# New to aquarium, want theme



## Jmoquarium (Mar 31, 2012)

Getting a 10 gallon tank soon for freshwater and want maybe 15 small fish or 1-2 big fish. I want a theme from where the fish are like asia for tiger barbs africa for oscars or puffers wherever they are from ect. Ect. Any ideas will be helpful!:fish5:


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

I hate to break your bubble, but a 10 gallon tank is good for 5 - 10 smaller fish (schooling more than likely) and 10 is pushing it.

You can't really keep any "big fish" in a 10 gallon tank. You can put a dwarf gourami in a 10 gallon and that gets to be 2" long, but is bigger than smaller schooling fish because of its belly.

I like that you want to do a theme, but in reality you can't put much in a 10 gallon tank (I know I own two 10 gallons). I suggest research where some schooling fish come from and choose one type and get 7 of that fish and base your theme off where they come from.


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## FishesRDelicious (May 18, 2011)

A single Oscar needs about 50 gallons. They're big and aggressive and if you want more fish, you'll have to get fish tough enough to handle em. Depending on the other fish, you'll need an even bigger tank. For example, I found a site that says you can get a 75 gal and put some firemouths in but if you want to put a jack dempsey in you'll need a 100 gal.
heres the site: Oscar Fish Tank Mates
Please note that I don't have expirence with these fish but I really want a tank with oscars, jacks and convicts so I've done some reseach. Convict cichlids are smaller than oscars but they're very tough, and I _have_ kept a convict.

I want some tiger barbs myself and the minimum size is 20 gallons, which is the size I have. I opened a thread here about it and other posters said I could put 4 in and thats it.

Hope this helps. If you have more questions just ask!


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## Jmoquarium (Mar 31, 2012)

good info, i just stopped by the local petsmart/petco and i was wondering how they keep a bunch of oscars, catfish, and tiger barbs in like a 10-15 gallon without any problems?

They cant possibly sell all of them before they get big. Also, any information on freshwater puffers?:biggerfish:


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

They keep them in small tanks to sell them. If it doesn't sell eventually they'd have to move it no matter what, unless the fish stunts in which case it will probably die, anyway. But yeah, stores tend to keep more fish in smaller spaces than could live comfortably. An aquarium fish's life is tough. The bettas have it the worst. Hopefully they sell and get taken care of most of the time.

One dwarf puffer can be done in 10 gallons, I'm just not sure about the long term as it grows. They also need special foods at times to keep their beaks in check. I personally always wanted a dwarf puffer. There are other freshwater puffers that shift to brackish and then full saltwater as they grow. The dwarf puffer might be endangered in the wild, but last time I checked it wasn't widely recognized as such.


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## Jmoquarium (Mar 31, 2012)

I want a dwarf puffer two but they dont sell them in stores and there isnt alot of information on care:/*i/a*


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

The theme of the day should be "I love reading", because you need to take a few minutes and investigate what you want. A tank that size is good for 5-6 small fish. 
10 gallons, oscars and Africa should not appear in the same sentence - a South American game fish in a 10 gallon is an idea that says you need to do just a little research before you get questions ready for a forum. You just suggested a fish that is bigger than the tank you'd put it in...


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Jmoquarium said:


> I want a dwarf puffer two but they dont sell them in stores and there isnt alot of information on care:/*i/a*


Dwarf Puffers : Home


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Chris Ralph has a book on pufferfish in the aquarium. There have also been several articles in TFH magazine on how to keep them - I don't know how their archives work but it probably wouldn't be hard to search and buy the info, or find the mags in a library. 
They aren't easy fishes to keep.

A pet store can put 20 baby oscars in a tank for sale, as long as they don't publicize how big they'll get. They are cute and friendly, as sell well. If they don't and begin to grow, they are cheap to buy and expendable. If they have a turnover, then inappropriate (for 99% of aquariums) fish like oscars and dempsies are profitable.


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## letsgowildcats (Mar 30, 2012)

Honestly, 10 gallons isn't a good size. It may be a cheap option, but in the long run you would be better off buying a 20 - 30 gallon. They should give you less problems while giving you more options for stocking. 55 and up would be the minimum size you would want for larger fish such as Oscars. But in a 10 gallon, I wouldn't put anything more than a male Betta and some ghost shrimp.


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Well considering you are fairly new to the hobby, I would start with some smaller tetras or some guppies. If, quite tragically, your parameters went out of Wack or your tank was uncycled, you could lose your fish.


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