Tank is getting depleted, what to do next?

[Stevetheadi]

Hi

I have a small, 64 litre, planted community tank that has been established for several years.

Over time the population of this tank has shrunk to the point where there are just these fish left:

2 Sterbei corydoras
3 Harlequin rasbora
2 Rummy nose tetras
1 Otocinclus

I don't have any other tanks, just this one.

What to do now?

Boost the number of one of these species?

If so, which one?

Or leave the population to dwindle further?

The plants/substrate could do with a bit of a refresh too.

Any thoughts, suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Any idea why the other fish died?

 

[Marc Pozz]

I’ve really got a soft spot for Kribensis.

 

[Marc Pozz]

Refresh your sand cap and watch the Kribensis sift through it together. Hours of fun

 

[Stevetheadi]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Any idea why the other fish died?

I suspect the other fish died because they got old but, to be honest, I've only ever seen a couple of dead fish and they didn't show any signs of disease.
The rest just disappeared....
Tank is 60x30x30cm
Nitrite is 0, nitrate a bit high but that's how it comes out of the tap and PH is neutral. Not sure about the other parameters you mentioned.

 

[Stevetheadi]

I’ve really got a soft spot for Kribensis.

I like the look of them too. Will they happily co-exist with the others?

 

[Essjay]

GH should be available as 'hardness' on your water company's website. If you live in Brigg, I assume it's Anglian Water? If it is, enter your postcode on this page

Public Water Supply Zone Information..

That should give a map with a box of text overlaying the map. The box should contain your hardness in several different units of measurement, you need the numbers for mg/l calcium carbonate (aka ppm) and degrees German (aka dH) as those are the two units used in fishkeeping.

if you could post those two numbers here, it would help us to help you.

 

[Stevetheadi]

GH should be available as 'hardness' on your water company's website. If you live in Brigg, I assume it's Anglian Water? If it is, enter your postcode on this page

Public Water Supply Zone Information..

That should give a map with a box of text overlaying the map. The box should contain your hardness in several different units of measurement, you need the numbers for mg/l calcium carbonate (aka ppm) and degrees German (aka dH) as those are the two units used in fishkeeping.

if you could post those two numbers here, it would help us to help you.

Thanks for that.

The water is very hard.

413.715 mg/l (or parts per million) 23.499 °dH

 

[Essjay]

That could be why your fish did not live long - they are all soft water fish. If the hardness is outside their range fish find it stressful, which reduces their immunity so they get sick easier. Soft water fish can also develop calcium deposits in their kidneys in hard water.

Going forwards you would probably find the fish are 'happier' if you choose hard water species. The tank is too small for a lot of hard water fish but the smaller livebearers such as endlers, guppies or platies would be fine in that tank size. But be careful as females will give birth to a lot of fry, even in a female only tank as if these fish have ever been in a tank with a male (shop, wholesaler) they can store sperm and use it to have fry for months. Males only avoids this problem.
Or one of the smaller species of rainbowfish such as Pseudomugils.

Search Results pseudomugil — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Members with hard water will be able to suggest more hard water fish for your 60 cm/2 foot tank.

 

[Stevetheadi]

That could be why your fish did not live long - they are all soft water fish. If the hardness is outside their range fish find it stressful, which reduces their immunity so they get sick easier. Soft water fish can also develop calcium deposits in their kidneys in hard water.

Going forwards you would probably find the fish are 'happier' if you choose hard water species. The tank is too small for a lot of hard water fish but the smaller livebearers such as endlers, guppies or platies would be fine in that tank size. But be careful as females will give birth to a lot of fry, even in a female only tank as if these fish have ever been in a tank with a male (shop, wholesaler) they can store sperm and use it to have fry for months. Males only avoids this problem.
Or one of the smaller species of rainbowfish such as Pseudomugils.

Search Results pseudomugil — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Members with hard water will be able to suggest more hard water fish for your 60 cm/2 foot tank.

That's extremely helpful, thank you very much.