10 GALLON AQUARIUMS FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

If you can, buy the aquarium combos that come w/ the overhead (biofilter), hood & light, you will save some money.

• Tank (may be part of the aquarium combo)
• Minimum Topfin 10 biofilter (may be part of the aquarium combo)
• Hood & light (may be part of the aquarium combo)
• Undergravel filter
• Air pump for a 20 gallon tank
• Enough gravel to cover ¾” of the bottom of the tank
• LIVE plants (Swords & Java Fern are good, so is Water Wisteria – AVOID anacharis) RINSE THOUROUGHLY TO REMOVE ANY HIDDEN SNAILS
• Fish
• A beginners guide to freshwater aquariums, pick one that includes tank setup.

Add your fish in groups over a period of 1-2 weeks.

My recommendation for a 10 gallon tank (this will technically “overstock” your tank, but with the live plants & dual filtration, it will work). These fish are all generally pretty hardy fish & should take a lot of neglect, but you don’t want to neglect them if you can help them:

• 7-8 neon tetras
• 1- male Betta (only 1 Betta – more than 1 & they will kill each other)
• 5- Zebra Danio’s (not necessarily male/female)
• 3 small cory catfish for the bottom
• dwarf pleco (plecostamus) - this is important because a NON-dwarf pleco WILL outgrow your tank
• DO NOT GET A SNAIL
• You can add off & on as needed something called feeder shrimp or ghost shrimp (these will be eaten by other fish, but will also help keep the bottom clean)

Care & Maintenance

• Ensure that the tank is always full. It will dissipate water about 1 pitcher full a week, just fill it with regular tap water
• You will want a magnet scraper to clean the sides about 1x every 3-4 weeks. This keeps the algae off the side of the tank
• As needed (when the water starts to take on a decidedly yellow tint) empty at least ½ of the tank & refill with tap water. Depending on your tap water, you may need to let it stand overnight before adding it to the tank
• Keep something called Cycle & Betta Fix available for your tank. The Cycle can be added 1 capful every 2 weeks. The Betta Fix should be added if the fish start showing signs of decreased activity, fin rot, spots (spots can also indicate something called Ich which any pet store can sell you a cure).

Hints & Tips

• By a cheap “fountain” pump & the hose to go with it – this makes emptying the tank easier than using the siphons the pet shops sell. If you can’t find the pumps for $9 or less, the siphons are just fine, but getting them started is a pain. Harbor Freight is good for these small pumps.
• Remove a dead fish as soon as you see it.
• Always have weekend & weekly feeder tablets on hand in case you need to leave unexpectedly (Wardley makes the best).
• Use small/micro pellet food if at all possible (Nutra-Fin Max for tropical fish is my recommendation). Pellet food is cleaner than the flake food thus making tank maintenance easier.
• The light only needs to be on during the day, optimally only 4-6 hours.
• You should not need a heater for the fish, but if you do, by a top quality one – it’s worth the extra expense to have a safe heater. For those of you in Northern/Mid West climates, a heater may be necessary, especially during the colder months – it largely depends on what room temperature is.
• Don’t put the aquarium in direct sunlight.
• Make sure you have a proper aquarium stand or that there is no question the place you set your aquarium can handle the weight. I think a gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. or something like that, plus you add the gravel & your talking 90 lbs. There’s nothing worse than coming home & finding 10 gallons of water on your floor because the “table” collapsed.
• NOTE: MOST OF THESE SAME RULES APPLY TO LARGER TANKS AS WELL. AS A GENERAL RULE, YOU WANT 1" OF FISH FOR EVERY GALLON OF WATER (KEEPING IN MIND THAT THE FISH YOU BUY TODAY AT 1" MAY BE 4" IN A YEAR). 1 x 2" betta, 5 x 3" danio's, 5 x 3" swordtails, 10 x 1" tetra's, 1 x 6" regular pleco (will grow to 13" or so) = 40 gallons (you can do more BECAUSE of the dual filtration method I recommend, IF you scale up your overhead filter & add a power head (or 2) to your undergravel filter).
  
  IN MY OPINION DOUBLE FILTRATION WITH THE BIOFILTER OVERHEAD & THE UNDERGRAVEL AT THE BOTTOM, MAKE FOR MUCH EASIER MAINTENANCE.