Cleaners

I have to second the amano shrimp. They are big and active enough to be entertaining. They are pretty hardy and peaceful (ie... won't eat your neons). And as an added bonus, they eat algae and will scavange the bottom of the tank for leftovers.

I would also stay with 3 platys along with the school of neons.


Ps: :welcome: to AC! and, we love pics!
 
cam191919 said:
snails and shrimp can help eat excess food but since they create waste as well its not really "cleaning". the actual removal of waste is up to you
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I completely understand that snails and shrimp create waste but I am looking for something to add to the tank to clean up extra food and algae. I'm not a fan of catfish but I guess they are true cleaners? Perhaps in the future I will add a catfish or 2.
odinthejd said:
I haven't heard of ghosts going rogue like that but some RCS or red cherry shrimp would be sweet. Are you gonna plant the tank? Also what are you going to do for the cleaning of the tank?
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I have a 20 gallon in the garage (both tanks were curb side finds) that I may upgrade to and I would like to do a planted tank but for now just plastic plants. The tank has an Aqua Tech 5-15 filter and I vacuum the gravel once a week. I see more food being stirred up when vacuuming then waste but I could be wrong and it is more waste then I think.
I have been doing a lot of reading about SW set ups and I may try my hand at it with the 20 gallon. I'm also trying to get my hands on a tank that is not in use, it's about 3 feet long (not sure of the capacity). If I get it I will probably use the 10 G for a sump and use the 20 for FW
 
<<< that's an amano shrimp. Very attractive little creatures and alot of fun to watch. They are great little scavengers but don't reproduce in fresh water. The very small otocinclus cats would be very nice in your tank if it is well established as they only eat soft algae and can be a bit picky about other types of food. A single nerite snail would look nice, the mystery snails (pomecea diffusa) are very pretty, are pretty good scavengers but create alot of waste. They get to be the size of a golf ball and are very entertaining to watch. Toss them a few rinsed, canned green beans from time to time, or a small piece of cooked zuccini and they'll be super happy.

You would be surprised at the number of plants you could possibly grow in the tank you have set up as it is. Many anubias species of plants (anubias nanna, lanceolata, coffefolia) can be tied to a large rock, piece of driftwood, or an aquarium decoration and require no special lighting or fertalizers. The java ferns and african water ferns are the same way. No special lighting no ferts, no special gravel, and they help water quality, especially in a smaller tank wich can build up waste very quickly.
 
katana1200 said:
<<< that's an amano shrimp. Very attractive little creatures and alot of fun to watch. They are great little scavengers but don't reproduce in fresh water. The very small otocinclus cats would be very nice in your tank if it is well established as they only eat soft algae and can be a bit picky about other types of food. A single nerite snail would look nice, the mystery snails (pomecea diffusa) are very pretty, are pretty good scavengers but create alot of waste. They get to be the size of a golf ball and are very entertaining to watch. Toss them a few rinsed, canned green beans from time to time, or a small piece of cooked zuccini and they'll be super happy.

You would be surprised at the number of plants you could possibly grow in the tank you have set up as it is. Many anubias species of plants (anubias nanna, lanceolata, coffefolia) can be tied to a large rock, piece of driftwood, or an aquarium decoration and require no special lighting or fertalizers. The java ferns and african water ferns are the same way. No special lighting no ferts, no special gravel, and they help water quality, especially in a smaller tank wich can build up waste very quickly.
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Ok you're not the first to bring up live plants so here is a question for everyone. I have a gravel substrate, funky bright pink blue and white. As I stated before this tank was a curb side find so I used the gravel that was in it. Would I need a finer substrate like a course sand for plants or is gravel fine? My LFS had some plants ($5) there the last time I was in but I didn't pay close attention to what they were. I'm taking my son there shortly so I may pick one up and give it a try.
 
Funky pink gravel is as good as anything else. You want to make sure, however:

1. You are getting true aquatic plants.
2. You are getting low light species
3. You are not planting things that don't like to be planted. Like I said, many would like to be tied, above the gravel, to a rock or piece of wood with cotton thread or fishing line. The roots will attach it permanently in a few months.
4. You don't want to bury that black pot with the green wool in the gravel and walk away.
5. If you do buy a plant that is "planted" in the gravel, you may want to get what they call, root tabs. Like a small piece of fertalizer you put under the plant. They don't do so well in normal aquarium gravel if you do. No nutrients to speak of, even if it is pink.

Here is a link to some common plants. This is a visual reference for you.

Here is a link to an expample of the root tabs. (home page has an over-ride feature. Close link and click again to go to the right page if it doesn't show the first time)

I would personally look for the following types of plants.

Tied on, above the gravel: Anubias nanna, anubias coffefolia, anubias lanceolata, anubias....just about anything that has the word anubias is pretty forgiving and grows well in low light. Any form of Java fern. Java fern, java fern narrow leaf, etc. One of my personal favorites is Bolbitis heudelotii the african water fern.

Planted in the gravel: Cryptocoryne Lutea, Cryptocoryne Wendtii just about any type of "Crypt" will work. Many of the common amazon sword plants, Echinodorus amazonicus. There are many varieties. One I keep with good results is the Ruby melon sword.

Hope that gives you a small idea of what to look for. If you have any other questions let me know. I'm no expert but I can share the info I've gathered.
 
Well it would seem as though I'm SOL on the red cherry shrimp for now. I check the LFS and a Petsmart in another city about 25 minutes from me and nothing but ghost shrimp. Looks like I will have to be patient and wait for some to become available here. Not much luck with plants either, everything for sale right now is moderate to high lighting. A planted tank will have to wait for now too, not that it was my focus right now but a couple of plants would have been nice.
 
Not to mention there are many members here that can ship you the plants and shrimp you want.

Msjinkzd has great plants and inverts.
Mgamer does plants, driftwood and inverts
Customdrum also has nice plants
These are only a few of the great sellers we have here.

All are very nice, and willing to explain to you what will work for your tank and what wont. If the shrimp and plants are on your wish list I would get them from these people before I go shopping at a store. You'll get much healthier stock at alot better prices.
 
Michol - I was talking to the guy that orders the fish at my LFS and he said he has been trying to get them for 2 months now with no luck.

katana - I live in Canada, I don't know if ordering for US members would work on live product. Shipping seems to take forever both ways because of customs. I'd hate to order something and have it die in transit. I may PM the people you mentioned and see if they have ever shipped to Canada and see if they have had any problems.
 
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