begginer aquarist fish combinations?

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Rick

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hi i have a 10 gallon tank it had 5 neon tetras 4 zebra danios (about an inch long) and 2 gloFish also about an inch long, yesturday after a water change the tetras slowly died of one by one and no im down to the danios and glofish, the lady at petco told me several difreent things that were possible causes of there death...but my overall question is what fish should i add to the tank and how many? i was thinking maybe three tiger barbs or just 3 mickey mouse platies and maybe some sort of algea eater, but please tell me whay you think will work best i just want a happy aquarium!
 
Your tank was overcrowded. Tropical fish need a gallon of water per inch of length. your tank exceeded that limit. Neon Tetras are very sensitive so you have to be careful with them. You should have no more than 10 inches of fish in your tank. I suggest that if you want to get more fish to fill up your aquarium, I suggest either any kind of platy or male fancy guppies. They are colorful and they last long. But your tank could really only hold one more fish, so I don't recommend getting any more fish unless you get another of the same kind you already have, because fish need buddies of their own kind.
 
i think you might have had too many fish in your tank which could have messed with your water parameters ... if you are keeping the danios and glofish i think that would be enough fish ... if you are wanting to change fish, i would stay away from tiger barbs in such a small tank as they can be aggressive ... the mickey mouse platies are an good beginner fish, easy to care for and good for community tanks ... not sure if you are looking for a variety but you could also add three oto cats for algae eating (need to be kept in groups, minimum three) ... throw in some shrimps maybe and a snail ... just suggestions ... and are you testing your water, a good test kit (not strips) or have a fish store test for you (and if the store does it get the actual measurements because usually they will say something like all is fine, you need hard numbers to know what the water quality is) ... for fish to be happy and healthy ammonia needs to be 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates less than 25 ... if you have lots of real plants that would be a bit lower ... and if you don't have real plants, you should get some, helps a bit with water quality and there are many hardy, easy to grow plants that make a tank look great ... and only add dechlorinator to your tank ... a good one is Seachem Prime ... don't add any other chemicals to your tank .... do not add aquarium salt to a freshwater tank either ... do water changes weekly of at least 25% ... and your filter cartridge, when doing water changes rinse in siphoned off tank water and put back in ... no need to replace until it is falling apart ... that is where most of the beneficial bacteria is, that and your gravel, minimal in the actual water ... and beware of anything pet store people tell you, they are there to sell stuff and the more you buy the better, but that is not better for your wallet !!!
 
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