Have I messed my stock up irreparably?

[PlasticGalaxy]

Since I joined this forum (three days ago lol) I've become very aware that my stock is the textbook definition of god-awful.

This is my current stock. I'm planning on rehoming the common pleco, glowlights, maybe the guppies and Congo tetra.
I've already been sent advice on what to do, half of it on how stupid I had been to get a pleco and how big they grow (not exactly helpful but thanks anyway), with some of which including keeping only two of my tetra species and grouping them up to groups of at least eight.
For reference, my tank is ~3.6ft wide, 18" high, 170L/37G.
(Current stock)

My current stock includes (exhaustive list):
7 rummy nose tetra*, 8 black neon tetra*, 3 pearl gourami, 5 Malaysian trumpet snails, 8 male guppies, 1 angel fish*, 5 glowlight tetra*, 3 neon tetra*, 3 Congo tetra, 3 kuhli loach, 1 clown loach, 1 red tailed black shark, 3 bronze corys, 1 sailfin pleco*, 1 common pleco* and 1 giant fan/vampire shrimp.

(*) Was originally meant to have 6 of each tetra except for the congo tetra, but was accidentally given a few extra and some neons and glowlights died.
Originally had 3 angel fish (regular size, not XL ones) but 2 have died and I've been unable to restock lately.
My sailfin (Pocoyo) is around 12cm and my common pleco (Baby) is very small, hence the name.

While I know that I can rehome a fair amount of these fish, I feel like it would be disrespectful to my father who poured a fair amount of money into my stock; the Congo tetra and guppies in particular. (For long-term fish owners the cost probably wouldn't sound like much, but I'm new to this and also just have a really bad perception of money).
My father is insisting that I don't need to rehome any fish and that they are happy as they are, but he is very laid-back whereas I am very paranoid and wary of these sorts of things.

Already (AKA not even two months after getting my first tank) I am losing sleep over the thought that I may have royally screwed everything up. Not sure if this is just a vent that I really shouldn't be putting out on this forum or if I'm legitimately after advice. I just don't know what to do here. Hindsight is an amazing thing, I know, but GOD did I really need to buy two of the worst algae eaters ever a week after the other?

No point in whining about it now, but I just really wish I had done more research and not let the idea of having the little sucky lads overtake logic and reason.

And while we're here... Will albino bronze corys shoal with regular bronze corys or are they fish-racist like kittens are?

 

[Wills]

First of all dont beat yourself up about this we all go through this at some point My first tank when I was 16 was a 47 litre tank which I put 7 fancy gold fish in and then I was into a steep learning curve that led me to this forum.

I totally know where your dad is coming from as we meet loads of people with similar attitudes on this forum but the point is that the hobby has moved on over the years and when we give our advice we do it to make sure the fish are kept in the best conditions which is sometimes unrealistic for everyone in the hobby. But it is given with the best intentions so that you get the most enjoyment out of your tank and your fish live the best life they can with the aim of them living into their expected lifespan.

I'd recommend trying to take him on a bit of a journey with you and show him what you have learned. You could show him seriouslyfish.com which is a profile website put together by profesional and academic icthyologists (people that research fish). You could show him a tank stock calculator like aqadvisor and you would be able to find a ton of information on YouTube if he does not want to read through tons of stuff.

With the fish you have there are none that are in imminent danger by being in your tank we can tell how much you care about them so know you are going to be maintaining your tank well and feeding properly etc. So please dont loose sleep or feel too anxious about your tank. I know this feeling well and it is the number 1 way to stop enjoying your tank which is the last thing we want to do here.

I understand where your dad is coming from, the money is an issue. There are a couple of fish in there that get expensive when you get into schools. But equally eventually these fish could become sick if kept like this long term and you will be spending more on medicines and treatments to try and rectify this so it is a bit of a balance as to which way to go.

The signs to look out for as to when you should really look at taking steps is when you cant keep your nitrate levels at a safe level. You might need to test your tap water to see where it is first but ideally you want to keep your tank under 20ppm, though under 40ppm is manageable. Nitrate levels getting higher than this is a sign of an over stocked tank as it means your fish are producing more waste than your water change routine can deal with. The second sign to look for is when the fish start to look too big in proportion to your tank, as long as you are doing regular decent water changes (aroudn 50% once per week) you should be able to avoid stunting the big growing fish like the plecos and the clown loach.

I think both these points should be able to tell you and your dad when it is past the point of opinions and actually becoming a welfare issue. Which it is important to stress you are not at right now. I would guess you are 6 months away from encountering any issues and a good 10 months away from encountering any serious issues.

For your cories Albino and Bronze will school together as long as they are the same species there are a couple of species bred with the Albino trait but in the UK they are mainly all Bronzes IME.

Wills

 

[Circus]

Most corydoras will shoal with one another. These ones are the same fish, just in another color.

 

[ClownLurch]

We’ve all made stocking mistakes, don’t beat yourself up about it. Try and do the best that you can for your fish.
@Wills post above is probably the best single post I’ve read on this forum. Outstanding stuff.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

First of all dont beat yourself up about this we all go through this at some point My first tank when I was 16 was a 47 litre tank which I put 7 fancy gold fish in and then I was into a steep learning curve that led me to this forum.

I totally know where your dad is coming from as we meet loads of people with similar attitudes on this forum but the point is that the hobby has moved on over the years and when we give our advice we do it to make sure the fish are kept in the best conditions which is sometimes unrealistic for everyone in the hobby. But it is given with the best intentions so that you get the most enjoyment out of your tank and your fish live the best life they can with the aim of them living into their expected lifespan.

I'd recommend trying to take him on a bit of a journey with you and show him what you have learned. You could show him seriouslyfish.com which is a profile website put together by profesional and academic icthyologists (people that research fish). You could show him a tank stock calculator like aqadvisor and you would be able to find a ton of information on YouTube if he does not want to read through tons of stuff.

With the fish you have there are none that are in imminent danger by being in your tank we can tell how much you care about them so know you are going to be maintaining your tank well and feeding properly etc. So please dont loose sleep or feel too anxious about your tank. I know this feeling well and it is the number 1 way to stop enjoying your tank which is the last thing we want to do here.

I understand where your dad is coming from, the money is an issue. There are a couple of fish in there that get expensive when you get into schools. But equally eventually these fish could become sick if kept like this long term and you will be spending more on medicines and treatments to try and rectify this so it is a bit of a balance as to which way to go.

The signs to look out for as to when you should really look at taking steps is when you cant keep your nitrate levels at a safe level. You might need to test your tap water to see where it is first but ideally you want to keep your tank under 20ppm, though under 40ppm is manageable. Nitrate levels getting higher than this is a sign of an over stocked tank as it means your fish are producing more waste than your water change routine can deal with. The second sign to look for is when the fish start to look too big in proportion to your tank, as long as you are doing regular decent water changes (aroudn 50% once per week) you should be able to avoid stunting the big growing fish like the plecos and the clown loach.

I think both these points should be able to tell you and your dad when it is past the point of opinions and actually becoming a welfare issue. Which it is important to stress you are not at right now. I would guess you are 6 months away from encountering any issues and a good 10 months away from encountering any serious issues.

For your cories Albino and Bronze will school together as long as they are the same species there are a couple of species bred with the Albino trait but in the UK they are mainly all Bronzes IME.

Wills

Thank you so much for all of this, I can't begin to express how much everyone's help means to me.
Not sure if I'm misreading/misinterpreting because I am honestly very dense, but do you mean that I should be doing a 50% water change once a week? Just clarifying.

Thanks for all your help as always.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Most corydoras will shoal with one another. These ones are the same fish, just in another color.

Thank you!!

 

[Naughts]

If your tank is 14" front to back it will be around 46 US gallons. Imperial (UK) gallons are rarely used.

Calculator

50% water change a week is generally regarded as minimum for stable parameters, probably need more for water quality in an overstocked tank.

 

[ClownLurch]

Thank you so much for all of this, I can't begin to express how much everyone's help means to me.
Not sure if I'm misreading/misinterpreting because I am honestly very dense, but do you mean that I should be doing a 50% water change once a week? Just clarifying.

Thanks for all your help as always.

Do at least 50% as 50% is generally accepted as ok for a well stocked or under stocked tank. If you’re overstocked then you’ll need to change more.
Best of luck....and have fun doing it.

 

[Wills]

Yep as @ClownLurch says we reccommend 50% water changes weekly.

Big water changes help dilute things that build up in the tank over time. Primarily Nitrates but also fish produce a variety of hormones that is not good for them to live in for long, these hormones can be things like growth hormones so if there are too many in the water you get stunted fish.

Wills