I have a 10 gal tank.  For the past year, I'd had three goldfish and one plecyostymus (algae eater) in there.  Well, 2 of the goldfish went belly up and the last goldfish is looking lonely.

I don't really know much about fish.  Are there some other easy to maintain fish I can put in there?  

Or should I just go get some more goldfish?  I think it would be cool to have something different looking in there.

Pirhana

gourami or an upside down catfish

Tetras, gouramis, hatchet fish, plecos, and angel fish.  All are cheap and pretty bulletproof.

 Gold fish tend to be suseptible to desease so your first task is to find out what killed the 2 you lost.   Do you test the water?     Did the fish look like they had something wrong with them,in looks or actions?   If you suspect desease such as tail rot, you probably need to start over with the tank.

   As far as new fish go, I generally follow the 3/4 to 1" of fish per gallon rule.        

    One recomodation i'd make for fish would be African or South american Cichlids,don't mix the two.   These fish are very agressive  so you won't be able to put much else in with them.   but they are very colorfull  interesting.

   

To be honest, a 10 gal is too small for even a goldfish. Also, those pl*cos grow to about 18-24", so it would be best to take that sucker back to where you got it. I take it you do have a heater in your tank, am I right? Stocking with guppies, small tetras, white cloud minnows and small cori catfish would give you a nice community tank. And if you want a algae eater, look into getting the siamese (not Chinese) algae eater.

tigerbarbs

from walmart.   1.84

Do not over crowd. 8 neons, 1 corydora cat, and a small pleco should do it .
Oh, and get a quality filter

Quoted: To be honest, a 10 gal is too small for even a goldfish. Also, those pl*cos grow to about 18-24", so it would be best to take that sucker back to where you got it. I take it you do have a heater in your tank, am I right? Stocking with guppies, small tetras, white cloud minnows and small cori catfish would give you a nice community tank. And if you want a algae eater, look into getting the siamese (not Chinese) algae eater.

Speaking from experience, I can say he is absolutely right.  My goldfish (standard) grew to 14" length, my Pleco's have grown to 20" before I take them back and trade them in on new ones.  I have 2 55 gal tanks with 1 pleco and 3 goldfish in each and that is maximum support with external canister filter rated for 75 gal tank.  Also, weekly water changes and close attention to chemistry.  

As a starter tank, get some live plants and a few tetras.  Pay close attention to info on which specific species you get.  With schooling fish, you need at least 6 for them to be happy.  Shoaling fish requires at least 3.  (of that one species, not tank total)  So, if you decide on neon and redeye, you would have to have 12 fish plus an algae eater which would be 13 fish totaling 15 inches which is beyond the capacity of the 10 gallon tank.  

Go to a dedicated fish store and talk to the staff.  DO NOT GO TO WALMART, Do not go to a regular pet store.  If all you have in the area is a regular pet store, check the condition of their tanks.  If they have algae buildup or calcium deposits all over the filters etc, do not deal with them.  You will only get sick fish.  Petsmart is a good choice.  Having delivered their equipment to them, I can guarantee that they have quality equipment, supplies and stock (fish).  Do a lot of research online before you think about upgrading or anything like that.  It will cost more than your guns....  (The ex had me paying about $3000 in a year on fish stuff)  Of course, that is for 4 total tanks 2X55 gal, 1X30 long and 1X29 tall.  

If you want just one fish, get an oscar.  If you want several, try:
white cloud mountain fish
cardinal tetras
hatchet fish
corydoras catfish
zebrafish.

Ok:

I do not have a heater.  My house varies between 60s and 90s depending on the weather (it doesn't get real cold here,)

My pleco is still pretty small, maybe 3 or 4 inches long.  I fed him algae disks, one every 3 days.  He doesn't look too hungry to me.

I have a filter on it, a *whatever* brand one from walmart rated for 20 gallons.  I bought some carbon in a plastic thing and I refill my filters.  They never really seem to get dirty so I don't change it much, maybe once a month.

I do the water change thing too, but not as much as I should because the water evaporates a lot and I'm eternally adding more.



Why the fish died - I'm not sure.  They seemed plenty healthy, but when I came home from work they were pale and stuck in the fake schrubs.  They were a year old, maybe they were just old.   The remaining goldfish and the pleco look fine to me.  I added some quickICK black stuff to the water.  For the record I have no idea what ICK is, but it sounds bad so I added it.

The neons sound cool, but IIRC they are temperature sensitive so maybe my tank wouldn't be the best place for them.  The tiger barbs sound interesting.  Aren't those some catfish looking things?  Maybe 3 of those would do.  I can feed them goldfish flakes right?

I don't want an aggressive fish because I want more than just one (3 is ideal IMO) and I don't want it to eat my last goldfish.


edit:  I don't test my water.  I ass some stresszyme stuff to it occasionally and when I add more water i put in some CHLORout.

Guppies... They are self restocking every 30 to 45 days..

Also,, Do you have a side filter or under gravel?

Quoted: Guppies... They are self restocking every 30 to 45 days.. Also,, Do you have a side filter or under gravel?

I don't know what a side filter is.  I have an undergravel thing that hooks up to an airpump.  I don't know how it works.

I'd skip corys unless you are going to several. They like to have friends and look aweful lonely by themselves.

Catfish of the Month

Get a crayfish.  They will eat everything from carrots to shrimp.  A most entertaining and interesting pet.

It should live in harmony with a goldfish if it's about the same size as the goldfish.  If it's 2 or 3 times the size of the goldfish, it will probably eat it.  

Btw-Ick is indicated by small white bumps on the fish.  It's pretty noticable.  Get some Ammonia neutralizer.    Ammonia is probably what killed the goldfish.    Also, a tiny amount of soap or Detergent will kill them, even the residue left on clothes that you washed.

dude, you need a bigger tank. Big tanks make fish care so much easier and equipment is cheap for freshies.
29 gallon dosen't use a lot of space.

OK you have the right one.

If its one tube add a small powerhead to it. Two add two. Other wise connect a longer tube to a rear fiter with a bio mass system.

All filters a are basically small septic systems that removes both amonia and debris(crap).

The under gravel is the best of the two. The crap is usual eaten by the algea and bacteria that eats the amonia. The rear bio mass type filters is an add on that helps with the removal of the amonia in the tank. This mass uses the same bacteria and algea, but in this case it has a greater advantage using air spaces between the bioballs or mass that helps airate the water. The undergravel is limited when the tank has alot of fish in it. You can get away with a rear type filter that has a charcoal filter but that limited because it lacks airation..

They can be easily homemade. let me see if I a good free link.

I agrees on the cray fish... not mention gold fish are very dirt fist...give off tons of amonia...from the pooh. Not forget gold fish perfer cold water...if you tank water gets up to 90 degrees...no wonder they died...you shold get a medal to the one who survived for being one tough mother f*cker.  Bigger tank helps...makes things like salinity and Ph...easier to control since it's not as sensitive... Live plants will help with the amonia...but gold fish eat the crap out of them...I say ditch the gold fish...and move on and up with something better. Check out you local pet store for some books...knowlege is power in all departments.

Quoted: Ok: I do not have a heater.  My house varies between 60s and 90s depending on the weather (it doesn't get real cold here,) Get a heater and set it low. Temperature variation makes fish sick. Most common illness from temps is Ich. My pleco is still pretty small, maybe 3 or 4 inches long.  I fed him algae disks, one every 3 days.  He doesn't look too hungry to me. I have a filter on it, a *whatever* brand one from walmart rated for 20 gallons.  I bought some carbon in a plastic thing and I refill my filters.  They never really seem to get dirty so I don't change it much, maybe once a month. I do the water change thing too, but not as much as I should because the water evaporates a lot and I'm eternally adding more. Change the water from the bottom at least every other week. Use something like a python water changer. It makes it so much easier. Don't forget to use a de-chlorinator like Stress Coat and aquarium salt not salt water fish salt. A hood will reduce the evaporation significantly. Why the fish died - I'm not sure.  They seemed plenty healthy, but when I came home from work they were pale and stuck in the fake schrubs.  They were a year old, maybe they were just old.   The remaining goldfish and the pleco look fine to me.  I added some quickICK black stuff to the water.  For the record I have no idea what ICK is, but it sounds bad so I added it. Ich looks like little white dots about the size of salt or sugar grains. If they don't have it don't medicate them for it. The neons sound cool, but IIRC they are temperature sensitive so maybe my tank wouldn't be the best place for them.  The tiger barbs sound interesting.  Aren't those some catfish looking things?  Maybe 3 of those would do.  I can feed them goldfish flakes right? That's why you want the heater. Goldfish like cold water but tropicals like it around 76-80 degrees. Do not mix them due to temp variations. Tiger barbs are yellow and black striped and look nothing like a catfish. They are also nippy and will chew fins of docile fish. Trick to fish keeping is a variation in diet. I don't want an aggressive fish because I want more than just one (3 is ideal IMO) and I don't want it to eat my last goldfish. edit:  I don't test my water.  I ass some stresszyme stuff to it occasionally and when I add more water i put in some CHLORout.

Quoted: OK you have the right one. If its one tube add a small powerhead to it. Two add two. Other wise connect a longer tube to a rear fiter with a bio mass system. All filters a are basically small septic systems that removes both amonia and debris(crap). The under gravel is the best of the two. The crap is usual eaten by the algea and bacteria that eats the amonia. The rear bio mass type filters is an add on that helps with the removal of the amonia in the tank. This mass uses the same bacteria and algea, but in this case it has a greater advantage using air spaces between the bioballs or mass that helps airate the water. The undergravel is limited when the tank has alot of fish in it. You can get away with a rear type filter that has a charcoal filter but that limited because it lacks airation.. They can be easily homemade. let me see if I a good free link.

if the undergravel filter is a single plate then all you need is a single powerhead.
Yep, bacteria convert ammonia(fish waste) into nitrites and then nitrates. You still need to do water changes though to help remove the excess.
The water change should only be about 10% of the total volume and done every other week.
Ammo removers like Zeolite aren't needed if you stay on top of water changes.

Cardinals are good fish (I think they are a type of tetra) - look like neons, but generally larger, and their stripes go the entire length of the body.

Zebras are also nice if you want a schooling fish - get at least five.  Plus they are cheap.  

I like clown loaches a lot.  They do tend to hide (and you've got to give them some rocks or something to hide under), but they are a great-looking freshwater fish.  They are bottom feeder, so they want pellets instead of flakes.



I don't know that much about fish, but my wife does.  We had some tertas (harlequin?) that survived a move from D.C. to St. Louis, and then from St. Louis to Nashville.  Those were some hardy fish! Eventually they died of old age, though.  

Check out this page..
www.aquapages.info/index2.html

It wiill help you with many problems.

Still searching...

Quoted: Cardinals are good fish (I think they are a type of tetra) - look like neons, but generally larger, and their stripes go the entire length of the body. Zebras are also nice if you want a schooling fish - get at least five.  Plus they are cheap.   I like clown loaches a lot.  They do tend to hide (and you've got to give them some rocks or something to hide under), but they are a great-looking freshwater fish.  They are bottom feeder, so they want pellets instead of flakes. I don't know that much about fish, but my wife does.  We had some tertas (harlequin?) that survived a move from D.C. to St. Louis, and then from St. Louis to Nashville.  Those were some hardy fish! Eventually they died of old age, though.

Clown Loaches are very nice but they like softwater and are sensitive(all scaleless fish are)to dissolved metals in the water.

Tag for ideas.  I am putting a big tank in my house at the end of this year.

Quoted: Quoted: Cardinals are good fish (I think they are a type of tetra) - look like neons, but generally larger, and their stripes go the entire length of the body. Zebras are also nice if you want a schooling fish - get at least five.  Plus they are cheap.   I like clown loaches a lot.  They do tend to hide (and you've got to give them some rocks or something to hide under), but they are a great-looking freshwater fish.  They are bottom feeder, so they want pellets instead of flakes. I don't know that much about fish, but my wife does.  We had some tertas (harlequin?) that survived a move from D.C. to St. Louis, and then from St. Louis to Nashville.  Those were some hardy fish! Eventually they died of old age, though.   Clown Loaches are very nice but they like softwater and are sensitive(all scaleless fish are)to dissolved metals in the water.

What are dissolved metals, and how would they get into the water?   Not really important to me, since the wife recently stopped keeping her aquarium and gave all of it away - but since this thread is so informative, it's probably good info for everyone.


Maybe I'm missing something (or it's just an example of how little I know).  Whenever we did water changes, we had this huge tall filter that we ran tap water though, and we used more of a natural nitrogen cycle (had a lot of plants in the tank) instead of all sort of chemicals.

The clown loaches were probably the most hardy fish we had.  Those guys just kept eating and getting bigger .  Maybe we were just lucky.  

Dab nabbit,, I wish my Cameras had not been stolen.. I could take pictures of my set up..

Here are more links..

www.duboisi.com/index.htm

www.aquariumpros.com/articles/customplan.shtml

Ok.. this is good. You will like his set up

www.dudeiknow.com/aquarium/

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Cardinals are good fish (I think they are a type of tetra) - look like neons, but generally larger, and their stripes go the entire length of the body. Zebras are also nice if you want a schooling fish - get at least five.  Plus they are cheap.   I like clown loaches a lot.  They do tend to hide (and you've got to give them some rocks or something to hide under), but they are a great-looking freshwater fish.  They are bottom feeder, so they want pellets instead of flakes. I don't know that much about fish, but my wife does.  We had some tertas (harlequin?) that survived a move from D.C. to St. Louis, and then from St. Louis to Nashville.  Those were some hardy fish! Eventually they died of old age, though.   Clown Loaches are very nice but they like softwater and are sensitive(all scaleless fish are)to dissolved metals in the water. What are dissolved metals, and how would they get into the water?   Not really important to me, since the wife recently stopped keeping her aquarium and gave all of it away - but since this thread is so informative, it's probably good info for everyone. Maybe I'm missing something (or it's just an example of how little I know).  Whenever we did water changes, we had this huge tall filter that we ran tap water though, and we used more of a natural nitrogen cycle (had a lot of plants in the tank) instead of all sort of chemicals. The clown loaches were probably the most hardy fish we had.  Those guys just kept eating and getting bigger .  Maybe we were just lucky.

Dissolved copper in a high enough of a concentration can kill them. Some fish meds are made from copper salts and are deadly to scaleless fish. Some salties are also susceptible to copper.
Drop a penny in a tank and given enough time and not doing water changes it will kill the fish that are sensitive.
The python is a long wide tube that you stick into the gravel. As it sucks the water out, the gravel gets agitated but not sucked up(if your careful)and the nasty fish waste is seperated from the gravel as the water is removed.
A special fixture is attached to the sink faucet and by venturi effect it causes a suction to a hose that is attached to it and dumps it into your drain. Flip a knob and it dumps clean water from the tap back into the tank. Same device if you ever had a water bed but no more lugging buckets back and forth and making a mess.
www.pythonproducts.com/nospill.htm

My 55, nothing fancy.

gee, i'm surprised everyone's algae eaters got to be that big.  mine never got past 3-4" long....

Suggest you avoid mollies.

On the plus side, they’re cheap, active, colorful, non-aggressive, reproduce like crazy, and don’t get too large.

But they tend to be sickly unless you put them in brackish (salty) water.  However, the brackish water is hard on most other freshwater fish, plus salt gets all over the place from splashed water.

Also, always check out a fish’s adult size before considering it.

Neon Tetra-