10 gallon stocking

[Kristin]

Are 4 platys and a Dwarf gourami enough for a ten gallon tank or can I get a few more fish? I don't want to overstock it. Oh, and is the one inch of fish per gallon rule accurate?

[zackish]

Are 4 platys and a Dwarf gourami enough for a ten gallon tank or can I get a few more fish? I don't want to overstock it. Oh, and is the one inch of fish per gallon rule accurate?

Just to keep you safe, no it is not accurate. If you have some simple fish that are an inch long maybe you can fit almost 10 of them in a 10 gallon but still probably not a good idea for most fish.

That sounds like a good start for your 10 gallon.

However, make sure you have researched online and read up on the articles on this site about cycling your tank. I would reccommend fishless cycling. Once your done cycling it you can add your 4 platys and Dwarf Gourami. You may even only want to go with 2-3 platys to start.

Once you get your tank going you may decide you want to add a bottom feeder or something and maybe you like certain aquascapes better. Say you go with a planted tank (some live plants) you may want to put a shrimp or 2 in there and some snails.

[Drumachine09]

Just to keep you safe, no it is not accurate. If you have some simple fish that are an inch long maybe you can fit almost 10 of them in a 10 gallon but still probably not a good idea for most fish.

That sounds like a good start for your 10 gallon.

However, make sure you have researched online and read up on the articles on this site about cycling your tank. I would reccommend fishless cycling. Once your done cycling it you can add your 4 platys and Dwarf Gourami. You may even only want to go with 2-3 platys to start.

Once you get your tank going you may decide you want to add a bottom feeder or something and maybe you like certain aquascapes better. Say you go with a planted tank (some live plants) you may want to put a shrimp or 2 in there and some snails.


If you do fishless cycling, you should be able to add all your stock at once.

[zackish]

Ya I know she can, I just figured she would start with that and go from there if at all possible to add any more fish.

[Kristin]

Well, I would do the fishless cycling but I only heard of after I got my platys.(I've had them for about 2 weeks now) Anyways, I've set up a few fishtanks before and usually atleast one of the first few fish start acting weird and float most of the time in the corners, but these ones are fine. Actualy, I've had platys before and they look better than the ones that were in the already cycled tanks!

[Zerileous]

This is my standard livebearer warning. Unless you want a lot more fish in the near future, make sure that they are all the same sex (preferably male, because females can be purchased pregnant).

Enjoy your tank.