White Cloud Minnows

[bluegravel]

I really wasn't sure where to put this... sorry if it's in the wrong section.

I have a 10 gallon tank with a school of 10 white clouds in there.

I just upgraded to a 20 gallon tall tank. How many more could I add to the school in there, if any?

 

[Caprichoso]

I really wasn't sure where to put this... sorry if it's in the wrong section.

I have a 10 gallon tank with a school of 10 white clouds in there.

I just upgraded to a 20 gallon tall tank. How many more could I add to the school in there, if any?

They stay on the smaller side, you could add 5 more. That is if you don't have any other fish of course! Except shrimp, you could add some shrimp.

 

[bluegravel]

Nope! no other fish!

so, 5 more? that wouldn't be pushing it? Cause I think even 10 in a 10 gallon is probably a bit much, they are extremely active.

Is there any other fish I could possibly add to it? like bottom dwellers?

I also thought of adding a small school of Golden White Cloud Minnows, but idk if that would be wise to start 2 different schools in a smaller tank.

 

[StandbySetting]

20-25 would be fine in a tank that size, you could have 2 schools of 12 if you wish, it's up to you, that is with no other fish, if you would like to keep other fish, go for species which will do well at sub-tropical temperatures of about 18-20oC, WCMM's will do best at this temperature.

 

[Caprichoso]

Nope! no other fish!

so, 5 more? that wouldn't be pushing it? Cause I think even 10 in a 10 gallon is probably a bit much, they are extremely active.

Is there any other fish I could possibly add to it? like bottom dwellers?

I also thought of adding a small school of Golden White Cloud Minnows, but idk if that would be wise to start 2 different schools in a smaller tank.

Are you strict on weekly maintenance? If yes and you do big water changes (50%) and gravel vac then you can have 5 more. Yes, you could put in more than that but I would see how 5 more are first. If you are happy with 5, then leave it at that. If you want a bottom dweller, buy a large school of Pygmy corydoras(at least 6) but then don't get any more minnows. Trust me, if you have a good thing going, you don't want to push the envelope by getting too many fish. Just my opinion.

 

[bluegravel]

Not really much. I'm not really even sure how much to change of the water, or how to vacuume the gravel.

I might just stick with my current school, setup the new tank, see how it goes, and maybe 2 more white clouds.

I would like to add 2 or 3 Ghost Shrimp for clean up crew, but last time I had them they tried to attack one of my black neon tetras that I previously had and I think had been munching on their fins.

 

[Caprichoso]

Not really much. I'm not really even sure how much to change of the water, or how to vacuume the gravel.

I might just stick with my current school, setup the new tank, see how it goes, and maybe 2 more white clouds.

I would like to add 2 or 3 Ghost Shrimp for clean up crew, but last time I had them they tried to attack one of my black neon tetras that I previously had and I think had been munching on their fins.

That isn't normal behaviour for shrimp, they are very peaceful creatures. I have seen them "investigate" other fish by trying to go along for a horsey back but they won't actually harm your fish so no worries there. If the fins of your fish are frayed, it's not from the shrimp but either poor water conditions which caused fin rot or from the other neons nipping each other.

Now for water changes: remove approx. 50% of the water using a siphon hose or a gravel vac. It may cost you a few coins but makes the job faster and easier. I believe there is a thread on gravel vac DIY somewhere on the forum. If you purchase a gravel vac, it will come with instructions and will be very easy to use. It is very imperative that you do this maintenance every week on your tank even if you don't overstock. Water quality is so very important for long term aquarium success, I cannot stress that enough. A quick way to determine how much water to take out is to take the height of the tank and divide by 2 and that is how far down you should be removing the water. I'm assuming you know about putting the water back in? De-chorinate and make sure the water is the same temperature as the tank water.

Good luck

 

[bluegravel]

The ghost shrimp I had was really huge. It seems like it had gotten quite aggressive. I had also seen the same shrimp try to go after a previous minnow I had. I think I've decided to just put the school of 10 white clouds I got in there and not add anymore. But is there anything else I could get to put in there thatll do good below 75 degrees?

 

[StandbySetting]

Probably not ghost shrimp then, there are many species which are often mislabeled as ghost shrimp in the hobby.

 

[bluegravel]

I wouldn't mind keeping red cherry shrimp, but I don't know they can survive in my tank without a heater.

 

[StandbySetting]

Yes they can, they're a sub tropical shrimp species but are very lenient, I've kept them outside in a small tank (I thought I'd got rid of them all) and they survived a -20oC winter, they wont reproduce below about 16oC though.

 

[bluegravel]

This is probably a long shot, but how about 2 chinese algae eaters?

 

[Caprichoso]

This is probably a long shot, but how about 2 chinese algae eaters?

They get aggressive and don't really eat that much algae, wouldn't recommend them. Shrimp are fine at room temp. I keep mine at 74F but they can be kept cooler. As far as your shrimp, unless you can provide a pic, it's hard to determine what type it is. Doesn't sound like ghost shrimp as they don't get "huge".

 

[bluegravel]

I've decided to go with Golden White Cloud Minnows, as I stopped by a Petco by my house tonight and suprisingly found that they had recently started carrying them. They are quite fantasic. much more striking than the standard white clouds.

If I have 10 standard white clouds, how many golden ones do you think I could add? I only got 2 for now as that's all they had

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

You could do a mini Asian hillstream biotope, adding two or three specimens of "Hillstream Loach." This would need research on your behalf at places like www.loaches.com to find a species that stays under 6cm, but it would add some variation to your tank, with the loaches and your existing WCMM enjoying 10x (or perhaps a little more) water turnover and cool temperatures below 22C (ideally closer to 18C for most of the year).