Not common 10 gallon stocking

[beastie]

Hello, I am looking for a (for now) hypothetical stocking advice on my 10 gallon.

it has some limitations that are making it too hard for me to chose. At this moment it has the potentially sick honey gourami which lost its mate over the weekend, after 5 weeks of owning them, no signs prior to death. I am going to watch it for a while and then most likely move it ot my big tank and place something else here in stead. The question is what.

This tank houses adult and baby tylomelania snails, which means what I add here cant be an antenna nipper or an aggressive or snail not compatible fish. This means no betta fish, no sparkling gourami, even the honey gourami was poking the baby snails sometimes. It also limits the bottom part of the tank, adding fish here would only stress the snail. So looking for a fish for the mid or upper levels of the tank. Fish that I dont already own, that are not overly boring (I feel like some of the small shoaling fish, when kept alone, just dont do much. All the micro rasboras, the ember tetras,...also I have hatchetfish, and after you get over the wow of their appearance, they just...hover). I absolutely detest neon tetras and their lookalikes and their genetic stocks are down the drain.

Given I have mostly soft water and pH under 7, I can rule out all the livebearers. I wouldnt be that comfortable with them in such small space either I fear.

There are also fish that I know are not possible to obtain here, like epiplatys annulatus (clown killifish) that I would like but cant get, even the honey gourami was an import from an import (we have the other gouramis, dwarf, thicklipped, but havent seen honeys here for years). I assume normal killifish would not work with the snails either. I used to have shelldwellers, so no to that too, I have shrimp in other tanks, white cloud minnows in other tank (I have five tanks, I know, crazy)

What I was considering were some nannostomus, though the news about their behavior vary, pygmy corydoras might be nice, but on their own they might be too shy. Am I overlooking something obvious or is there something you would get or see? Thank you so much for any tips

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Perhaps corydoras catfish of some variety.  They are a schooling fish, but are quite active on all levels of the tank.  Caridina shrimp like soft water.

 

[beastie]

On 4/20/2023 at 4:37 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Perhaps corydoras catfish of some variety.  They are a schooling fish, but are quite active on all levels of the tank.  Caridina shrimp like soft water.

 

Thank you. I did have 10 corydoras sterbai here when this was a quarantine for three weeks before moving them to the big tank, and to be honest, it was quite boring. I dont think cories like to be alone, they were mostly hidden, unless food was involved they just stayed still and hidden. The pygmy might be a different story, but of the large varieties, I think they would be pretty simillar

Cardina are too sensitive since i do not have RO water and it is not that soft

I forgot to mention, out of those that I considered that might be good size wise are some of the Pseudomugil family or perhaps some Oryzias, ricefish family. I do not have any experience with them though

[BeeGryphon]

I've heard different thing about pygmies but mine aren't shy at all. They haven't ever been alone, I added my ember tetra first, but the tetra were very shy until I put the pygmies in. The pygmies weren't hesitant at all and are always out and about nibbling or napping out in the open. But I've read some people never see theirs so it's hard to know. 

[Randall H]

All of my corys are nuts and have no concept of personal space. They are constantly trying to be in the middle of everything. 

[Sora]

3 pea puffers would do great! they are certainly an oddball fish 🙂

[Ninjoma]

CPO crayfish? Mine are really friendly and active. 

 

[Lennie]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:05 PM, Ninjoma said:

CPO crayfish? Mine are really friendly and active. 

 

Very pretty. Do they breed as much as  shrimps do?

[Ninjoma]

On 4/20/2023 at 9:12 AM, Lennie said:

Very pretty. Do they breed as much as  shrimps do?

Mine haven't, but they are supposed to theoretically. I only started with 2 males and 2 females though, so you may want to start with a larger colony if you want them to breed. 

[Lennie]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:20 PM, Ninjoma said:

Mine haven't, but they are supposed to theoretically. I only started with 2 males and 2 females though, so you may want to start with a larger colony if you want them to breed. 

My lfs was carrying them but I was scared to try them as I always keep community tanks. I couldnt be sure how peaceful they would be or what would I do with potential babies

[Guppysnail]

I recently acquired Pseudomugil luminatus. All the Pseudomugil act relatively similiar from my understanding. They stay mid to top. Are ideal for 10 gallons. Can go from 64-79 degrees and 6-8 ph. Very active, brightly colored snail safe. I have them with my breeding wizard snails they pay zero attention to. 
Mine are young but my understanding is their spawning dances and activities are quite a thing to see. 

[beastie]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:13 PM, Guppysnail said:

I recently acquired Pseudomugil luminatus. All the Pseudomugil act relatively similiar from my understanding. They stay mid to top. Are ideal for 10 gallons. Can go from 64-79 degrees and 6-8 ph. Very active, brightly colored snail safe. I have them with my breeding wizard snails they pay zero attention to. 
Mine are young but my understanding is their spawning dances and activities are quite a thing to see. 

Nice, they look.really awesome. I will read a bit more about them and they are in my top five now.

Btw i am slowly reading your journal but based on what you are keeping and breeding I am so in love with you 🙂 we should move in together and have lots of awesome tanks (you have better experience breeding ) 🙂 something to consider :))))

[Ninjoma]

On 4/20/2023 at 10:10 AM, Lennie said:

My lfs was carrying them but I was scared to try them as I always keep community tanks. I couldnt be sure how peaceful they would be or what would I do with potential babies

They are some of my favorite aquatic animals. I would definitely recommend trying them at some point. 

Edited April 20 by Ninjoma
spelling

[Guppysnail]

On 4/20/2023 at 2:17 PM, beastie said:

Nice, they look.really awesome. I will read a bit more about them and they are in my top five now.

Btw i am slowly reading your journal but based on what you are keeping and breeding I am so in love with you 🙂 we should move in together and have lots of awesome tanks (you have better experience breeding ) 🙂 something to consider :))))

Thank you for such kind words. I often thought it would be lovely to live in a housing complex dedicated to freshwater Nerms 🤗. In recent months I have been dabbling in species I have little to no experience with. I love keeping a journal. I feel like the forum is a best friend standing beside me fishkeeping. Sharing the hobby always makes it more fun. 🤗

Edited April 20 by Guppysnail

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Ughh! Too bad it's not a 20 gallon as I would get Glass Catfish, they are very oddball, and are middle dwellers so they'd be interesting and not disturb the snails. I find them totally fascinating. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I also love Blind Cave Fish, but again. Too big. :-( 

What about a freshwater Pipefish? They need to be kept away from other fish species because they are slow feeders, they are super neat and might be worth a try. 

[beastie]

On 4/20/2023 at 8:52 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

I also love Blind Cave Fish, but again. Too big. 😞

What about a freshwater Pipefish? They need to be kept away from other fish species because they are slow feeders, they are super neat and might be worth a try. 

I have a group of Indostomus paradoxus in other tank:) they are amazing, but hardly move, can do with way smaller space and are not seen most of the time. Nice, but only for a true hobbyist 🙂

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 4/20/2023 at 11:54 AM, beastie said:

Indostomus paradoxus

Then you have that category covered for sure!

[beastie]

Even my second honey gourami passed, same symptomps as the previous, 7 weeks after purchase. Sad, but that means they are a no go fish.  I only seen them from one supplier so not going to risk another pair, even though I absolutely loved them. This means my 54l is empty again, except the tylomelania (rabbit) snails. I am also considering giving them away, the older ones have snail erosion because my water is soft and under 7 ph lately, despite water supplier saying I have 7,9 on entry water. All my tests are around 7 but not above.

I could either play with mineral salts and baking soda, or give them to someone who has better water conditions...not sure yet. I am again hunting for options. Good news is, I saw the pseudougil luminatus at the fish store last weekend and they have them avaiable. Same as furcatus and gertrudae, but one is too large and one is too territorial (per other keepers experience).

If you had an empty 54l tank (60x30x30 cm) with neutral and mostly soft water, what would you keep 🙂 

[Gannon]

On 5/1/2023 at 9:08 AM, beastie said:

Even my second honey gourami passed, same symptomps as the previous, 7 weeks after purchase. Sad, but that means they are a no go fish.  I only seen them from one supplier so not going to risk another pair, even though I absolutely loved them. This means my 54l is empty again, except the tylomelania (rabbit) snails. I am also considering giving them away, the older ones have snail erosion because my water is soft and under 7 ph lately, despite water supplier saying I have 7,9 on entry water. All my tests are around 7 but not above.

I could either play with mineral salts and baking soda, or give them to someone who has better water conditions...not sure yet. I am again hunting for options. Good news is, I saw the pseudougil luminatus at the fish store last weekend and they have them avaiable. Same as furcatus and gertrudae, but one is too large and one is too territorial (per other keepers experience).

If you had an empty 54l tank (60x30x30 cm) with neutral and mostly soft water, what would you keep 🙂 

I have issues with younger honey gouramis when I buy them. never had issues buying them larger. Highly recommend doing this. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:08 AM, beastie said:

Even my second honey gourami passed, same symptomps as the previous, 7 weeks after purchase. Sad, but that means they are a no go fish.  I only seen them from one supplier so not going to risk another pair, even though I absolutely loved them. This means my 54l is empty again, except the tylomelania (rabbit) snails. I am also considering giving them away, the older ones have snail erosion because my water is soft and under 7 ph lately, despite water supplier saying I have 7,9 on entry water. All my tests are around 7 but not above.

 

You could add some crushed coral to the tank or in the filter to help with the snail shells. Other methods people have also used is crushed oysster or egg shells. Even if the water has a 7.9 pH, it may not have enough calcium and minerals for the snails to have healthy shells.