Feeding my fish: How much is enough?

[mel_20_20]

After having water quality issues, my tank is cycled, but the lady at the lfs said to feed only every other day.

I'm worried about the Emerald cory and the 2 Otos.
I have a 10 gallon. 3 tetras, 2 guppies, 2 ADFs, 3 ghost shrimp, 1 very smart mystery snail and live plants.

I use some flakes, but also drop about 2 to 3 of those wafers for bottom feeders ( usually break each one in half and drop in different areas )

I'm worried I don't have enough algae for the otos, and the dang snail has a nose like a bloodhound. She (I call her a she but I don't know) will be traveling across the glass and do a 180 and make a bee line for a wafer after I drop one in there.

I don't know how much of that the cory gets, and I'm really unsure about the otos. My tank is so clean looking. How do I know if they are getting enough to eat.

Everybody in there looks hungry to me, but as the very strange lady at the lfs store said (with a straight face and without cracking a smile) when I told her this..... "What else are they gonna do?"

How much should I feed them? Would there be algae in there that I can't see? I don't want to starve anyone.

[jpappy789]

Kind of a tight squeeze given the tank size so I would be more cautious with how much you do feed. Generally I like to say feed as much as what is eaten (nothing falling to the bottom) in about 3 minutes. Maybe a little less in your case. It's hard to give any exact amount but I wouldn't worry about your fish starving unless you go weeks without feeding.

If you are worried about the otos, try feeding some fresh veggies as well.

[13enzene]

I have read from many sources that you should feed only what the fish can eat in a couple of minutes. Also I feed my guys every day twice a day and skip a day every week. This will make the fish go around the tank looking for food eating any uneaten food.

[jpappy789]

A fasting day is a good idea. Helps clear out the system ;)

[mel_20_20]

I do english peas every couple of days. Blanched and peeled.
Do you think the tank is too crowded?

[13enzene]

for a 10 I would say that it was.

[mel_20_20]

What would you do? What size tank do I need for these guys?

[myang07]

20 gallon? Twice the water capacity and fairly cheap still...

[jpappy789]

I'd also say a 20 long would be much better. Even leaves some room for additions.

[DAVIDFBT]

3 Neons: they really need more than 6 to be happy, they are a schooling fish that needs company of their own. Either get 3 more or take them out.
2 Guppies: Fine in a 10 gallon, just be careful for babies if they are male and female.
2 ADFs: Fine in a 10 gallon, just make sure that they are being fed enough food.
1 Cory: They need at least 6 to a group and if you have that in a 10 gallon, you would overstock it. Give them back to the LFS.
2 Otos: They prefer groups of at least 4 and unless if you are feeding them enough food, it would not work in a 10 gallon tank.
Shrimp: You can keep them in there, they clean up the extra food and have very little bioload.
Mystery snail: You can keep it in there.

So either get rid of the Neons and keep the Guppies, or get rid of the Guppies and get 3 more Neons. Fish you will need to take out for sure are the cory, and otos.

[13enzene]

there is a thread being created that has fish that can be stored in a 10 gallon if you wanted to take a look.

[jpappy789]

3 Neons: they really need more than 6 to be happy, they are a schooling fish that needs company of their own. Either get 3 more or take them out.
2 Guppies: Fine in a 10 gallon, just be careful for babies if they are male and female.
2 ADFs: Fine in a 10 gallon, just make sure that they are being fed enough food.
1 Cory: They need at least 6 to a group and if you have that in a 10 gallon, you would overstock it. Give them back to the LFS.
2 Otos: They prefer groups of at least 4 and unless if you are feeding them enough food, it would not work in a 10 gallon tank.
Shrimp: You can keep them in there, they clean up the extra food and have very little bioload.
Mystery snail: You can keep it in there.

So either get rid of the Neons and keep the Guppies, or get rid of the Guppies and get 3 more Neons. Fish you will need to take out for sure are the cory, and otos.

"Emerald cory" usually refers to bronchis splendes, which are not corys but similar. Biggest difference is size. While most corys max out at 2-3", emeralds hit the 4" mark and generally have more girth.

I would try something like this:

10 gallon:

2 guppies (room for maybe one or two more)- all male
shrimp
ADF's

20 gallon long:

6-8 neons
6 corys (I personally would return the bronchis, if that's what it is)
4 otos
*some room for a centerpiece (small gourami species, dwarf cichlids, etc.)

If a 20 long (or bigger) is not within reach at the moment I would seriously consider downsizing the stock of your tank soon before the water quality troubles return.

[SchizotypalVamp]

I agree with David's stocking advice

[stussy28]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I have a similar question. I have 6 zebra danios in a 10 gallon tank with two otos. Based on what's been said, my tank is overstocked. I also have a small algae problem on my eco-complete substrate. If it is overstocked, I can't get more otos, so how could I fix this problem? Thanks a lot.

[13enzene]

Get a bigger tank or remove some of the fish.