Lucie

Thanks for all your input! I will be glad to get bigger aquariums someday but for now this is what I already have and have space for. Besides I kind of like the fact that I’m limited in my stocking options because I already can’t decide as it is 😂 I don’t want to open a whole new world of possibilities right now. As for the killifish they are stunning but probably not for me. And I know a larger tank can be more forgiving with water parameters but I feel pretty comfortable managing them, and it’s actually easier for me to maintain because it’s simply less water to change and lug around, and less surface to clean. I don’t have any fancy water change systems haha just a gravel vac and a bucket. Based on your replies I’m really leaning towards a honey gourami centerpiece fish. With the Pygmy corydoras and maybe green neons as well? I think I’ll try to stock slowly to give my tank time to catch up and see how my parameters are. Any advice on which fish to add first?

There are a lot of options that I am considering for this 10-gallon aquarium setup I’m planning. (I have been spending WAY too much time pondering and pondering and changing my mind back and forth) I am really interested in keeping a planted aquarium, so I don’t want anything that is known to disturb or eat plants. I am interested in keeping more than one variety of animal; however, I am open to keeping a single species tank. I would describe my experience level as intermediate, perhaps leaning more towards the beginner side. Here’s some of the species I’ve considered and why I like or don’t like them as an option. I would love to know if anyone has experience with the specific things I’ve mentioned or if anything immediately stands out. My main goals with this aquarium are to try new things and just have an enjoyable tank to watch! I love fish with unique behaviors and personalities. What I’ve kept before are bettas, ember tetras, cherry shrimp, and guppies. (Not all together of course lol) Pygmy Corydoras Pros: They are really cute, I love catfish species (someday I’m getting a bigger tank so I can have a pleco lol) Considerations: I might need a sand substrate for them which I am worried might be harder to clean and keep clean, I would want to keep a good group of them, and I feel like I might not be able to have more fish in my tank size Otocinclus Pros: Cute, little catfish, kind of pleco-like Considerations: I worry about getting them enough to eat, or that I’ll have to be constantly cultivating tons of algae and won’t love looking at it. I also feel like they may be less active/more boring to watch, and don’t have the most stunning colors to me (neither do the corys to be fair), not sure how many I should keep Chili Rasboras Pros: Tiny, so I could keep more of them hopefully without overcrowding the tank Considerations: I don’t love the way they look in a lot of pictures/videos I’ve seen them in, however I hear they color up a lot when they settle in/mature, and I like the way they look with the color on them. Green Neon Tetras Pros: Smaller than regular neon tetras, beautiful bright colors Considerations: Will they look good/work well with some kind of centerpiece fish? Neon Tetras Pros: Easier to find locally, striking colors Considerations: Will they be too cramped in my tank? Celestial Pearl Danios/Galaxy Rasboras Pros: Really cool looking (one of my favorites visually), small Considerations: Pricey, and I haven’t seen any locally, they don’t always appear to be as colored up as some pictures I’ve seen online Rummynose Tetras Pros: I don’t know why but I really like the way these guys look Considerations: Probably not suitable for my tank size because of their activity level 1 Male Guppy Pros: Some of the fancy varieties are really pretty and would make a cool centerpiece (like a little betta but non-aggressive) Considerations: I’m not super confident about sexing them in the store and would prefer not to get a pregnant female. Also, I’m not sure if they can happily live as the only one of their species in the tank Honey Gourami Pros: Cool centerpiece fish Considerations: Maybe aggressive? Also don’t want to “spend” too much of my tank space on this without other fish because I’m not SUPER crazy about them. Neocaridina Shrimp Pros: I’ve kept them before and I could get a different color variant to change things up, I love watching them, they are easy to breed which is fun Considerations: I’ve kept them before, I don’t want to stress too much about my shrimplets getting eaten, I don’t necessarily want to end up with a billion of them Kuhli Loaches Pros: They are unique and cool to watch! Considerations: Maybe too creepy lol, not sure how many I can keep in my tank so that they’ll feel safe to come out Apistogramma (Borelli, Agassizii, Trifasciata) Pros: Really cool looking, different from anything I’ve kept, might be able to keep a breeding pair and they are so cute taking care of their babies Considerations: Single species tank, might not have enough time to breed them, might be pricey/not available locally, maybe would do better in a larger tank Zebra Danios Pros: Active, high contrast pattern Considerations: Maybe too active for my tank size Thanks for taking the time to read all my musings! Any insight/personal experiences with my considerations (or pros) would be greatly appreciated. And feel free to include how you would personally stock this 10-gallon tank pulling from my above options?

There are a lot of options that I am considering for this 10-gallon aquarium setup I’m planning. (I have been spending WAY too much time pondering and pondering and changing my mind back and forth) I am really interested in keeping a planted aquarium, so I don’t want anything that is known to disturb or eat plants. I am interested in keeping more than one variety of animal; however, I am open to keeping a single species tank. I would describe my experience level as intermediate, perhaps leaning more towards the beginner side. Here’s some of the species I’ve considered and why I like or don’t like them as an option. I would love to know if anyone has experience with the specific things I’ve mentioned or if anything immediately stands out. My main goals with this aquarium are to try new things and just have an enjoyable tank to watch! I love fish with unique behaviors and personalities. What I’ve kept before are bettas, ember tetras, cherry shrimp, and guppies. (Not all together of course lol) Pygmy Corydoras Pros: They are really cute, I love catfish species (someday I’m getting a bigger tank so I can have a pleco lol) Considerations: I might need a sand substrate for them which I am worried might be harder to clean and keep clean, I would want to keep a good group of them, and I feel like I might not be able to have more fish in my tank size Otocinclus Pros: Cute, little catfish, kind of pleco-like Considerations: I worry about getting them enough to eat, or that I’ll have to be constantly cultivating tons of algae and won’t love looking at it. I also feel like they may be less active/more boring to watch, and don’t have the most stunning colors to me (neither do the corys to be fair), not sure how many I should keep Chili Rasboras Pros: Tiny, so I could keep more of them hopefully without overcrowding the tank Considerations: I don’t love the way they look in a lot of pictures/videos I’ve seen them in, however I hear they color up a lot when they settle in/mature, and I like the way they look with the color on them. Green Neon Tetras Pros: Smaller than regular neon tetras, beautiful bright colors Considerations: Will they look good/work well with some kind of centerpiece fish? Neon Tetras Pros: Easier to find locally, striking colors Considerations: Will they be too cramped in my tank? Celestial Pearl Danios/Galaxy Rasboras Pros: Really cool looking (one of my favorites visually), small Considerations: Pricey, and I haven’t seen any locally, they don’t always appear to be as colored up as some pictures I’ve seen online Rummynose Tetras Pros: I don’t know why but I really like the way these guys look Considerations: Probably not suitable for my tank size because of their activity level 1 Male Guppy Pros: Some of the fancy varieties are really pretty and would make a cool centerpiece (like a little betta but non-aggressive) Considerations: I’m not super confident about sexing them in the store and would prefer not to get a pregnant female. Also, I’m not sure if they can happily live as the only one of their species in the tank Honey Gourami Pros: Cool centerpiece fish Considerations: Maybe aggressive? Also don’t want to “spend” too much of my tank space on this without other fish because I’m not SUPER crazy about them. Neocaridina Shrimp Pros: I’ve kept them before and I could get a different color variant to change things up, I love watching them, they are easy to breed which is fun Considerations: I’ve kept them before, I don’t want to stress too much about my shrimplets getting eaten, I don’t necessarily want to end up with a billion of them Kuhli Loaches Pros: They are unique and cool to watch! Considerations: Maybe too creepy lol, not sure how many I can keep in my tank so that they’ll feel safe to come out Apistogramma (Borelli, Agassizii, Trifasciata) Pros: Really cool looking, different from anything I’ve kept, might be able to keep a breeding pair and they are so cute taking care of their babies Considerations: Single species tank, might not have enough time to breed them, might be pricey/not available locally, maybe would do better in a larger tank Zebra Danios Pros: Active, high contrast pattern Considerations: Maybe too active for my tank size Thanks for taking the time to read all my musings! Any insight/personal experiences with my considerations (or pros) would be greatly appreciated. And feel free to include how you would personally stock this 10-gallon tank pulling from my above options?