ok so im in the process of redoing my 125 and was wondering what kinds of animals there are for FW tanks that work great as clean up crew, i know there are snails (which types of snails are best, would need them for both algae eating and sand stirrers) but what else, with saltwater there are all kinds of crabs, shrimps, worms and other invertebrates that are used for keeping the tank clean, are there worms or anything that can be put in fw tanks for this purpose? would like my tank to have the greatest biodiversity possible, and if there are where is the best place to get them from?
Awesome Cleanup Crew?
- Thread starter Sarah88
- Start date
no stock yet lol redoing my tank (125g) as CA so will be cycled filter media but all fish will be new, planning on doing
1 oscar
1 red terror
2 carpintis escondido
1 pink-tail chalceus
MAYBE 1 sunfish
MAYBE 1 BGK
filter is rena Xp3 with plans to add a second Xp3
1 oscar
1 red terror
2 carpintis escondido
1 pink-tail chalceus
MAYBE 1 sunfish
MAYBE 1 BGK
filter is rena Xp3 with plans to add a second Xp3
You'll want some big or very hard snails then...nerites are hard-shelled, good at algae patrol, and they can't reproduce in freshwater so they won't become a nuisance. I don't know how compatible the big apple/mystery snails are with aggressive fish. Malaysian trumpet snails are the standard sand-stirring species.
If your tank has lots of caves, dense vegetation, or other fish-excluding structure you could probably keep dwarf crayfish, ghost shrimp, or cherry shrimp. These guys will clean up scraps (mainly at night) and will likely reproduce in the tank, so hopefully they will be able to keep up with the inevitable predation.
At a smaller scale you can try to get scuds (amphipods), isopods, and detritus worms established in the tank. Their populations can expand rapidly to keep up with the amount of uneaten food/other waste in the tank, and they make nutritious fish snacks as well. These are harder to find for sale, but you might be able to get some from another aquarist or from a local waterway.
If your tank has lots of caves, dense vegetation, or other fish-excluding structure you could probably keep dwarf crayfish, ghost shrimp, or cherry shrimp. These guys will clean up scraps (mainly at night) and will likely reproduce in the tank, so hopefully they will be able to keep up with the inevitable predation.
At a smaller scale you can try to get scuds (amphipods), isopods, and detritus worms established in the tank. Their populations can expand rapidly to keep up with the amount of uneaten food/other waste in the tank, and they make nutritious fish snacks as well. These are harder to find for sale, but you might be able to get some from another aquarist or from a local waterway.
ok yeah thats what i was wondering about the amphipods and detritus worms is there a site online that has list of beneficial ones as if i get them from waterway don't want to introduce anything harmful, thanks with info about the snails yeah i dont think mystery snails would live, as i have gotten them on several occasions and they died within two weeks with my africans in the tak, will definitely try the nerite and malaysian trumpet snails, also what about freshwater clams are those good sand bed stirrers or do they just sit there and filter the water? i doubt the shrimp will survive, i will have tons of driftwood in there and fake plants but think the cichlids would still eat them pretty quickly as they are small enough that even as juvies the cichlids could eat them lol
Sarah88;3557309; said:
absolutely right... you'd be buying some very expensive feeders
+1 on the nerites and trumpet snails though.
Fun tip, MTS can be had for free if you find someone local who's tank is overrun with them, when they overpopulate they don't hurt anything so long as you're doing regular water changes to compensate for all the minerals they're taking from the water column to build their shells.
hey good tip madbob...... anyone in wilmington nc got a trumpet snail problem? lol but yeah seriously i will def ask around on my local forum
I have huge mystery/apple and trumpet snails with my large CA's. The only thing I've ever seen form the fish is one time the big oscar was inquisitive and knocked him off the glass, besides that they really don't care about each other. I wish there was a cory cat that could live with my big guys, I love those little fellas.
Clams are not very good sand-stirrers and usually don't do well in tanks. As far as getting stuff from the wild, there are a number of predatory aquatic insects that could take smaller fish, including giant water bugs (Belostomatidae), water scorpions (Nepidae), larger diving water beetles (Dytiscidae), hellgramites (Corydalidae), some dragonfly larvae, and crayfish. If you scoop up some critters, sort through carefully and only keep ones you know are safe. If there are any you are unsure of, post pictures here and someone should be able to ID them for you and tell you if they are fish-safe.