Max fish in 10 gallon

[lethfisher]

Hey guys! I have an empty 10 gallon tank and I want to put in the most fish in possible without overstocking. Will probably be planted once cycled for a month or so if that makes a difference. So what do you guys suggest, any possible combo, that allows for the most possible fish/shrimp/crab/anything in a 10g tank. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! After having stocked the same tank with 6 fantails not knowing anything about fish I would like to start over again properly without massively overstocking it.
Thanks guys!!

[chrisfraser05]

Try having a play with this for ideas :22:

[MCHRKiller]

Microfish, you could *easily* stock 2 dozen chilli rasboras, 2 dozen cherry shrimp, and 4-5 Nerites in a standard 10G. Plus have room for a star fish like a pair of sparkling gourami. Alot of people instantly feel limited with a 10G tank, but you have quite a list of options all of which will allow you to keep more than a couple of fish if you just go small enough. :22:

[FishGirl-Seattle]

First, you can plant it now, don't have to wait until it's cycled. Second, why do you want "the most fish possible"? Do you want a lot of variety or do you want to put in a school and want the largest school you can manage?

There are a number of small fish that will fit in that tank in numbers high enough to form decent sized schools: Pygmy Corrys, Ember Tetras, Chili Rasboras, Emerald Dwarf Rasboras, Celestial Pearl Danios, Endler Live Bearers and Guppies (with these last two go all male or all female, don't mix the sexes or you will find your tank overcrowded quickly!). Two schools of 6 of any of these will fit in your tank and will provide a lot of color and activity. You can put in one school of 5 and add 3 or 4 Cherry Shrimp, and 3 Khuli Loaches and have more variety. I keep Micro fish - I think 2 dozen, while a feasible number for an experienced hobbyist, is too many for a beginner in a 10 gallon - there are so many things that happen in new tanks and you are just beginning, I really think you shouldn't start with numbers that high until your tank is seasoned and you have more experience under your belt.

You want to stock your tank based on the adult size of the fish, paying attention to how many of each you need to have - the fish I just mentioned don't do well in small numbers, most need a minimum of 5 or 6, Khulies would love to be in groups of 5 but I have seen them do well in one of my tanks with only three.

If you are determined to be at the top end of your tank capacity be sure to pay close attention to your water quality and the aggression level of your fish selections. Pick peaceful fish, get as much filtration as you can and don't disturbed the bacterial colony in your filter any more than you have to in order to keep the filter running efficiently. And do weekly water changes - absolutely every week - of 20%. If you are running a tank at capacity you should test the water between water changes and be prepared to do a water change if you read any ammonia or nitrite. It takes more effort to maintain a tank at capacity than it does to maintain a tank that is only at 75% or 50% capacity and with only 10 gallons of water things can go south very quickly. It is actually harder to maintain a 10 gallon tank than a 20 gallon!

Keeping fish isn't a numbers game so much as it is perfecting our ability to create and maintain an environment that is pleasing for us to look at and care for - so knowing what it is we really want (color, activity level, variety, level of difficulty, etc...) is the key to creating the tank we really want.

[Sasquatch]

The smaller the fish, the more you can put in there. Keep in mind territorial issues.

Our 10g, at one point, had 16 fish in it. 7 celestial pearl danios, 7 male endlers guppies, 1 kuhli loach and 1 hillstream loach. Add in a handful of cherry shrimp ... there was plenty of activity in the tank.

It was also fairly densely planted and had decor that allowed the shy fish to hide when they felt the need. This is particularly important with smaller fish since they tend to be skittish.

Good luck.

[lethfisher]

I would like a community tank because right now I have a large tank with 3 goldies in it so not a whole lot of activity going on. I still really like the goldies but kind of want to start another tank with schools. Thanks for all the recommendations! I googled most of the fish you guys recommended and think I am going to go with 5 cherry shrimp, 5 chili rasboras, 5 celestial danios and 5 tetras of some sort. AqAdvisor says it's at 88% capacity so that should be good :)