You could have corydoras cartfish which are great cleaners
although they arent the cheapest fish, they generally cost 8-14 dollars.
They are best of in a group of 4 or more.
cory cats are also very friendly and great community fish so they would be fine with other species of freshwater fish.
because they are small (2inch maximun size) you could have a dwarf gourami which i have and they are very good or some neons, danios, or mollies, its mainly up to you.
I personally have some myself and i think they’re great.
these catfish are also reasonably easy to take care of
and you will need the following:
Filter – 20-30 dollars
Heater – 15-25 dollars
Some gravel – 5-15 dollars
Water testing kits – 5-15 dollars depending how many you get.
A siphon for water changes which occur once a week taking out 25% of the water – 5-15 dollars
Fish Food (ofcoarse) – 2-10 dollars
Chemicals – 5-20 dollars (all you need is chlorine nuetraliser and ph down or up)

optional are:
ornaments – 5-15 dollars
Plants (also helps water quality) – 5-15 dollars
Light – 30-50 dollars

this link can tell you a whole lot more
please read before getting fish.

Search liveaquaria or thatpetplace for freshwater prices. It’s worth stopping by a local fish store to get a feel for what you like…photos don’t do a lot of fish justice.

Might want to try GloFish…they’re colorful and glow under blacklight (they’re a type of zebra danio).

no goldies or loaches. stick with small fish like danios and dwarf cories. you will need to cycle the tank b4 adding fish

Think small fish.

Goldfish will outgrow a 10gal, as will Dojo Loaches.

Best catfish option for a 10 gal is a few small cory catfish. There are various species, and some only grow to 1″ long.

Then you could keep a dwarf gourami, a betta, or a school of small fish like Neons, White Cloud Minnows or other small schooling fish.

A 10 gal tank does limit what you can keep, but there are plenty of good (small) options that will work.

Have read of some good fishkeeping web sites like and you will learn a lot.

The trick to successfull fish keeping is setting up a stable environment in the aquarium. Look after the tank and water, and the fish will take care of themselves. Try and care for the fish like you do a hamster or a kitten – fail every time

None of the fish I have mentioned are expensive, a few dollars each.

Ian

a very small one. you’d probably get off on a small bullhead catfish out of one of your local ponds. you and the fish would be much better off upgrading to a 55 gallon one.

All most all fresh water fish that should range from 1-20$

Yes, there are! My smaller sister has a Dojo Loach, A Small Loach which Cleans the sides of the tank and Actually Tell you what the weather will be Like, through a process of actions and movements.
These fish are escape artists, though. they will swim up or into any uncovered pipe or opening. It is not at all unusual for dojos to end up in the filter.
They Eat sinking pellets, which are fairly inexpensive.
Dojos are among the must undemanding loaches and can thrive in a wide range of water parameters. Softer and slightly acidic water is generally preferred. They do not require a heater in their tank, and are often paired with goldfish.
Dojo are around $3 each, and are found at almost all fish retailers.

10 1-inch fish or 1 10-inch fish, or sumtin in between

theres lots too be kept in a 10 gallon. you could get some white cloud minnows, neon tetras, mollies, endlers, guppies, and maybe a dwarf puffer but if its your first tank i wouldn’t recommend the puffer. fish will probably cost anywhere from 1-5 bucks for these. You need a filter, a heater, some gravel, decorations, maybe some plants. a light, and that is about it.

Ooh, Ooh, get my Favorite kind of fish: the all mighty Ryukin goldfish.
I bought mine at $15 and they are just So funny to watch swim. They’re pretty simple to take care of and all and add a nice gold color to the tank.
Good luck with that
~ioshuaus