shrimp and cleanup crew

[Ddredar]

I'm sure these questions have been asked before. But as usual, forum search engines are fair at best for finding info.

I have a 15gallon tall tank. How many shrimp should I add to help clean up. Also, what else could I put in there to help. My wife does not want snails if we can avoid them.

When I say 15 gallon tall tank; here is a link to what I have. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11390248&lmdn=Fish+Aquariums+%26amp%3B+Bowls&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

 

[Fishperson]

Just add a few, maybe 6 red cherry shrimp. They will multiply, and you can sell some of them.

 

[henningc]

Depends on what type of fish you're adding. RCS are great, and yummy too! Depending on the fish go RCS or Ghosts. RCS 6-8 / Ghost 8.

 

[Ddredar]

Well it looks like my tank cycle finished on Saturday, but I want to test things a bit before I consider it ready. I'm not off again until next weekend, so I'm gonna use that as an excuse to verify my cycle completion through out the week.


My wife and I have been looking at some fish. We are thinking of a couple of Pigmy Corys and some Glolight Tetras. After a few weeks adding some Neon Tetras.

Now my research here on the forums and other places say I should have no more than 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water. So I'm thinking of no more than 10 to 12 total fish of the ones I mentioned. We talked to a LFS person yesterday, not the regular expert, he was off. The one we talked to said those fish we picked have a low bio load and we can put as much as 15 to 20 of them in the tank. Is this true or am I getting fed a line for extra sales?

 

[Sk3lly]

Inch to gallon rule is a guideline and not a very useful one at that. If your going to follow it with those fish then you'd be breaking it already. Glow light tetras grow to about 2inches long. Just 10 of those would be 20inches in 15gallons

 

[robbyno22]

The neons I know have a low bio load... I would check out aqadvisor.com to get an idea about your stocking levels, and go from there. Add slowly and keep checking your water parameters. In my very limited experience, you can have more fish than the rule if they are small schooling fish because of their low bio load. I would follow the guidelines, but base your final stocking on water parameters and general fish "happiness". (If that makes sense, Lol!)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Sk3lly]

The neons I know have a low bio load... I would check out aqadvisor.com to get an idea about your stocking levels, and go from there. Add slowly and keep checking your water parameters. In my very limited experience, you can have more fish than the rule if they are small schooling fish because of their low bio load. I would follow the guidelines, but base your final stocking on water parameters and general fish "happiness". (If that makes sense, Lol!)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

And base on final fish growth. A fish might be 1inch in the shop but may grow to 10inches. Do research before you buy

 

[Caliban07]

I would also agree that the one inch per gallon rule/guide whatever you want to call it doesn't work. I think others will also say the Cory's will need a larger footprint than the tank you have and also should be kept in larger schools.

It really is best to under stock your tank in my opinion. Overcrowding can cause all sorts of problems down the line.

Overcrowding can cause stress to fish which in turn leaves the susceptible to opportunistic bacteria.

It can also foul water quicker if maintenance is slack again causing stress and leaving fish susceptible to opportunistic bacteria.

I would keep 1 small centrepiece fish that doesn't require swimming room or tank mates and a small school of small tetra.

For the bottom I would keep shrimp. That are also compatible with your centrepiece.

 

[Ddredar]

Thanks for all the info