Any ideas?

Okay so I am NOT really a planted person but I'm gonna try it out. I have a 10 gallon and I filled it up with water and put sand and a little drift wood in. In a week or so it's fish time and I want something that isn't your average fish.(i.e Guppies, Mollies, Swords, and pretty much anything I could find in a petco), I want something that demands my eyes to look at it so something that is active and doesn't just hide like a khuli loach. I am open to hiders to, But not for the attention part of the tank. I also am looking for plant ideas preferably ones that spread(so multiplying ones). SO I am looking for the coolest fish that could live in a 10 gallon. Along with plants( no eaters aloud). Also if you have any tips on were to buy fish/plants let me know. If you have any beginner plant tips that would help too. Thanks for reading!!    ,

-EARTHFISH  

Pea puffer planted tank would be cool.

aren't they brackish??

Hi earthfish,

I agree that pea puffers are "cool" but I believe they prefer brackish water and most plants do not do well with salt in the water.

There are a variety of fish that would do well in your 10 gallon, a small school of smaller tetras, danios, or rasboras would give you plenty of activity and movement.

You didn't mention what kind of light fixture you have on your 10 gallon but I have two incandescent sockets in my fixture in which I installed two 10 watt 6500K CFL bulbs from Walmart.
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I used inexpensive clay substrate and dosed Seachem Flourish and Seachem Excel for fertilizers.  This is how it turned out.
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WOW! Roy that's amazing how long did that take?

Pea puffers are freshwater.
Some interesting info sites: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hey Earthfish,
When I was reading your post I was also thinking Pea Puffer. 3 would be perfect addition to a planted 10 gallon tank. Seattle_Aquarist's tanks are awesome I get many ideas from his tanks with plants I would have never thought of. In his tank above there is a plant called a Crypt (looks rusty/red color on the left) that plant would be a good plant that will slowly spread. A species of fern would go nice in a 10 gallon tank and would grow on the piece of wood. Many stem plants you can clip the tops off when they get too tall, then push those clippings into the substrate. This is an easy way to propagate them. If you where closer to me I could totally get you started with plants

@ Roy, I believe the Pea Puffer is a fresh water species that stays super small. I did some reading on them some time ago & it never mentioned a thing about salt. I picked up 3 to add in my planted 30g from Aquarium coop about a month ago & they where housed in a planted freshwater.

Pea Puffers have been a very neat addition to my 30g. They have completely cleared my tank from a snail infestation & are a very lively trio.

Does anyone know how an Electric Blue Ram would do in a 10 gallon tank, or with plants?

Flyfalcons wrote:Does anyone know how an Electric Blue Ram would do in a 10 gallon tank, or with plants?

I was think rams when I put this up but i was also think this: aren't they kinda difficult?

theChad wrote:Hey Earthfish,
When I was reading your post I was also thinking Pea Puffer. 3 would be perfect addition to a planted 10 gallon tank. Seattle_Aquarist's tanks are awesome I get many ideas from his tanks with plants I would have never thought of. In his tank above there is a plant called a Crypt (looks rusty/red color on the left) that plant would be a good plant that will slowly spread. A species of fern would go nice in a 10 gallon tank and would grow on the piece of wood. Many stem plants you can clip the tops off when they get too tall, then push those clippings into the substrate. This is an easy way to propagate them. If you where closer to me I could totally get you started with plants

@ Roy, I believe the Pea Puffer is a fresh water species that stays super small. I did some reading on them some time ago & it never mentioned a thing about salt. I picked up 3 to add in my planted 30g from Aquarium coop about a month ago & they where housed in a planted freshwater.

Pea Puffers have been a very neat addition to my 30g. They have completely cleared my tank from a snail infestation & are a very lively trio.

I'm gonna consider puffers but can anything live with them? or are they aggressive? I know nothing about them.

earthfish wrote:

theChad wrote:Hey Earthfish,
When I was reading your post I was also thinking Pea Puffer. 3 would be perfect addition to a planted 10 gallon tank. Seattle_Aquarist's tanks are awesome I get many ideas from his tanks with plants I would have never thought of. In his tank above there is a plant called a Crypt (looks rusty/red color on the left) that plant would be a good plant that will slowly spread. A species of fern would go nice in a 10 gallon tank and would grow on the piece of wood. Many stem plants you can clip the tops off when they get too tall, then push those clippings into the substrate. This is an easy way to propagate them. If you where closer to me I could totally get you started with plants

@ Roy, I believe the Pea Puffer is a fresh water species that stays super small. I did some reading on them some time ago & it never mentioned a thing about salt. I picked up 3 to add in my planted 30g from Aquarium coop about a month ago & they where housed in a planted freshwater.

Pea Puffers have been a very neat addition to my 30g. They have completely cleared my tank from a snail infestation & are a very lively trio.

I'm gonna consider puffers but can anything live with them? or are they aggressive? I know nothing about them.

Probably not in a 10 gallon tank. You could try but they are known to nip when bored. The information goes both ways in regards to tank mates. I have 3 in a 30 gal. with ottocinculs , small bristle nosed Pleco, killifish, and a school of Cory cats & havent had an issue in the month I've had them. But a 10 gallon tank is rather small. So you may get away with 2 puffers and a school of pygmy Cory cats...

Here a link with some additional info.
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I have a 9.5 gallon tank im currently establishing. Once I get it 100% stabile im hoping to house a pair of Apistogramma & hopefully breed

A single Ram cichlid may do okay in a 10 gallon. Both Apistogramma and Ram cichlids can be sensitive to a rapid change in water parameters so I would recommend an aquarium that's well established.

Hi earthfish,

I was mistaken, apparently the Pea Puffer / Dwarf Puffer (Carinotetraodon travancoricus)  is a freshwater species of puffer unlike a lot of its' brackish water relatives.  From what I have read apparently they do occasionally nip at the fins of slower moving fish like their brackish water cousins.

As for plants I have successfully grown all of the following in tanks without having to add CO2 just to name a few:

Barclaya longifolia
Ceratopteris cornuta (Broadleaf Watersprite)
Ceratopteris thalichtroides (Fineleaf Watersprite)
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Red'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Bronze'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Florida Sunset'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'
Helanthium bolivianum 'Vesuvius'
Helanthium tenellum (Pygmy Chain Sword)
Hygrophilia 'Sunset'
Hygrophilia lancea
Hygrophilia 'Bold'
Microsorum pteropus regular Java Fern
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow Leaf'
Microsorum pteropus 'Needle Leaf'
Microsorum pteropus 'Trident'
Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
Nypmphoides sp. 'Taiwan'
Limnophila sp.
Ludwigia repens x L. arcuata
Ludwigia sp. 'Red'
Pogostemon erectus

Here is a 20 gallon, no CO2,  with several of the species above
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Nice looking tank ROY!

@ thechad, Okay good to know!