10 gallon tank

Question
QUESTION: I have a 10 gallon tank that has no heater, and has a hooded light that has 2 15 watt lightbulbs.  I was wondering what type&how many fish I could get for it.   It also has 1 filter/aerator&1 aerator.  Thanks so much!

ANSWER: Hi Sally,
Since it won't have a heater you could go for cool-water tolerating species. Zebra Danios, Leopard Danios, White Cloud Mountain minnows, Paradise fish, Black Skirt tetras, Hillstream loaches and some Killifish species. Common Guppies (not the really fancy flowing finned types) can tolerate non-heated water quite well. Whatever you do, please do not choose goldfish, goldfish produce too much waste and require too much room to live comfortably in a 10-gallon long term. They can only do their best in at minimum a 29-gallon and larger.

Zebra danios are really nice little fish that are very active and hardy. You could easily put about 6 of them in your tank with a few other fish.
Paradise fish tend to want to be loners. So if you want the lovely Paradise fish then setup your tank with them in mind and keep just one in there.
Black Skirts are another really nice schooling fish. You could keep about 4 in your tank. These fish also come in a solid white variety and like the Zebra danio they are very hardy. The black variety tends to show darker colors when kept in cooler water.
Hillstream loaches are quite the oddballs. They may be a little difficult to find and one of their drawbacks and they require a little more attention to water quality then other fish.
Killifish can be sometimes hard to find but Golden Wonder Killifish are sometimes available and they tend to do wonderful in unheated tanks. They are mini-predators and they should only be kept with fish that are preferably bigger than the Killi's mouth. Black skirt tetras would work. Tiny Zebra danios might be eaten. Killifish can be kept in small groups but they do great as singles also. The male is very colorful with yellowish/gold/green spangles that are very irridescent. Common guppies or those with simple smaller tails are perfect for cool-water tanks and their only draw back is their tendency to reproduce rapidly. So get only males if you don't want an overpopulation problem. About 6-8 male guppies would be perfect for your tank and would provide some beauty in your tank.

With no heater you have a limited choice of fish. And you might want to think about getting a heater so your choice of fish is much bigger and you can get more colorful species into your tank also.

Make sure you cycle your tank before fully stocking it. Its very important to get test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates that way you can monitor how your tank is cycling along, and know when to make those vital 50% water changes when the ammonia or nitrite gets too high. Make sure to only stock the tank with about 2-3 fish at first and wait until your ammonia and nitrite have fallen back to zero before you add anymore fish. Make sure to only add 2-3 fish at a time and only when your ammonia and nitrites have dropped to zero.

Best of luck!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the help!  I ended up getting a heater, but I have another 10 gallon tank which I will keep either the zebra danios or some white cload minnow.   Right now I have 1 small comet that I felt so bad for (it was being sold as a feeder fish) and a rosy red minnow.   In the spring both will be moved to my 200 gallon backyard pond. I have a few more questions for you though: Can I keep White Cloud minnow or zebra danio with the comet&rosie red? Also, would it be possible to put them in my pond in the spring? Sorry for all these questions, I just want to make the fish to be happy.

Answer
Hi Sally, You're welcome!
Good, with a heater you can definitely have a bigger choice of fish. You could keep little tetras or rasboras or barbs. You can follow this link for good recommendations and community tank stocking schemes for 10-gallon aquariums.

http://www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/tankmate-tips/10-gallon.aspx?cm_

That link should give you some good ideas.

You can definitely keep White clouds and Zebra danios with goldfish and rosie reds. They all have pretty much the same water requirements and all those fish you listed do wonderful if they are kept outdoors in a pond. If you had a group they'd likely breed and by fall you might have many more additions to your little fish family!

I really hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Karen~