Please Advise On Tank Reshuffle

[dwarfgourami]

Atm I have 4 peppered corys in a 19 gallon tank, together with 1 male platy, some amano shrimps and 3 small bristlenose fry. All well and good so far. However, I need to move my mature female bristlenose from the 63 gallon into this tank because of her immoral and feckless behaviour!!! (A sort of fishy asbo, if you see what I mean- don't go near any males!) The 63 gallon houses Mr Bristlenose and an unknown number of young masters and misses, most of them under an inch long+ some portholes, platies and guppies. Not overstocked, and I will be selling off the bristlies as they grow. The male platy cannot be moved in here for reasons of celibacy.

So what do you think I should do? The 19 gallon won't perhaps be overstocked as such, and I can always move the 3 juvenile bristlies, but I am a bit worried about the effect the incoming crap load on the surface might have on the corys. Both tanks have smooth gravel, plenty of hiding places, bogwood and plants. So should I:

Move the corys into the 63 gallon (there to share with a number of crapping bristlies- but at least it is a bigger tank)?

or:

Keep the corys in the 19 gallon with mrs Bristlie and the platy and do twice-weekly gravel vacs?

 

[TammyLiz]

Man, sorry your post went unanswered for so long! I hate it when that happens. You might have already made your decision but I figured I'd go ahead and share my opinion anyways, since you asked.

Since I don't have bristlenoses I am not familiar with how much they actually poo, but I have a rubbernose so I can imagine it'd be the same relative to size, right? Anyways, if they are, I'd say either option you mentioned would be fine, granted you have adequate filtration in both tanks. It sounds like they are both pretty lightly stocked. I feel like a 19 gallon is a little small for a fully grown bristlenose but some people do it, and it sounds like thats the best place for her to be in any case since she is causing trouble in the larger tank.

 

[Tolak]

With either or both tanks try putting a small powerhead with a pre-filter on the bottom. This will help keep debris from settling letting your filter remove it.

I've been breeding albino bristlenose in a 20 gallon, the powerhead is needed.

 

[Barracuda518]

Just make sure the bottom is clean where the cories will be. A dirty substrate will cause the cories to get a bacterial infection.