# what cleaning animal i need?



## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

guys i need cleaning animal for my 10 gal aquarium, and how many of them i need.

i dont use gravel on my aquarium because when i feed my bettas worms tends to hide under gravel and died of suffocation there. i heard mystery snails are good... but they breath air too! i need an animal that cleans the bottom of my aquarium.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

Try a few ghost shrimp.


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## Welsh (Apr 13, 2010)

What about a hillstream loach?? Their kinda cute and interesting, plus they only grow to around 3 inches


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

honestly, it's your job as a fishkeeper to keep the tank clean. You can use a turkey baster to suck out what you need cleaned up. Cleaner animals themselves (even ghosties) need to be fed, and shouldn't be expected to keep your tank immaculate seeing as they themselves make messes too.

However, ghost shrimps clean left over fish food off the ground very well, though some bettas are known to eat them


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

I don't know alot about hillstream loaches but alot of loaches school in groups. Make sure you don't get a loach you have to school.

Don't some bettas eat ghost shrimp?

I don't know how pygmy cories do with bettas, but you could get 6 or 7 of those easy! They are so tiny. People use them for cleaner fish in 5g tanks. They are SO much fun to watch!


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I wish I could get cories for my tank. I have a ten gallon divided in three.


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

*Hillstream Loach*

*Minimum Tank Suggestion*

24 inches in length for a group, larger if other fish are to be included.

Read more: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/hillstream-loach/#ixzz17CadAv1I
________________________________________________________________________
The link will bring you to the TFK profile for the Hillstream loach. As you can see, they need to be kept in groups. 24 inch tank *IF *there are no other fish, bigger if there are.

It doesn't seem the Hillstream Loach is suitable for a 10g tank.


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

Do NOT get a hillstream loach! They need cold water and a river simulating tank!


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## Welsh (Apr 13, 2010)

shinybetta said:


> Do NOT get a hillstream loach! They need cold water and a river simulating tank!


Apparently, they need a temperature between 68-75F but from many other forums, I have heard of people keeping them in cold water too. I did forget they needed a tank of at least 24 inches for a group, my bad haha 

Pygmy cories would be nice but they are pretty tough to get a hold of, or at least over here they are, would you believe no-one has even heard of them lol

Depending on your betta's personality you could keep ghost shrimp. I'm not sure how effective they are with cleaning as I've never kept them myself, however I did have RCS and my betta totally wiped them out :-( so I would recommend some hiding places and plants lol. 

The main key to keeping the tank clean is regular water changes and gravel vacuuming but it is helpful when you have fish that give a little back too haha


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

hmmm lol i bought 3 ghost shrimps.. a buck for all
yeah my bettas tried to eat them... specially my comet goldfishes.. they chase the shrimp everywhere.

oh well.. letss see tomoz morning if they still survive or not.


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

... do you still have those goldfish in your ten gallon along with your girls?


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## SemioticSleep (Mar 31, 2010)

Mystery snails aren't very good. They will dirty your tank more than clean it. They poop ALOT! Also it's a common misconception that they'll just clean your tank of algae or whatever but they can't live off of just that they need slices of carrots zucchini etc. And they also need Calcium to keep their shells from deteriorating which is a painful process. I have one and I love it but it has it's own tank and shares an airstone with my other betta


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

You don't _need_ a "cleaning animal". If you have appropriate stocking levels, and are keeping up with water changes, there should be no issues. If there is, its a sign that something is wrong.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Lets not be mean to the guy! The tank just probably has algea or something that he wants to get rid of...


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

i think 1 ghost shrimp got eaten... only can find 2 by looking at my aquarium lol...

yes theres 10 other comet goldfish in my 10g tank with my females.


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## DormDrax (Dec 1, 2010)

Since I have this big tank now...

I'm SO curious as to how Drax would like Ghost Shrimp or other fish around. 

Then again aren't there some horror stories of Ghost Shrimp attacking Betta's? 

Drax is so laid back, I'd be scared he'd get bullied... and have his lunch money stolen!


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Jul 27, 2010)

sayurasem said:


> hmmm lol i bought 3 ghost shrimps.. a buck for all
> yeah my bettas tried to eat them... specially my comet goldfishes.. they chase the shrimp everywhere.
> 
> oh well.. letss see tomoz morning if they still survive or not.


whoa now, you have bettas in with goldfish?


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

Whoa! 10 comets in a 10g tank!? Goldfish are one of the biggest waste produceing fish in the history of aquariums. They require _at least _10 gallons...per fish, although many people say they should have more (and they should). How big are they? What kind of WC schedule do you have?

Also, comets are not suitable for the 10g aquarium. Many people believe this goldfish should be kept stricly as a pond fish, due to their love to dart all over the place (that is why they are called "commets").

I am not trying to scold anyone, I am just bringing it to the attention of the thread.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

DormDrax said:


> Since I have this big tank now...
> 
> I'm SO curious as to how Drax would like Ghost Shrimp or other fish around.
> 
> ...



You could try An African Dwarf frog or two. Research them first though...they're a little tricky to feed.


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## sayurasem (Nov 20, 2010)

yeah i know they poop alot lol. but now i have 7 shrimps, and a filter.
i removed 4 gold fishes.. they tend to nipy my females. 
i see their doing fine right now... no harm done to the bettas... just this 1 comet with long fins get bullied by my female sometimes.


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## r3h0ld3r (Jun 14, 2010)

I've been thinking about getting 3 amano shrimp or a malaysian trumpet snail for my 3 gallon with my betta because no matter what I've tried so far, I can't get rid of this algae that keeps coming back.

I looked it up on AqAdvisor and it says it shouldn't be a problem.


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## spongebob (Dec 19, 2009)

i've tried this and it truly works, try using your hands and a brush of some sort, don't substitute a fish for something you could do
thats just stupid


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## r3h0ld3r (Jun 14, 2010)

...unless it's strew throughout the substrate...


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## spongebob (Dec 19, 2009)

on the first page you said that you had no substrate?
if something changes in circumstances, edit lol


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## r3h0ld3r (Jun 14, 2010)

Ohhh haha. I'm not the original poster, but I missed that point as well.


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

danifacetastic said:


> I wish I could get cories for my tank. I have a ten gallon divided in three.


I want some too, my ten gallon WAS in three but now in two... maybe someday *sigh* but for now I just want a new divider or a small tank for another BETTA! :twisted:


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## lilyrazen (Oct 25, 2009)

sayurasem said:


> yeah i know they poop alot lol. but now i have 7 shrimps, and a filter.
> i removed 4 gold fishes.. they tend to nipy my females.
> i see their doing fine right now... no harm done to the bettas... just this 1 comet with long fins get bullied by my female sometimes.


Even WITH a filter, that's not a good idea.
I had 4 goldfish in my ten gallon once, and even with weekly changes and a filter, it was horrible. There have been cases where a betta has lived with goldfish. But that was ONE betta, in a very large thank with 5 or 6 goldfish. Goldfish can get HUGE, I don't want to sound mean, but I'd leave the females in the 10 gallon and put the goldfish in a pond or larger tank or find someone who can take care of them. You could even give them to a store.


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## Jaaamiiieee (Dec 12, 2010)

hi, yesterday I bought 2 ghost shrimps, but today I woke up and one of them was gone and the other dead. I suppose my betta eat them.... I would love to have another animal in my tank but if my betta didn't like two small shrimps, I don't know if it is a good ideia to put another fish with him. should I try ghost shrimps again, or other animal, or should I accept that my betta is an anti-social? :frustrated:


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## LeroyTheBetta (Dec 18, 2010)

I think I'm lucky with the fish I put in with Leroy. He is a good boy and gets along well with my 3 neon tetras and 3 peppered cories. I think he would rather play in the plants than with the other fish. I wonder sometimes if he even knows other fish are in there with him! lol


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## julesrafael (Feb 8, 2011)

well i keep ghost shrimp with my betta they eat the poo and everything lol but you might risk them getting eatin by your betta


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## LittleNibbles93 (Feb 7, 2011)

I had an albino corycat with my betta, they left each other alone like they didn't know they were in the same tank. I don't know if thats the way with all bettas though.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

Ghost shrimps are best. They cheap 20cents a pop and will also eat fish feces (yes I didn't believe this at first until I noticed my shrimp chowing on poo one time). Only risk, dependent on betta personality is they may think of them as food. In this case improve the odds of the shrimp survival rate by adding deco or plants as hiding spots. On the rare chance your shrimp becomes a meal to your betta you will be happy to know it was only 20 some odd cents down the drain and your betta got himself a nutritious meal.


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## BlackberryBetta (Feb 6, 2011)

MS (mystery snails) are great too and cheap!


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## tsoto80 (Nov 26, 2010)

DormDrax said:


> Since I have this big tank now...
> 
> I'm SO curious as to how Drax would like Ghost Shrimp or other fish around.
> 
> ...


Im suprised you havent gotten any ghost shrimp yet!! Just try one or two they arent that bad


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