Cant decide on stocking!!!

**breezywillo** · 02-15-2013, 07:09 AM

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and wanted to ask for some help in stocking a new tank I'm going to be setting up. I started with a 5 gallon with a single male CT betta. On bad advice I got a mystery snail as a tankmate and my betta has been harrassing him ever since. I decided to get a 10 gallon and move my mystery to that. I am now looking for some nice tankmates for him. It will be a filter, heated and aerated tank. Not planning on live plants just yet but I do like to decorate semi heavy with fakies and plenty of caves and hiding places. I have been leaning towards a Dwarf Gourami and an African Dwarf Frog but not sure about number or even if those will work. Im not really set on either of those though and would love any suggestions or advice. The one thing I do kinda of worry about is having to keep the ph level on the lower side and the hardness on the upper side for my snail. Any ideas on what else would thrive in these conditions?? I would also like to mention that I am NOT looking to breed anything, so any fish I got would have to be same sex or singles. Thanks in advance

**rodm81** · 02-15-2013, 07:28 AM

Try this site. www.aqadvisor.com. Select the the fish and number of those you would like to put in the tank. It will give some good info like temp, ph, fish compatibility and so on. It's a very usefull stocking tool.

**talldutchie** · 02-15-2013, 07:40 AM

Acidic but hard water is almost impossible to achieve. The betta likes soft and preferably acidic.

10 gallons is awfully small four gourami, even dwarf but it could work for a frog. Three endlers is another option, they like harder water and won't bother the snail

**breezywillo** · 02-15-2013, 07:42 AM

Thanks rodm81, that is a pretty cool little link. I just wonder if it takes into account the agression levels of each fish and if they should be housed together??

**talldutchie** · 02-15-2013, 07:47 AM

No. It's quite famous for not doing so. It's decent enough to get some ideas and see if you don't overload your filtration. Always double check any potential choices against a good species description like those on http://seriouslyfish.com/

**breezywillo** · 02-15-2013, 07:47 AM

So you think a 10 gallon is too small for a single DG, I thought they only got around 2 inches. I do like the frog idea because my nephew loves to watch them and so I may be stuck on wanting one lol I looked up pictures of some endlers and never realized they came in so many colorful options, which is nice cause Im really wanting some color in the tank. They seem kind of small though, would the ADF leave them alone, I had read they will sometimes eat smaller fish.

**talldutchie** · 02-15-2013, 08:39 AM

10 gallon is about 45 liters. That could just work for a pair of dwarf gourami but it depends on the shape. Quite a few of these small tanks are cube shaped and offer little swimming room. Add to that the fact that you don't want to plant your tank and I think you got a challenge (but not an impossible one) to keep dwarf gourami happy.

I can picture an ADF taking some fry but a healthy adult endler should be too much trouble unless they are truly starving. I strongly suspect a lot of ADF aggression stories come from the fact that people confuse them with the African clawed frog which grows bigger and is a much, much better hunter. When young the only way to distinguish them is that ADF have 4 webbed feet and the ACF only has webbed hind feet. Somehow that's too difficult for some shops.

**breezywillo** · 02-15-2013, 09:16 AM

This one is a rectangular shape, longer than it is wide or tall. Would a DG be happy as the only one in the tank, with two endlers, an ADF and a snail or should they always come in pairs. Im a little worried about pairing two male DGs as I read somewhere that have two males together can amp their aggression. Thanks for that tidbit, Ill def have to watch and be sure I get an ADF not an ACF.

**talldutchie** · 02-15-2013, 09:50 AM

Try to get a female DG then. It should work but stock in phases. If your tank comes with any halfway decent light then do consider planting a bit, even something as simple as cabomba or eloda will help already.

**breezywillo** · 02-15-2013, 10:12 AM

Ok, Im trying to do alot of research on each individual fish before I make any decisions but this is a great start. I assume when stocking in phases I should put the most docile/least territorial fish in first and the most aggressive/territorial fish in last? Thats my main worry on live plants, the lighting. We keep our house pretty dark as both my husband and I are third shifters and where the tank will be located, there is no natural light whatsoever. I def want to get some moss balls and I was thinking about possible some free floating java moss as Ive heard it does not require much light.