# 10g tank.



## krix08 (Nov 25, 2009)

Looking for advise on keeping cichlids in a 10g aquarium. what types of cichlids are possible to keep in such a small tank? What is the best type of filter, substrate, plants, and overall environment for the fish? Any advise, in general, would be greatly appreciated.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Welcome to CF
10 gallon is pretty small, but many things start small and grow.
Because the bulk of cichlids grow quite large, and do this fairly quick. Your fish choices are pretty limited for now.
Most local fish stores will probably not carry any of the recommended stock, unless you are very lucky...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_10g.php
You might consider holding off on cichlids until you get a bit bigger tank.
I don`t want to put you off of cichlids, but I do want a good out come for you and the fish.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

why a 10 gallon tank? prehaps that is the point to start...seriously its crazy to have the term cichlid and 10 gallon in the same sentence.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

no it's not, let me intrduce you into the world of tangs, shellies may not be as colorful as the malawi cichlids, but they are more versitile and can live in about any size tank

if you want to set up a 10 gallon tank i would say your best option for africans would be a shelly setup

sand substrate, plenty of shells, a sponge filter a heater and you're ready to go

as for that size, you can either cover the bottom with shells and go with similis or multis, or you put a fair amount of shells and do maybe some gold occies, but you'd eventually have to remove fry where as with multies or similis they'll raise them and accept them (which is why you need a lot more shells)

start with 4-6 juvies and once a pair forms remove the rest and watch the magic, you won't regret owning these guys


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## krix08 (Nov 25, 2009)

Thank you all for the advise. I wish i could go bigger, but that's practically impossible at the moment, due to the fact that I'm broke. my curiosity about keeping cichlids in a small tank came for the fact that my uncle, once had a 20g with about 15 convicts. they all grew to be pretty big too. He started with a pair, which devoured the other fish he had, and they started to spawn, despite the limited amount of room. Anyways, I'm sure the difference between at 10g and 20g isn't enough to make a difference. Is there a good online dealer who carries the fish mentioned above, and are they fairly inexpensive? I live in a pretty rural area, that being the LFS is about 30 miles away, and they don't have a good selection. I'm liking the gold occies, and multies.


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## Steve St.Laurent (Oct 2, 2008)

I just switched my daughters 10 gallon tank from tropical to shellies because we have hard water with a high ph right out of the tap here and the tropicals weren't living long because of it. We went with Brevis and have 5 of them in this tank along with 3 ghost shrimp and an Albino BN pleco. So far they've been a lot of fun to watch.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

look under the reviews section of this site, at the online retailers, there are some really good ones, brevis are a nice choice too, i own some and love them

just make sure your lights are flourescent and not incandescent, i find that quite a few 10 gallon tanks come with incandescents

you want to make sure you spend money on a heater though, a 50watt marineland stealth heater or a 50watt hydor heater would be good, i would prefer the marineland little bit better quaility, and good heaters are always worth it

you can find sponge filters for cheap online and it's all you would need for that setup, but if you want to go with an hob, a smaller penguin or aqua clear would be a great choice

pool filter sand is super cheap $5 for 50lbs, you won't need 50 lbs but it's so much cheaper than buying other substrates, unless you want something else, like black, or something with buffering abilities like aragonite, it's all a personal preference, as long as it's sand

nice setup btw steve, i was thinking about doing somehting similar, but decided to go with the 20 long










this one has pool filter sand


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## krix08 (Nov 25, 2009)

Right now i have incandescent, but i've found some fluorescent bulbs that will fit in the sockets. does anyone know if they are worth it? Are they truly fluorescent?
They're- Coralife mini compact fluorescent 50/50. would post a link but i cant yet.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

yeah i would try those, i like the 50/50 light spectrum, the big problem with incandescents are that they create heat

yes they are flourescent, what makes a light flourescent is the gas inside the light, and not a fillament


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## shadowspar (Nov 16, 2009)

i know a cichlid that does very well in a 10g.a pair of german blue rams.gorgeous fish, i think they are south american though. they get like 2inches not including tail. they are also readily available at alot of local fish stores.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

very true, they are very pretty


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## krix08 (Nov 25, 2009)

would it be possible to keep a couple of juvenile mbuna, untill i get a 55g in 3 moths?  1 male 2 female?


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

The smallest dwarf pike cichlid reaches only 2" long at adulthood ("C. cf. regani, an undescribed species from lower Rio Xingu").
The dwarf members of the Julidochromis genus only reach 2.75-3." And there is the Sumbu dwarf Altolamprologus shell dweller.
The genus Nanochromis, Parananochromis, Pseudocrenilabrus, and Pelvicachromis from Africa have members as small as 3 or 3.5."
There is even a dwarf mouthbrooder from Lake Victoria--Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae--that gets only 3-3.5." beauties! 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2582
I believe all of these measurements are to the tip of the tail.

The main problem is probably maintaining stable water parameters--temperature, pH, etc. That is why a 20-gallon (only about $20 at my LFS) is recommended as the smallest tank for most dwarfs. There is also the difficulty of obtaining suitable species locally, and choosing species that will not beat each other up in a small space. Riverine dwarfs may be more tolerant of water quality changes than Tanganyikan species.

Plenty can be done to small tanks to increase structural complexity in a small tank to provide a nice habitat, including suitably scaled rockwork, small branches, live plants, and even leaves on the bottom. You could keep a couple of tetras or pencilfish with soft-water species.

I would argue that if you create a complex habitat and choose a species scaled to the tank, it provides just as much habitat as larger tanks do to larger cichlids. In fact, you can't even tell some 10-gallon tanks from some 100-gallon tanks because the tens have been done so well.

Find the two 110-gallon and one 210-gallon tanks below :fish:

Congo Riverine tank


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

The mbuna would probably be the worst choice. Even at small sizes they can become sexually mature and kill members of their own species. A 55-gallon is going to require a lot of other equipment, if you are broke... Why not set up an awesome tank for dwarfs while you wait?


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## krix08 (Nov 25, 2009)

I guess i'll have to see what the LFS has. if they don't have any dwarfs, ill go with some tetras.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

if you put mbuna in the tank, what happens if you don't get a bigger tank in 3 months? never buy fish with the intention to upgrade, because sometimes **** happens and you never do

if you want mbuna just wait until you get the bigger tank first


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

A little tropical community tank could be fun. Personally, I love tetras, but also pencilfish  and there are little catfish too. You could ask your LFS if they would order fish for you. Some places will do this--they just need to know they can sell what they receive. I hope you find some dwarfies. I'm tempted to set up a tiny tank for some after browsing other people's ten gallon setups.


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