Awesome Cleanup Crew?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
yeah i wouldnt add anything to my tank until i knew it was safe, but thats why i was wondering if there was a website or something that had catalog of them because i dont know what freshwater amphipods/isopods look like (i know what most insect larvae look like and wouldnt be to worried about that anyways as if one accidently made it into tank im sure the cichlids would take care of it pretty quickly) but yeah maybe ill just stick with snails for now just thought it would be cool to have really diverse cleanup crew like they do with saltwater but maybe its just not a very viable option for freshwater...
 
This page has pictures of typical amphipods, isopods, and cladocerans, all of which are good tank inhabitants (though small fish will quickly eliminate cladocerans). Don't be too blase with the insects; a small dragonfly in the tank may feed on the other bugs and grow into an inch-long fish-killer without you noticing.
 
hey thanks that page is really helpful and yeah i meant that more referring to the stray mosquito larvae that might get missed, i definitely would be positive not to let a dragonfly larva in there i know those things can be viscious!
 
get a patriot crab, ghost shrimp, flagtail, pleco. my tank is pretty much spotless no poop on the ground. i got all peaceful fish though.
 
yeah im going to have a red terror oscar and a pair of escondidos so i think any kind of crab or crayfish is pretty much out as well as the shrimp as they would be eaten i was thinking about maybe something that would pretty much stay in the sand eating detritus and stirring it up but still be out of site from the cichlids, i dunno i think with the aggressiveness that will be in my tank i should probably just stick with snails lol

oh and what is a flagtail?
 
Sarah88;3566088; said:
yeah im going to have a red terror oscar and a pair of escondidos so i think any kind of crab or crayfish is pretty much out as well as the shrimp as they would be eaten i was thinking about maybe something that would pretty much stay in the sand eating detritus and stirring it up but still be out of site from the cichlids, i dunno i think with the aggressiveness that will be in my tank i should probably just stick with snails lol

oh and what is a flagtail?


why dont try a earth eater
 
as in a gymnogeophagus? dont they do better in schools? that would be an idea but not sure how many i could add since bioload will be pretty heavy once all the cichlids im planning grow up but maybe could add 2-3 if they would be ok with that small of group? what kinds would you suggest?
 
I would so some flying foxes to eat some of the algae off driftwood and plants, and maybe some clown loaches as the bottom cleaning crew. But make sure the CLs are big enough not to be eaten, same with the flying foxes.
 
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