Is this enough fish for a ten gallon tank?

**animalluver** · 07-31-2012, 07:25 PM

2 Otocinclus, 3 Velvet Wag Swordtails, 1 Turquoise Guppy, 1 Yellow Guppy, 1 Orange Von Rio Flame Tetra and 1 Black Phantom Tetra. Should I take any fish out? Will any of these fish fight eachother? What genders should I get?

**Honey Badger 1** · 07-31-2012, 08:09 PM

The tetra will not work in a ten gallon, they are schooling fish and there isn't enough room in a 10g to give them proper groups for fish their size. The swords and guppies will work if you get all male so they don't reproduce. The oto's are iffy, they also need groups but they do stay small, with proper filtration and tank maintenance it might work. Oto's also need a well established tank and should be the last to go in after the tank has had enough time to fully mature.
Finally, before you get fish, you need to read up on how to cycle the tank.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=36492

**animalluver** · 07-31-2012, 08:22 PM

How many otos would be in a group because ive heard of other people having 1 or 2 Otos and they were happy and it worked out fine....? So no tetras but if I just did 3 Swordtails 2 guppies and 3 mollies is that fine or should I get some kind of algae eater to? :)

**Honey Badger 1** · 07-31-2012, 08:29 PM

The oto's will eat algae, that's why they need a well established tank before you put them in. Like you, I have heard of people putting one or two in a tank and they do ok, but in the wild, and all oto's are wild caught, they are in groups of 1000's if not 10,000's. What is a good group can be subjective.

**tiffykubi** · 07-31-2012, 08:38 PM

I agree with no tetras. You don't need an algae eater (they produce waste, and are not all that great at "cleaning" the tank) In order to avoid breeding and having lots of babies you might consider doing 1-2 molly and 1-2 swordtail and and 1-2 male gupppies. Some mollys and swordtails can get up to 3-4 inches and, in my opinion, doing 3 of each would be overstocking. If you put 6mollys/swordtails and guppies into a 10 gallon tank is going to get real poopy real fast.

In order to keep the algae under control get a "Magnet" scraper to clean the inside and outside of tank, siphon the gravel at least once a month, do water changes frequently and avoid fake plants and decor as they get dirty pretty fast. If you do get ornaments take them out and clean them when they get dirty. Otto's are great at keeping algae off plants but they are sensitive fish that require excellent water conditions and quality supplemental diet when no algae is available.

**animalluver** · 07-31-2012, 08:53 PM

Thanks for all the answers. Ive decided to get 2 guppies 2 mollies and 2 Swordtails. I will ask the pet store for males but I don't mind keeping the baby fish at all and I would get a breeder net if they have babies and then when they were old enough I would give them away. Thank you everyone :D

**tiffykubi** · 07-31-2012, 09:03 PM

Cool, Good luck! Remember to read up on cycling the tank before you add fish and don't add them all at once. That could result in ammonia or nitrite spikes that kill your fish. Get 2 at first and then add a few every 1month or so. It can also be fun to get them at different times because it gives you a reason to go back to the store more than once to pick out new fish!

**Trillianne** · 07-31-2012, 09:54 PM

If you use the handy guide in this post: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=27362

you will easily be able to tell the boys from the girls at the pet shop when it comes to your livebearers.

Generally speaking, at the pet shop they are of an age that their gender is distinguishable.