# 10ltr tank



## Vidobi04 (Jun 14, 2011)

Me and my boyfriend got given a tank yesterday and we were going to get goldfish but after doing research on the Internet found that our tank wasn't big enough. Can anyone help with what fish we could get. Doesn't have to be cold water fish either.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Unfortunately 10L is just too small for fish. If you get a tiny heater for it though and plant it up, it would make a great shrimp tank


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## Vidobi04 (Jun 14, 2011)

My mistake its actually a 15ltr tank.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Even 15l is really too small. You could possibly get away with a single betta if you really want fish not shrimp, but you'd need to be doing 2 water changes a week.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Agreed. Even 15L is way too small for fish.

The other problem with tiny tanks is that it's really difficult to keep the water parameters stable, and you have no leeway when things go wrong. If you're quite keen on getting fish I'd really recommend getting a tank of at least 60L, as it'd be easier to manage and you could have a nice little shoal of fish in there


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Totally agree with the others I am afraid. 

I used to have a Siamese Fighter in a heated, filtrated, planted 28ltr but that is as small as I would go. The smaller the tank the harder it is to keep the water parameters stable.

edit: just realized the poster above said the exact same thing!


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## Vidobi04 (Jun 14, 2011)

I think we're gonna go for a betta.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Vidobi04 said:


> I think we're gonna go for a betta.


Personally I wouldn't but if you absolutely have to, do you have a heater and filter?


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## Vidobi04 (Jun 14, 2011)

Yeh and a light too. Been doing research and a lot of people have put on forums that a tank our size is about right for one.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

As above, the tank size isn't ideal (I have a 14l which I wouldn't put a betta in), but if you do go for one, you'll need to keep a very close eye on your water parameters. Do you know how to do a fishless cycle before you put the fish in? You'll need a good liquid test kit anyway for the fishless cycle, so once you do have the fish, you can keep on using the test kit for regular water tests, and as I said, you'll probably need to do 2 water changes a week.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Vidobi04 said:


> Yeh and a light too. Been doing research and a lot of people have put on forums that a tank our size is about right for one.


All I will say is that there is a lot of misinformation about this type of fish on the internet. I have read lots of nonsense about them being able to live in glass vases/jars or tiny unheated tanks. They may be well removed from their wild ancestors but they are still fish and are still afflicted by the consequences of living in a inadequate environment like any other.

Your tank may hold 15 litres, but that is usually the capacity of water it is able to hold if it is filled to the very top (which you typically don't do). Then when you add the gravel, heater, filter, plants and any decorations, actually the capacity of water available to the fish is far less; in your case, probably 10 litres of water or less. That in my opinion is inadequate for any fish.


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## Pixieandbow (Feb 27, 2013)

Please don't put a Betta in a tank that small. Theoretically they would be able to survive because they have a labyrinth organ so can breathe surface air...but they deserve better than to just survive don't they?

They are a beautiful fish that display an array of wonderful behaviours but are as able to be as stressed and unhappy as any other fish. And yes, in the wild they are used to being in fairly shallow water...but that would still be more than 10 liters in all. Also consider the type of substrate and planting one would need.

I've kept quite a few of these beautiful fish over the years, please consider it is a living creature and therefore deserves better than to be confined to a tank that is far too small for its needs. As the previous poster said, there is a massive amount of misinformation about these fish.


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## Bochien (Mar 20, 2013)

totally agree with what was said. Might I add that those betta can live in a glass of water, they actually, when in the wild, can be surviving for weeks in a footprint of buffalo filled by muddy water, but this is just for weeks, then, they got more water. On top of it, those conditions, as bad as they can be are still in the wild, where the nitrites cycle is established for years, decades or centuries, that is not the case in a small tank.

I used to maintain tanks, I had from 30L to 450L, the 30L can already have parameter changes in matter of hours, so I can't imagine in 14L (actually maybe 10L water as said before).

Finally, just as analogy, you can easily live for weeks in a 100 sqf room without going out, but there is a point you need to go out... that will be the same for a fish.


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