Polyculture vs. Monoculture

[ichthyogeek]

Once I move, I'm going to try my hand at breeding banggais, red firefish, and either Randall's or hi fin shrimp gobies, along with peppermint and randall's pistol shrimp. I plan on removing the clutches on hatch nights, so I'm not worried about catching larvae (which will make great conditioning food for the other fish if I don't have the capabilities to handle the clutch). I'm wondering if it's more practical for me to put them all in the same tank (a 20L) without dividing them up, or if I should divide them up as follows: banggais and peppermint shrimp will be on one end and separated via needlepoint mesh divider from the firefish, which will be separated via divider from the shrimp gobies and pistol shrimp. They'll all be getting the same diet as well (home prepared fish food in conjunction with other frozen supplements + pellets). I'm aiming for more utility than aesthetics, so the only things in the tank will be PVC pipes/egg crate/a fake plant for cover. Are there any pros/cons I'm missing, especially in regards to fecundity?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Bump

 

[ichthyogeek]

Nobody? I asked this in a number of the groups I’m in. So far, it seems like a no, just based off of the footprint and competition between the fish. So I guess I’m making DIY tank dividers...

 

[taricha]

Since any one of those (except banggai) are really challenging, and there are a million things that can go wrong in even the best controlled environment - people generally don't make serious attempts at breeding multiple species together simultaneously. Or at least, I haven't seen people do it.

 

[sabeypets]

Most of the time I do a species only tank, that way there are no other distractions in the tank. The Banggai and the firefish probably won't be comfortable enough to spawn in a partitioned off 20 gallon.