platies..a few stocking questions

[fishbguy]

okay...i curently have a 10 gallon set up...i have 1 pearl gourami, 5 harlequin rasboras, 2 kuhli loacjes, and 2 bamboo shrimp. do i have any more room for a pair of palties? i don't think so but i thought i would ask.

but to my origanal question. once the fish in my tank die or get moved to another tank, i would like to set the 10 up as a platy only tank. i want to do this because i have been looking at he platies in my lfs's and the colors on them keep getting better and better. i also order the fish for my lfs. they tell me what they want/need and i get it for them. this past week they needed some platies so i ordered some kool sounding ones and when they came in they were amazing looking. my question is how many platies could i put in a 10 gallon tank. no other tank, just the platies. i know that they will be over populated in no time which is why i plan on only getting males and keeping a few spare females for when i feel like breeding in my 20 gallon. is there a problem with getting all males? oh...by keeping all males and inroducing a female every so often, it will also help keep my lines clear cause i can keep track of who breeds with who by breeding in a seperate tank. thanks for the info/help

Andrew

[Zoe]

Before adding fish, you should consider your current stocking levels. The pearl gourami is not suitable for a 10 gallon tank. An adult pearl can hit 4" easily. They aren't a particularly heavy bioload (compared to thicker fish of the same length), but they are too much for a 10 gallon tank, and need more swimming room. Thirty gallons would really be the minimum for him.
Also, kuhli loaches should not be in a 10 gallon tank. For starters, they're schoolers, and two is not enough of them to keep together. You could get away with it, but considering you won't see them very much, it's not worth it to waste the entire tank on the kuhli's. 20 gal long minimum for a trio of Kuhli's, I'd suggest.
That said, if you got rid of those, you would have room for a few platies.
How about something like this:
6 rasboras
1 dwarf gourami
2 bamboo shrimp
2 female platies

That's a little tight, but with regular water changes, you can pull it off.

once the fish in my tank die or get moved to another tank

Do you have plans to transfer them, or are you just waiting for them to die? Many fish are more long-lived than you might think... Don't count on them dying so you can get something else.

If you want a platy-only tank, you'll need something bigger than 10 gallons, unless you want only two platies. Most platies won't grow more than 2 inches, but they have the potential to grow to 4". I've seen some 4" monsters that were that big simply because they were kept in a larger tank, given more swimming rooms, lots of food, and lived long enough to grow that large.

Anyway, if you do need to stick with the 10 gallon tank, you could do 1 male platy and 2 or 3 females.

[fishbguy]

i like your idea about stocking. i'll ask and see if my lfs will take the gourami and the loaches. the gourami was kindof an impulse buy. i was going to get a psradise fish but they didn't have any so i got the pearl. i should have gotten a dwarf but i loiked the looks of the pearl. would the pearl be okay in a 20 long if the lfs won't take him?i really want to keep him...he is such a charecter but if i can't provide proper housing, i under stand.

would a honey gourami be considered a dwarf gourami? i really like the sunset and normal colorings of them and would prefer them to regular dwarfs.

if i were to NOT put a gourami in the tank, is there any other fish that i could put in in it's place? possibley another platy? thabnks alot for the quick reply.

Andrew

[Zoe]

I think a 20 gallon long would be okay. You wouldn't want to have very many other fish fish - maybe a school of neons or rasboras... But with lots of plants, decent water changes, I think it would be okay. They are really beautiful!

Honey's are dwarfs, yup. So are powder blues, neons, flames, red honeys... I don't know if you want to get a paradise gourami - I've never kept them but I hear they're aggressive.

I think you could do 3-4 platies, and your rasborars and shrimp, sure. Or maybe a pair of apistogramma, or some scarlet badis, or blue badis, or a male or female betta... Maybe a trio of dwarf rainbows, or a blue ram...

Originally Posted by fishbguy

i like your idea about stocking. i'll ask and see if my lfs will take the gourami and the loaches. the gourami was kindof an impulse buy. i was going to get a psradise fish but they didn't have any so i got the pearl. i should have gotten a dwarf but i loiked the looks of the pearl. would the pearl be okay in a 20 long if the lfs won't take him?i really want to keep him...he is such a charecter but if i can't provide proper housing, i under stand.

would a honey gourami be considered a dwarf gourami? i really like the sunset and normal colorings of them and would prefer them to regular dwarfs.

if i were to NOT put a gourami in the tank, is there any other fish that i could put in in it's place? possibley another platy? thabnks alot for the quick reply.

Andrew

[fishbguy]

i don't want a paradise gourami. they are agressive. what i was saying is that i was going to get a paradise gourami but the ones at the lfs were all sick looking so i didn't get them. i got the pearl instead.

could i really get a trio of dwarf rainbows? i thought they needed a bigger swimming area than a 10 gallon. are you saying that i can keep them in the tank WITH the rasboras and the platies or have just the platies and the rainbow fish.

Andrew

[Zoe]

Well, a 10 gall is I guess a little on the small side for neon rainbows... and not ideal by any means. But I think it's a viable option if you're housing ONLY those, and want some flash and colour in a small, highly planted tank.
But if you want variety / platies then definitely not.

[fishbguy]

k...so no rainbows.

how is this list?

5-harlequin rasboras
3-female platies
5-glolight tetras OR 1-blue or gold ram. what do you think

if the glolights are to much, can you seggest something else that is small, schools, and is not a neon tetra that can go in my tank wioth the rest of the fish listed? if you can't think of any. ATM, i have a small HOB filter made for 10 gallon tanks with out a bio-wheel for the tank but i have alot of spare money that i can spend so i am going to get a Penguin Bio-wheel 100 HOB filter. made for 20 gallon aquariums. i also have an air stone if that makes a defference.

[Zoe]

I think it's best not to go with rainbows. Sometimes I just slap out words without really thinking through the ramifications!

You don't have room for two schools in your tank... and I think you'll find the tank looks better with only ONE school of fish, instead of two different types. In a tank that small they wont' exhibit much visible schoolers behaviour, so you want to emphasize the "school" effect by having only one type, and as many as possible.

There are a few more "small" schooling fish, like black neons, some of the smaller danios, emerald eye rasboras, blue tetras..

Keep in mind that a big part of stocking is swimming levels. Tetras swim pretty much in the middle of the tank, so 10 of them will be crowded in that area. But 10 fish, properly balances throughout the tank, is fine.
So, how about this:
2 female platies (for the upper part of the tank)
6 rasboras (or whatever you choose - for the middle of the tank)
2 rams (a pair, so they're happier, for the bottom of the tank)

You don't need the airstone, but definitely get a bigger filter. When they say it's rated for 10 gallons, that's only when the filter is running at optimum speed - which is stops doing as soon as it gets a wee bit dirty (which it will after a day in your tank). I'd recommend that Aqua Clear 30 with ceramic pieces, carbon, and a sponge... you could also keep your original filter with just filter floss for added filtration

Zoe

Originally Posted by fishbguy

k...so no rainbows.

how is this list?

5-harlequin rasboras
3-female platies
5-glolight tetras OR 1-blue or gold ram. what do you think

if the glolights are to much, can you seggest something else that is small, schools, and is not a neon tetra that can go in my tank wioth the rest of the fish listed? if you can't think of any. ATM, i have a small HOB filter made for 10 gallon tanks with out a bio-wheel for the tank but i have alot of spare money that i can spend so i am going to get a Penguin Bio-wheel 100 HOB filter. made for 20 gallon aquariums. i also have an air stone if that makes a defference.

[JustOneMore20]

I see a few problems....but I agree with alot of what has been said.....so here I go

Originally Posted by Zoe

The pearl gourami is not suitable for a 10 gallon tank. An adult pearl can hit 4" easily

I agree....the Pearl gets too large for a 10g and won't have adequate swimming room. 29g/30g would be my minimum for Pearls/Golds/Blues/Opalines. I wouldn't even put one in 20g long.

Originally Posted by Zoe

Also, kuhli loaches should not be in a 10 gallon tank. For starters, they're schoolers, and two is not enough of them to keep together

Agreed....Kuhlis really need more room than that. They do hide quite a bit, but IMO they should be in a 20g tank at minimum and have 4-5 atleast.

Originally Posted by Zoe

How about something like this:
6 rasboras
1 dwarf gourami
2 bamboo shrimp
2 female platies

I really don't think there is enough room in a 10g for that many fish/inverts. I would stick with the Rasboras and either the gourami or the platies, but not all together. Bamboo shrimp can be hard to keep and I wouldn't start them off in a 10g only because they aren't as stable parameter wise, as a larger tank.

Originally Posted by fishbguy

could i really get a trio of dwarf rainbows? i thought they needed a bigger swimming area than a 10 gallon

Neon dwarf rainbows are very active fish and should not be kept in a 10g. A 30g would be minimum for a school. These are very hyper fish. There are other Rainbowfish, such as Threadfins that would be better suited for a 10g tank.

Originally Posted by fishbguy

5-harlequin rasboras
3-female platies
5-glolight tetras OR 1-blue or gold ram. what do you think

Thats a little overstocked IMO. A 10g is only room enough for one school of approx. 6 fish (with some you could have 8) and a centerpiece type fish or some shrimp. Blue rams are not suited for a 10g IMO because they are pretty sensitive to water quality and 10g tanks can go down quick. Also, they can be quite fiesty/aggressive with some fish and a 10g isn't room enough for that.

Originally Posted by Zoe

So, how about this:
2 female platies (for the upper part of the tank)
6 rasboras (or whatever you choose - for the middle of the tank)
2 rams (a pair, so they're happier, for the bottom of the tank)

That is a little overstocked. I'd replace the Rams with some small shrimp like Ghost or Cherry shrimp. Rams are a little too fiesty for a 10g IMO. In a planted 10g by themselves, that would be fine for a breeding pair, perhaps, but not in a community setting.

For a 10g, I usually go with a school of fish and a centerpiece fish or shrimp. Since you have the Harlequin rasboras, then I'd go with a school of 6 of them and a dwarf or honey gourami, or 2 female platies, or some ghost or cherry shrimp. IMO its best to understock small tanks as best you can because of how fast they can go down. Be diligent with your weekly water changes to keep your parameters in line.

Hope that helps!

[Zoe]

Good post

The logic behind the ram in the 10g with the other fish I mentioned, is that the other fish won't go near the Ram's territory very often... and vice versa. It's heavily stocked, and probably not the best option, but I don't think the ram would feel invaded upon.

But as you say, understocking is always better than overstocking.

JMO!

[fishbguy]

i agree with kristen. i wouldn't put a pair of rams in a 10 unless they were the only fish in the tank and there were looads of hiding places...which there isn't in my tank. i'll add to my reply later. i have to go get my driver's lisnse!!!

[JustOneMore20]

Good luck!

[fishbguy]

I GOT MY LINCENSE!!!!!!


any way...i would like to keep the harlies cause they are already in the tank...there are 5 of them....

Option 1:
if my lfs has any, how many theadfin rainbows for the tank? or would i have to get rid of the harlies as well?

Option 2:
3-platies
1-blue ram

[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by fishbguy

I GOT MY LINCENSE!!!!!!

Congrats!

any way...i would like to keep the harlies cause they are already in the tank...there are 5 of them....

Option 1:
if my lfs has any, how many theadfin rainbows for the tank? or would i have to get rid of the harlies as well?

Option 2:
3-platies
1-blue ram

To get Threadfins, you'd have to get rid of the Harlies IMO. A 10g is only big enough for one school of fish and Threadfins get about 1.5-2", so they'd need to be the only school anyways.

For option 2, I think that would be ok. I am still not a fan of putting even a single Blue ram in a 10g, but it could possibly work. I have only kept 1 Blue ram in my fishkeeping years and she was really fiesty even in a 55g tank and went after everything. I think a 10g isn't big enough for a ram's "territory" to be setup. The Harlies would probably be fine with the Ram, but I'm not sure about the Platies. You could try it though, and depending on what is in your 20g, move the Ram if you had to.

[fishbguy]

my 20 is pretty over stocked as is and if i put the pearl in there, i prolly wouldn't want to put the ram in there. to many fins to nip..lol

my lfs has blue and gold rams ATM. my tank also needs a cleaning. so...i'kk clean the tank and take the pearl and loaches back, let the tank settle down for a few days, go get the ram. depending on how she does, i'll know if she/he can stay. if she/he kills everything, i'll get it a mate and see how they do. if i have to take one back, so be it.

[fishbguy]

i am going to my lfs today to order there fish so 'll look at the list and see if they have any rams. if they do, i am going to put one on hold and clean the tank on wednsday. take the pearl back to the store friday, bring back the ram on the way home. does this sound good? i almost forgot. the loaches are going too.

[Zoe]

That sounds good! Glad to hear you're sorting out your tank

[darkfalz]

After I moved all my platys out from 6.5 gallon tanks to the large 42 gallon, they haven't gotten much bigger. I wonder if that's just their genes or if they were already stunted by the small rearing tanks.