10 gal desktop suggestions

[JasonC]

I've got an old 10 gallon set-up in the garage and I think I'm going to set it up on my desk here at my office (I work from home). I'm thinking maybe a pair of P. pulcher or a couple of A. cacatuoides.

Any suggestions for something interesting?

Thanks!

[Fishobsessed]

I wouldn’t put cichlids in a 10 gallon… I would lean more too tetras, guppies, maybe a couple of Corey cats….

[jarrodaden]

Planted tank with some combination of cardinal tetras, guppies, shrimp, and snails.

[Fancyfish]

The 2 species you list should do fine in a 10g. And if they breed, will give you a lot of action to watch. Both should do will in planted tanks with some caves. I think you could even add some dither fish like danios to the tank. I'd love to see a picture of what the finished tank looks like.

[TonyO]

Perhaps shell-dwelling cichlids like N. brevis (pair) or N. multifasciatus (trio)?

EDIT: I've had N. brevis in a 10-g.

[danielp]

A bunch of orange platty's or such.

Was in Xtreme and they had a small tank full of them. Simple and it looked really cool.

[Dow]

Triple red A. cacatuoides would do awesome. I recently got a pair and I was having too much trouble finding them in my 30 so I rearranged my ten and got another female. They love it. They're real pretty and pretty small so they are comfortable.

[myjohnson]

How about trying out a nano reef?

[black_knight]

Once upon a time, the standard advice from advanced hobbyist to the novice, was bigger is better. Buy the biggest tank you afford, but then came the birth of the nano and pico tank/ desk top tank hobby, and suddenly 10 gallons wasn't soo small. With better filter technology and attention being brought on smaller species of fish, you've gott soo much to choose from. Make sure it's a sturdy desk, a ten gallon tank weighs about 100lbs. when full (roughly 8.8lbs per gallon of water + weight of other objects and glass). Consider placing a rubber mat (slightly larger than the tank foot print) to protect the desk from water and weight of the tank. consider if you like fish that school (eg. tetras and danios), pairs (dwarf cichlids), or aggressive/semiagressive (barbs, dwarf gouramis).
Freshwater suggestions:
shoal of 9-12 zebra danios- under rated hardy (will survice cycling...heck will survive chlorine- wouldn't recomend it), graceful and cheap (they form amazing tight shoals)
shoal of 6-9 threadfin rainbows- georgeous fish one of my all time favorites- people will flock to see it, can be touchy
shoal of 6-9 P. furcata "forktail blue eyes"- bright yellow fins - they look like birds- keep them in a dark bottom tank
shoal of the "ubiquitous" cardinal tetra 12- try a tank with the back and sides and back painted black, bare bottom with some black rocks at the bottom, a light with blue in the spectrum- "jaw dropping" make sure you have a good heater 78'-80'
Any of the dwarf cichlids - tetras make good dither fish and most of them are found in soft water like the dwarfs/apistos
Carinotetraodon travancorius (Dwarf puffer)- freshwater planted tank, 5-6 in this size tank, best to keep them in soft water , feed snails. They become very tame.
Brackish/salt added suggestions:
Neovespicula depressifrons (aka dusky goby- not really a goby, leaf goblin fish) - these have to be one of the coolest micro predetor fish. They reach 3-4 inches. WARNING: VENEMOUS SPINES- it's like a cross between a grouper and a lionfish - you could probably house up to 4-5 in a ten gallon
Peacock Gudgeons- very beautiful fish, looks like a goby- not a goby. 3 pairs possible in a 10 gallon
Bumble bee gobies- Note: some are brackish some are not they all look pretty similar
Micropoecilia (all the dwarf wild guppies ), Gambusia (look for the Hollbrooki- spotted variety - they look like minnature dalmation mollies)
Saltwater: tip- filter should have 10-15x turnover rate, be ready to clean salt off of everything
Clown gobies- if you plan on keeping more than one of the same species, I suggest lost of hiding spaces and get atleast 4 of the smae species. They can get agressive.
Hover goby- real cool fish- they are a tad aggressive. only keep one
dotty backs- agressive- go with only one and add after you've added the rest
fire fish/dart fire fish- peaceful and pretty - try a pair

I hope that gives you some ideas

[TonyO]

Once upon a time, the standard advice from advanced hobbyist to the novice, was bigger is better. Buy the biggest tank you afford, but then came the birth of the nano and pico tank/ desk top tank hobby, and suddenly 10 gallons wasn't soo small. With better filter technology and attention being brought on smaller species of fish, you've gott soo much to choose from.

Like what you said here.

[lachupacabra]

Celestial Pearl Danios are a really nice nano fish, maybe in a low light planted set up with moss and wisteria.

[Mzungu]

Once upon a time, the standard advice from advanced hobbyist to the novice, was bigger is better. Buy the biggest tank you afford, but then came the birth of the nano and pico tank/ desk top tank hobby, and suddenly 10 gallons wasn't soo small. With better filter technology and attention being brought on smaller species of fish, you've gott soo much to choose from. Make sure it's a sturdy desk, a ten gallon tank weighs about 100lbs. when full (roughly 8.8lbs per gallon of water + weight of other objects and glass). Consider placing a rubber mat (slightly larger than the tank foot print) to protect the desk from water and weight of the tank. consider if you like fish that school (eg. tetras and danios), pairs (dwarf cichlids), or aggressive/semiagressive (barbs, dwarf gouramis).
Freshwater suggestions:
shoal of 9-12 zebra danios- under rated hardy (will survice cycling...heck will survive chlorine- wouldn't recomend it), graceful and cheap (they form amazing tight shoals)
shoal of 6-9 threadfin rainbows- georgeous fish one of my all time favorites- people will flock to see it, can be touchy
shoal of 6-9 P. furcata "forktail blue eyes"- bright yellow fins - they look like birds- keep them in a dark bottom tank
shoal of the "ubiquitous" cardinal tetra 12- try a tank with the back and sides and back painted black, bare bottom with some black rocks at the bottom, a light with blue in the spectrum- "jaw dropping" make sure you have a good heater 78'-80'
Any of the dwarf cichlids - tetras make good dither fish and most of them are found in soft water like the dwarfs/apistos
Carinotetraodon travancorius (Dwarf puffer)- freshwater planted tank, 5-6 in this size tank, best to keep them in soft water , feed snails. They become very tame.
Brackish/salt added suggestions:
Neovespicula depressifrons (aka dusky goby- not really a goby, leaf goblin fish) - these have to be one of the coolest micro predetor fish. They reach 3-4 inches. WARNING: VENEMOUS SPINES- it's like a cross between a grouper and a lionfish - you could probably house up to 4-5 in a ten gallon
Peacock Gudgeons- very beautiful fish, looks like a goby- not a goby. 3 pairs possible in a 10 gallon
Bumble bee gobies- Note: some are brackish some are not they all look pretty similar
Micropoecilia (all the dwarf wild guppies ), Gambusia (look for the Hollbrooki- spotted variety - they look like minnature dalmation mollies)
Saltwater: tip- filter should have 10-15x turnover rate, be ready to clean salt off of everything
Clown gobies- if you plan on keeping more than one of the same species, I suggest lost of hiding spaces and get atleast 4 of the smae species. They can get agressive.
Hover goby- real cool fish- they are a tad aggressive. only keep one
dotty backs- agressive- go with only one and add after you've added the rest
fire fish/dart fire fish- peaceful and pretty - try a pair

I hope that gives you some ideas

Wow, great post! I think we need to keep this one in mind for the database of tank ideas!

The only one I don't agree with is the peacock gudgeons. Three pairs seems like a lot for a 10g. I have a single one at work that's pushing 5 inches.

[JasonC]

A ton of great ideas and info. Much appreciated!



Edit - just checked what all I've got in the garage and it's actually a 20L with a 5 gallon bucket of flourite, coralife CF lighting and a CO2 system (tank, reg and glass diffuser). I totally forgot I had all this stuff!

[TonyO]

Wow, great post! I think we need to keep this one in mind for the database of tank ideas!

The only one I don't agree with is the peacock gudgeons. Three pairs seems like a lot for a 10g. I have a single one at work that's pushing 5 inches.

I agree. I suppose I don't know if I'm making this up, or if there is actual truth to it, but it seems to me that we keep going "bigger, bigger, bigger" with suggestions, too. I used to suggest some species for certain sized aquariums a couple of short years ago, and now, it seems like the next sized tank up is the normal suggestion. . . and I'm not sure where that comes from sometimes. It's warranted in cases where we learn something about a species or their behavior, but I'm curious where some of the suggestions are really coming from.

[Mzungu]

I used to suggest some species for certain sized aquariums a couple of short years ago, and now, it seems like the next sized tank up is the normal suggestion. . .

. . . but I'm curious where some of the suggestions are really coming from.

Could you explain this a bit more? I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Like, you once would suggest species for a 5g, and now the recommended minimum size tank for said species is a 10g? Or am I just totally missing your point, lol?

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