I Think I Need To Downstock

[onidrase]

Hey guys. I've been busy as heck recently, trying to get my adult life started, working 40+ hour weeks while searching for a college to become a vet tech and learning to drive.

While I've been able to pull off keeping my 75 gallon tank together, I've found myself dwindling on my willingness to really do the maintenance, growing rather lazy with water changes and such with my lack of free time, and my fish are only half their adult size, I've got a feeling it'll take a lot to keep my tank going as it is. I'd like to keep it a little lower on maintenance. More like 20-50% leniant changes every two weeks as opposed to the 50% strict weekly changes I had been doing before life happened where I can barely find the time to even sit around on my computer.

Right now the tank is jam-packed with:
1 green terror
1 severum
1 convict
1 firemouth
7 silver dollars
5 giant danios
3 raphael catfish
1 featherfin catfish
1 bristlenose pleco

Ideally, I'd like for the tank tobe filtered solely by the fluval 406 canister it's running already, rather than running multiple filters.

I'd also like to be able to keep my catfishes, as well as keeping either my green terror or severum, if keeping both isn't an option, and it probably isn't.

I'd like to keep as many of the cichlids I have as possible, at that. I've really grown onto them, though I've kind of talked myself into getting some of them when I knew it probably wasn't a good idea. Rehoming any of them will be hard, but probably necessary.

I'd appreciate still having 1 species of schooling fish, though I'm planning on rehoming the silver dollars and getting smaller schooling fish, perhaps columbian or bleeding heart tetras, maybe going to tiger barbs again.



Any advice or suggestions are appreciated, as well as some stocking suggestions. Thanks much.

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

i would say get rid of silver dollars get 15 penguin tetras get rid of danios and maybe the firemouth

 

[onidrase]

i would say get rid of silver dollars get 15 penguin tetras get rid of danios and maybe the firemouth

The penguin tetras are too slim, they'd probably end up as lunch for the severum or the green terror, perhaps even the raphaels might snack on a few. Looking into the wide bodied fishes that wouldn't be easy to swallow. The danios need to go anyway as they've been disappearing, I think either the catfish or the green terror is the culprit.

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

what about a type of rasbora ?

 

[onidrase]

what about a type of rasbora ?

Rasboras would all be food as well for most of the guys. Green Terrors and Severums are both very large fish. And big fish have big mouths. and any fish will eat another fish if they think they can. I'm gonna keep looking into medium sized tetras. Right now my maybe fish are bleeding heart tetras, black skirt tetras, tiger barbs, odessa barbs, rosy barbs, or columbian tetras.

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

what about golden barbs they are really nice fish and bigger than penguin tetras.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Alright we need to slim it down, rehome both schools. Personally I'd rehome the Raphael's and the syno, the raphs get chunky and the syno can get huge. Add 10 - 12 of one of the schoolers you like and you should be good.
You may have to rehome one or more cichlids as they get older and more aggressive, so be prepared.

 

[onidrase]

Alright we need to slim it down, rehome both schools. Personally I'd rehome the Raphael's and the syno, the raphs get chunky and the syno can get huge. Add 10 - 12 of one of the schoolers you like and you should be good.
You may have to rehome one or more cichlids as they get older and more aggressive, so be prepared.

Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on them. the green terror has reached 7 inches now and he's still a big kitten, the convict minds his own business under a log and just flares at anyone who stands by, the severum does severum things like staring at the surface and begging for food, and the firemouth is a little pistol that tries to pick on everything, he may be the one to go if he gets much worse. He's super tiny, too.

The syno already is huge, actually. I got him at an inch long 6 months ago and he's already 8 inches now. Beautiful guy, minds his own under the manzanita. The raphaels all hide unless it's feeding time, but they're honestly the fish that made me want to get a bigger tank and get into the hobby a little more in depth. Something is just so charming about them, to me.

I may rehome the syno, but I'd really like to keep all the raphaels at any cost.

 

[onidrase]

Does anyone know if the columbian tetras would grow large enough to not be food? Hard to say. I know plenty of people always have bleeding heart tetras in green terror tanks. But I believe columbians are a tad smaller.

 

[delta]

Does anyone know if the columbian tetras would grow large enough to not be food? Hard to say. I know plenty of people always have bleeding heart tetras in green terror tanks. But I believe columbians are a tad smaller.

I saw some huge Buenos Aries Tetras in my local MA last week. I didn't actually realise they could get as big as these. I don't know if Columbians have the potential to grow as big as Buenos Aries - they looked pretty impressive and possibly big enough for what you need.

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

in seen some of them too they are really nice fish and giant compared to the ones ive seen.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Yes, Columbians get to be almost, if not, the same size as bleeding hearts.

 

[minnnt]

CRFT's would be perfectly fine.