Ideas for a 10g? Puffer? Cichlid?

redchigh

Yay! It looks like I'm going to manage to sell off my green terror fry after all.

Which means soon, I'll have an empty 10g.

I already have a Guppy tank, and soon will have a 5G planted intert tank.

What should I put in the 10G?
(my tap water is 6.0-7.0, so want to find fish that will appreciate that.
I'd like something "intelligent"-
Dwarf Puffer or dwarf cichlid maybe?

iamntbatman

If you can track them down, try to get your hands on a pair of Badis badis. My pair are definitely some of the most interesting fish I've ever encountered. They kind of remind me of a cross between dwarf cichlids and that sort of "shy but curious predator" sort of personality you get with things like puffers and leaf fish.

They can be kind of a pain to feed, though. Mine won't eat prepared foods at all and took some coaxing to eat frozen stuff.

redchigh

Well, with my Guppy tank and shrimp tank, I don't think live foods would be a problem. :)
Maybe I'll breed ghost shrimp only, since they're just as interesting and a lot cheaper. (if used as a food source)

Any other suggestions?
(Would Badis badis eat snails? I can feed those too... I'm googling it now.)

Any other suggestions?

Promelas

I think puffer's would be sweet, but I've never had any. I look at them a lot online though and always contemplate setting up a bedroom tank with them!

redchigh

What a coincidence- guess which room the tank in question is in? :)

I really have no idea about the puffer... would one or two be okay in a 10G?
I don't want braskish, since I want it lushly planted... maybe a biotope tank?

Promelas

I don't know a whole heck of a lot about puffers other than what I have read online. I have heard that they would prefer a planted tank since they can be quite shy at first until they get to know you, but then will be very curious as to what you're doing every time you stick your hand in. I think two in a 10g would be ok as I've heard about 5g per fish. Not sure if you've ever looked at this page, but it's dedicated to dwarf puffers and seems to have a bunch of info.

http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/

Edit: Oh and as far as I know all dwarf puffers are purely fresh water. Some other species may prefer brackish and then salt water but not the dwarf puffs!

redchigh

I've never seen that site before. I'll check it out now, thanks.
(I'm really leaning towards puffers... they're so cool-looking and definately meet my criteria as "intelligent".
Was also considering Rams...

Promelas

No problem! If you end up setting it up with puffers be sure to let us know how it goes! I might be following right behind :)

JMILLER

I've just started a Dwarf Puffer setup you can watch the progress here:

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...k-today-38237/

I'll be installing the filter and starting the fishless cycle tonight.

redchigh

I read that 5g per fish rule too... but if the fish were sexed, wouldn't 1 male and several females work in the same 10G tank?
Also, what would be some good tankmates?
And what kind of snails could I feed them? (I imagine MTS are out of the question since their shells are so hard and they bury themselves)