Need A Little Help

[fishwatcher]

Hey folks - it's been a while since I've been on, and now I need some serious help. We're expecting a baby in a while and some of the tanks have to come down (at least for a while, until we add on to the house). I'm having horrible trouble trying to figure out what to keep and what to return, so any help would be great.

Right now I have 4 tanks that will be taken down to 2. The critters I really want to keep are:
a red-ear slider that is currently housed with a kribensis and 3 platies, a firemouth cichlid (that is currently housed with a JD and severum that are both to be returned) and a blue crawdad that is currently sharing a tank with 2 platies.
I will have a 29g and a 20g tank. I'd prefer to use the 29g for the turtle and roommates bc of the location. That will leave me with the 20g for the firemouth and roommates.
Here's my thinking:
29g- RES, a few sparkling gouramies, the krib, the betta and the kuhli loaches.
20g- firemouth, either the platies return them and get a gourami of some sort (dwarf or pearl?), a couple of ADFs and the crawdad.

I also have some shellies and a calvus that I am not sure what to do about. I'd lilke to keep them, but I think I like the firemouth a bit more.

I'm not concerned about the turtle eating any fish, as he's been with fish for the last year and hasn't had a single one yet. If he does happen to catch one though it's not a massive deal.
I'm more concerned about the firemouth tank... not sure with that one. Oh, and it's a 20 tall, not long, as I know that will make a huge difference.

Thanks for any help you can give -- I'm giving up a lot of my babies for a more important baby, but it's still hard.
Thanks again, in advance!

 

[Mr._Fishy]

A 20g high is really too small for a firemouth and it would probably nip the gouramis anyway. Also, a krib will tear apart a betta. Honestly, I would put the krib in the 20g and maybe try to get a pair. I don't really know what I would do for the 29.

Ryan

 

[tangokitty]

Doesn't the turtle get the water really messy? And do you have land for it? I've had one of those for 20 years and he is terribly messy. I built it a pond in the yard Tanks are to small for them IMO. Unless it's like 100 gallons... How big is it anyway? mine is like a dinner plate now but when I first got it it was the size of a quarter.

 

[funkycat]

Eventually both tanks will get two small,
the 29 will be too small for the turtle and the 20 will be too small for the firemouth.
Unless you really really like the firemouth (enough to get a bigger tank), i would keep the shellies and the calvus instead. The firemouth would probably attack any fish in its tank (maybe the cray too depending on molting.)

I would think that the crayfish would eat any ADFs or fish that i could get its claws on

 

[fishwatcher]

Slight change --
I'll be keeping the res (he's about 4" now -- rescue that will put out in our real pond when he gets big enough) in a 29 along with a small fish or 2, and I will also have another 29 g for the firemouth and whatever tankmates. Do you think that would be large enough (for a year or so, anyway)? I'm thinking I could trade for some rosy or tiger barbs, or something else along those lines.
The turtle has a nice set-up, with land and basking/uv lights, a good filter that keeps his water clean (along with wc, that is!).
As for the crayfish, yep he'll eat what he can catch, but in the year and half or so that I've had him, he's only been able to catch really slow and/or small fish. The adfs may need to go elsewhere, seeing as how they're half-blind it seems.

Thanks for the help, folks!!!

 

[fishwatcher]

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