Pruning my tank

[Alien Anna]

Hi Everyone,
when I "aquired" this tank it was way over-populated. The person who donated it to me said there was plenty of space for more fish, so being a newbie I believed him and bought a few more. Since it was fairly heavily planted, and there was a red-tailed shark in there, turns out most of the fish were cowering in the shadows and that was why I couldn't see them!

We live and learn.

Anyway, for the past year now I've been gradually trying to reduce the number of fish, and the number of species in the tank, to more acceptable levels. For the sake of any newbies reading, an over-crowded tank is not only difficult to keep stable, it doesn't look great either. It's a 28 US gallon tank and the current population is:

Pair of Pearl Gouramis
4 Cherry Barbs (f)
5 Cardinal tetras
3 Rummy-nosed tetras Hemigrammus bleheri
3 False Rummy-nosed tetras Petitella georgiae - bought in error.
1 Beckford's pencilfish (remains of a school)
1 SAE
1 Bristle-nosed plec

I estimate this as potentially 32" of fish, which would not be too worrying if I were happy about the school sizes.

I took a m-f pair of cherry barbs out today and put them in my 12 gal with a betta and a school of black neon tetras. Baesch says cherries are reluctant schoolers at best and don't like their own kind, except for a mate. They seem to have settled in well. I have another pencilfish in the hospital tank but it has dropsy and I don't expect it to live. The remaining pencilfish seems to be having breathing trouble. Since they are not long-lived fish I expect it's just old-age.

Ideally, I'd like to be able to make up the schools of my H.bleheri and P.georgiae - I had not intended to buy different species, but I didn't realise there were two so similar. I'd also like to have at least one more cardinal tetra in there (I've lost 3 recently) to make up the school. Any plans to get more SAEs have been scuppered since they are virtually impossible to obtain round here - I bought one because its the only thing I know that eats hair algae, but apparently fish keepers in East England aren't aware of that virtue.

Currently, I have a brackish tank set up for livebearers, the small betta community tank (full), a hospital tank and another 12 gal waiting in the wings (for when I decide what to put in it, and when I can afford another hood, heater, pump etc.). Has anyone any brilliant ideas how I should proceed? Giving them to an LFS is not an option as I love them all equally

 

[Liz05]

Get another tank!

 

[Alien Anna]

OK, Cleverclogs! But I don't have space for another tank

I could however stack up the tanks I already have, which means I could have that extra 18" tank underneath the one I've already got. What if I set that up with 2 cherry barbs, 6x rummy-nosed tetras (make up the school with 3 from my main tank) and a female betta?

That would reduce my main tank by 6.5" of fish, which means I could just about squeeze another 3 False rummy-nosed tetras in (assuming the pencilfish dies) to make up that school, plus one cardinal tetra to make up that school. That looks a lot tidier, but still doesn't get over the problem of the SAE being all on his ownio.

 

[AllusiveLife]

"yes you love then all the same" but for different reasons of course. There is really no suggestion that can be given, you're in a really tight spot you have to take things as they come even if it is to waiting for a fish to die. You have no room for another aquarium, your aquariums have already had the tank space taken away by the amount of fish you currently have. You're stuck and the only option you have is trusting someone with one who could take care of fish and would gladly do you a favor and get benefited out of it so you could have the safe mind of knowing you placed the fish into the right hands with good people, and you still had room. But again you love the fish all ='ly.... You're stuck