37g setup questions

[wlepse]

I have a 37g tank with several plants and currently have 2 danios and 3 platys. I am still trying to decide what to stock the tank with but also want to figure out a good clean up crew. I like teh idea of shrimp but wonder how many I would need for a tank this size and how do I account for these guys? What I mean by that is the general rule of thumb of 1" per gallon, do these little guys count to that or since they are breaking down waste are they somehow pro-rated?

[smaug]

Shrimp add near zero to your bioload,they actually take more from it then they add simply by what they eat [detritus].A better clean up crew would be corys,they never stop looking for uneaten food and they are faster at it.You could have 6 corys,get all the same kind for schooling purposes.

[wlepse]

Thanks for the suggestion....but would the same hold true for them? Meaning they don't add to the bio load? Also how do you know you have enough waste for them to survive off of?

[Padams]

they are poop factories sorry what goes in comes out at somepoint

I would up the danios if they are of the smaller varieties.

[sheamurai]

I'd double them up myself - shrimp AND corys...shrimp are cool to have even aside from cleanup. I find Corys are only really good at cleaning up if the gravel is not too coarse. If the food drops into the gravel the corys can't get it out...I only have the one tank with Corys in it but thats what I've seen. The shrimp in my tank are plenty fast at picking up food - some of them don't even wait for it to hit the bottom, they'll swim up and get it.

[smaug]

they are poop factories sorry what goes in comes out at somepoint

I would up the danios if they are of the smaller varieties.
Whats a poop factory? corys or shrimp? both poop.However poo is far easier for the filter to break down then uneaten food and plant detritus,it is the beginning of the nitrogen cycle,uneaten food is another matter all by itself.The op asked about a clean up crew,not if they should add more fish.
Wlepse: Shrimp will survive off just about anything edible in the tank,corys need fish food,whether thats specifically given to them or just makes it past the other fish isnt an issue.

[Padams]

smaug

sorry should have quoted posts directly above mine.

OP was asking if corys had almost no bio load similar to shrimp. Due to them being larger and typical of bottom dwellers they eat most anything. With that being said the more they eat the more they poop. Shrimp do not take in near as much therefor the lesser load. My apologizes if this was unclear.

[wlepse]

The stone I have is fairly coarse so I am not too sure if the corys would do ok but I am going to look around and see what species I am interested in. It was mentioned to keep them in schools of 6 or more, can they be mixed species in the school? Also how big do these guys typically get? I am figuring they get at least 3" which would mean they would be half of my stock. Not really sure what I think of that just yet.

[jaysee]

They stay around 2 - 2.5 inches. It's best not to mix the schools - IME corys segregate themselves.

Sure they have a larger bioload than shrimp, but they are far from the poop machines that are plecos.

Corys are a good first line of defence when it comes to cleaning because they'll eat leftover food. However, they WON'T eat old decaying leftovers, nor will they eat detrius. Shrimp and snails are needed for that.

You can easily add 20-30 shrimp to your tank without any worries.