, the "list" in post number two is obsolete and you can find the latest list, updated as of 11/09, at the following link but you may want to read further into the multi-page thread for an even newer list that may come up after April 13, 2010, which is the date I updated this blog article.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a-7.html#post904496

Hope this helps with your 10G stocking ideas.

GoldLenny (with a BIG THANKS to Hailey for all of her work compiling the initial phase of this list)