Stocking For 12 Gallon

[CrazyDiamond88]

Hello! I'm moving my betta out of my 12 gallon tank and into a 5 gallon (will hopefully upgrade down the line)

My 12 gallon, apart from the betta who will move out soon, has 9 Pygmy corydoras.

My question is, how many more of the Pygmy could I add when the betta is gone?
Second question, if I leave the 9 Pygmy, what other species can I put in with them and how many? And what about red cherry shrimp?

Sorry, I know that was a lot of questions!

 

[the_lock_man]

Cherry shrimp are a good addition to a nano tank, and don't really add to the bioload in a significant way.
 
Really, I think you should only really add one, maybe two, more cories.

 

[Dmbandstef]

You could add one bamboo shrimp. They are super cool lookin and will help keep the tank clean, just make sure your filter can supprt all those fish.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Lock man - at one stage I had 11 cories and the betta fish. I don't know much about stocking but I thought without the bioload of the betta I could a couple more cories?


Thanks for the tip on the bamboo shrimp, never heard of them before. Sounds interesting!

 

[Dmbandstef]

Yeah, bamboo shrimp are wicked cool. They get to be about 4 inches long. Heres a picture i found on google.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Dmbandstf - That pic looks like a Red Cherry Shrimp or perhaps a Fire Red, not a Bamboo Shrimp.
 
This link is useful for a little extra information on a few species of shrimps, including Bamboo Shrimps.
 
http/www.planetinverts.com/Bamboo_Shrimp.html
 
I have Red Cherry Shrimps, and they're great to have in my tanks, i like them and also have snails as well.

 

[the_lock_man]

Lock man - at one stage I had 11 cories and the betta fish. I don't know much about stocking but I thought without the bioload of the betta I could a couple more cories?


Thanks for the tip on the bamboo shrimp, never heard of them before. Sounds interesting!

 
I would have said that the tank was a little overstocked before, not drastically so. If you feel comfortable with pushing the boundaries, then go for it - it's not just about filtration, it's also about stress. You can cope with a packed bus or train at rush hour, because it's only for a short time. You'd soon start to suffer if it was a permanent arrangement. Same with fish.

Yeah, bamboo shrimp are wicked cool. They get to be about 4 inches long. Heres a picture i found on google.

 
That picture of the red shrimp isn't a bamboo. I'd agree with Ch4rlie, that it's a red cherry.

 

[Dmbandstef]

Thanks, google, for making me look like an idiot! Lol I thought it looked a little too red myself but I just thought it was a particularly nice looking one.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Okay so I'm going to buy the shrimp today.

How many of the red cherry shrimp could I get for my tank?

Assuming I don't add any more cories.

And if I just wanted to get more cories how many could I get?

 

[the_lock_man]

I should go for 3 or 4. Assuming you get at least one male and at least one female, you'll soon have loads any way, they breed like wild-fire. I bought 10 just over 2 years ago, and now have 50+, and that's with having a few eaten by a peacock goby.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Thanks lock man I didn't see this till I bought the shrimp but I have 7 now.

These shrimp are cute. One of them was shuffling around in the sand then it felt it's way onto a Cory. Then it realized the Cory was a living thing and backed up the way it came real fast xD