What do I get rid of?

[Julia]

I need to take out some things from this tank. But, what are the smartest things to take out. Can everybody take a vote?

40 gall breeder:

(1)Male Betta

(12) Harlequin Rasbora

(13) Rummynose Tetra

(1) Bristlenose Pleco

(20?) Cherry Shrimp

(3) Bamboo Shrimp

(1) vampire shrimp

(3) Amano Shrimp

 

Some of these pairings are intentional, some are circumstantial as i have had to consolidate tanks. The betta, for the record, is the perfect gentleman, except for baby shrimp, which I find rather helpful. 
 

what would you take out?

or nothing? Lol. 

[PotatoFish]

Do YOU like the tank?
Are you happy with the tank?
Do they all get along?

If yes to all three, I say keep it as is.

Awesome tank, by the way!

 

[Guppysnail]

The shrimp and pleco are janitors/keepers. You seem very fond of the betta and he is peaceful/keeper. So if you just want less going on it would “zen” the tank a bit to move/rehome either tetras or rasbora. Choose which you like the behavior of best. 
 

I’m with @PotatoFish though. If it working and you like it keep it as is. 

[Tanked]

Why do you need to take something out?  If there are no issues, I agree with @PotatoFish, leave it as is.  You have a really diverse community, and over time nature will solve any population issues.  Depending on your reasons, I would remove half each of the Rummynose and Harlequins. or all of the Rummynose. I think the Rummynose look better in large groups.

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:24 AM, Julia said:

I need to take out some things from this tank.

I don`t know much about stocking numbers but I wonder why you want to have less. Is the sponge your only filtration? I think your tank looks nice😀

[Julia]

I think i just had a “plan” and now that I added all those different shrimp and there are so many fish it just feels very busy. Also, all the food of all kinds! Plus the powdered stuff for the filter feeders. Ive always struggled with overfeeding and now with all the foods im struggling again. The betta hasnt over eaten yet, but its inevitable. Can you feel my overwhelmedness? I think its the feeding thing. Aqadvisor says im at 71% which is fine. I have plenty of filtration. Everyone gets along fine. The plants will grow more which is exciting. Its the feeding issue. Any tips?

[lefty o]

if they all get along, dont mess with it.

[Julia]

U all talked me off the ledge. I just need to learn how to feed them all appropriately without feeding too much. Plus last time i tried a community betta it did die after getting swim bladder issues. But I do like what is going on in there. Just so paranoid they are hungry and then paranoid i fed them too much. 
 

thank you for the compliments. Maybe I just needed reassurance before I do anything rash. 

[PotatoFish]

On 8/3/2022 at 10:28 PM, Julia said:

I think i just had a “plan” and now that I added all those different shrimp and there are so many fish it just feels very busy. Also, all the food of all kinds! Plus the powdered stuff for the filter feeders. Ive always struggled with overfeeding and now with all the foods im struggling again. The betta hasnt over eaten yet, but its inevitable. Can you feel my overwhelmedness? I think its the feeding thing. Aqadvisor says im at 71% which is fine. I have plenty of filtration. Everyone gets along fine. The plants will grow more which is exciting. Its the feeding issue. Any tips?

Ah, I understand now...

If overfeeding is your concern, maybe you could try portioning it all out beforehand. Like put the whole meal serving in medicine containers (those things that have multiple compartments for each day of the week). I do that when on vacation for people who come to feed fish. It might help with the impulse to feed more.

Or...you could just get an autofeeder.

Then again, if the feeding is causing the stress, maybe rehome the filterfeeders so you can focus on feeding the fishies. It would be one less food type to think about and keep track of. The pleco, maybe drop some wafers to target feed it. They'd be way too big for the others.

Also...is that a corydoras I see in the upper right of your picture?

Edited August 3, 2022 by PotatoFish
grammar

[Julia]

I love the medicine container idea. I will definitely try that since I already have a days of the week one. 
the cories, good eye! They are the survivors of the panda cory disaster or 2022. A month ago I purchased 8. They were small and maybe not entirely healthy but i had never had them and didnt exactly know better. They began dying off one by one. Maybe slightly pale.  But full of energy and eating till bam they died. So i though. Okay, maybe bad stock, i had never been to that lfs. So i got 6 more from a different lfs. Those are the only 2 left. I gave up on panda cories. I caught one but the other one is going to make me make a mess, that is the main goal for the day. To take them to the lfs I like so they can find a forever home. Cause i have no idea why they die in my tank. At a loss. 

[Guppysnail]

For the shrimp whatever you feed your filter feeders will do for all.  The rest will clean that up and the excess fish food. I never feed my cherry shrimp. They scavenger plenty from my other critters especially since I overfeed as well. 

[Julia]

Oh, really? I put a pinch of the repashy powder for them. I have been adding those fluval bottom feeder crumbles alternated with shrimp pellets for the rest of them but if its as simple as just the powder then that would help to cut down a lot!

this is good stuff guys! So much appreciated. 

[OutBout]

If this were my tank I would take out the bamboo and vampire shrimp. They prefer higher flow than what some of the other tankmates would like. Feeding these shrimp is another potential challenge, as they're "filter feeders" of sorts. If you see them crawling around all over the tank using their fans to pick up debris/food that means they aren't getting enough nutrients from the water column.

[Bev C]

 You have a beautiful tank   I had to arrange my feeding habits when I found out I had too many nitrates in my water, out of the tab and lots of algae with my plants   .  The medicine pill box with  the  days are a great idea for the portions  I use those when I go out of town and someone feeds them for me with   food measured out and directions  

 Normally I put 2-3 small pinch of food in and  wait  ... sometimes I have to add another pinch if some fish is being pigs and not sharing  I have 2 that are not sharers  but instead of feeding them every  day .. I feed mine every other day  once a day 

and that helped me allot . And my fish are fine and are fat and happy   and if you give a fish at least 1 day of no food and  fast them that helps their digestive system  I learn that my fish shop people who  been in business 30 years  and knows their fish  I usually take a fast day to do my cleaning of the tank  and I give my fish and snails  treats but watch how  often  I  feed and instead of feeding them  flakes or pellets I substitute  with the treat or vegetable 

hope all that makes sense, best wishes 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Bev C

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/3/2022 at 5:24 AM, Julia said:

40 gall breeder:

(1)Male Betta

(12) Harlequin Rasbora

(13) Rummynose Tetra

(1) Bristlenose Pleco

(20?) Cherry Shrimp

(3) Bamboo Shrimp

(1) vampire shrimp

(3) Amano Shrimp

Based on Temperatures:

Cooler Tank:
Amano
Harlequin Rasbora

Warmer Tank:
Bristlenose
Bamboo
Rummynose
Cherry Shrimp
Betta

Other:
Vampire Shrimp**

** = I don't know where this one fits best, I would this it would fit best in it's own space, preferably a 20L or so.

Edited August 3, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Bev C]

I would agree with @nabokovfan87 if you separate  them, I would go with the temperate  & who gets along with each other  

[Julia]

All good thoughts. Thank you for talking it out with me. I think i am going to take a few weeks to focus on honing in the feeding amounts/types. The filter feeders do tend to forage on the bottom which worried me a little. I’ll try feeding them a little more simce the cherries will be getting less other things they will be more likely to clean up excess powder. 
if it doesnt all settle i will decide between giving up the bamboos or the rummynose. Although when i added them the rasboras seemed to get much more comfortable. K. Thank you all. May your tanks bring u all the joy with minimal worry!

[411fishkeeping]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:49 AM, Julia said:

I love the medicine container idea. I will definitely try that since I already have a days of the week one. 
the cories, good eye! They are the survivors of the panda cory disaster or 2022. A month ago I purchased 8. They were small and maybe not entirely healthy but i had never had them and didnt exactly know better. They began dying off one by one. Maybe slightly pale.  But full of energy and eating till bam they died. So i though. Okay, maybe bad stock, i had never been to that lfs. So i got 6 more from a different lfs. Those are the only 2 left. I gave up on panda cories. I caught one but the other one is going to make me make a mess, that is the main goal for the day. To take them to the lfs I like so they can find a forever home. Cause i have no idea why they die in my tank. At a loss. 

Julia,

I recently purchased some Metae corys and found myself in the EXACT same situation… Cory's dying for unknown reasons… It's so frustrating! I purchased from two stores as well, and each day it's like a find another one dead. I just have to get to the bottom of this! You can see my posts here in Diseases and here in General. Tank looks great also!

Edited August 4, 2022 by 411fishkeeping
Added content.

[Julia]

Ya know, after clicking on your link I’m surprised that your story with the cories are so similar. In my case some of the cories I lost had very similar markings on their body. But the majority seemed to have nothing wrong with them except that when they started to die all the sudden they got pale. And it seemed like one might be totally fine when I looked in the morning but by that night it would be pale then the next morning dead. And no other animals in the tank seemed affected at all. So odd. Maybe shipping. Maybe stress, and/or a virus or a bacteria. I suppose without access to a lab we will never know. 
Well, I’m glad you likely have a small school of healthy cories now. Me, I cant do that again. In part, thats what led to consolidating my tanks in the first place, just felt too out of control all the sudden. Just gonna make one tank be the best it can be. 

[anitstuk]

On 8/3/2022 at 10:24 PM, Julia said:

I need to take out some things from this tank. But, what are the smartest things to take out. Can everybody take a vote?

40 gall breeder:

(1)Male Betta

(12) Harlequin Rasbora

(13) Rummynose Tetra

(1) Bristlenose Pleco

(20?) Cherry Shrimp

(3) Bamboo Shrimp

(1) vampire shrimp

(3) Amano Shrimp

 

Some of these pairings are intentional, some are circumstantial as i have had to consolidate tanks. The betta, for the record, is the perfect gentleman, except for baby shrimp, which I find rather helpful. 
 

what would you take out?

or nothing? Lol. 

Like several people mentioned earlier, if your tank mates and plants and algae are all getting along fine, leave it. You tank looks good and if you want to add more inhabitants, feel free. Aqadvisor isn't always the most accurate website to use when measuring your tank stocking level but it's the only one out there that does measure it. 

[JettsPapa]

I don't think you need to take anything out, but if you want to you could remove either the rasboras or the tetras, and maybe add a few more of the species you keep.

[kcochran]

As far as over feeding goes, I try to keep it to where I don't feed any more than what they can eat within 5 minutes or so. That's an arbitrary number that I came up with, but it seems to work for my fish. They all seem fine and look healthy.

I like to feed them just a little bit at a time for the course of 5 minutes until they get bored sometimes too.