# Clean up Crew



## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

I have a Betta Fish and 6 Neon Tetras in a 35 litre Tank and I was thinking of getting some for of either fish or other animal to clean the tank. Does anyone have any good ideas of animals that would be a good edition to the tank whilst still been a good cleaner and interesting.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Shrimp seem to be the best option. In searching for detritus/algae eaters, the red cherry shrimp seem to come out on top b/c they can eat algae, but not the entire plant, and they have little bioload (so I've read by people selling the shrimp).
The 1 problem: bettas think they are FOOD, which they are. I put 12 1/2" shrimp in with my 29-gallon sorority.... maybe they're still there, but I haven't seen one in 3 weeks:0( I tried ghost shrimp- they disappeared even faster.
My solution is to start a RCS farm. I've got a 5 gallon tank, a sponge filter, 12 shrimp, and I'm setting it up now. My goal is to let any babies grow to a point where they won't be eaten, then tranfer them to my larger tanks (w/o being eaten, I hope). I wonder if this will work?
In the mean time, I'm experimenting w/ the oto catfish. I have 3 in with 1 male. They are tiny and can hide/swim fast; when Butch goes to check them out, they disappear! They are adorable and I want to get more. They do not acclimate well; I had to buy 5 to get 3 that are still alive. :0(


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

That sounds interesting I was thinking of getting like one big shrimp I know you can get some that can grow to like 3 inch long.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Yes; but I haven't seen one for less than $40. That's too much for me to risk!!! RCS are cheap, and oto cats go for about $2. I spend the big bucks on the bettas :0)


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

You are already overstocked. I wouldn't add anything else. Remember that "cleaner" fish may remove algae or food that has fallen to the bottom, but they have their own bioload, so adding things will mean more water changes.

Large shrimp may snack on fish, if they can catch them.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

True. I wouldn't say I was over stocked they have plenty of room to move and hide. I think I might try a catfish they did look quite interesting at the store.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

What size is a 35 liter in American gallons? Sorry, I'm non-metric savvy.

Or are you saying I'm overloaded?

I'm trying to find an explanation as to why shrimp supposedly have no bioload.

And whoops- Live Aquaria has a giant blue shrimp for $35.99 :0) The description says they are not complete algea eaters.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

The conversion thingy says 35litre's is about 7.7 Gallons.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

A 35 litre is just shy of ten gallons (38.5 litres). It's about bioload, too, QuotationRaven, not just room. A catfish is definitely not recommended as they all either have a large bioload (e.g. BN plecos, which get to 6 inches long) or need schools of 6 (e.g. corydoras).

Shrimp may be ok as they do have a very small bioload due to their miniscule size.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

hmm good point Bombalurina I didn't think of that. I'm just trying to find some form of creature that can help keep the alge away and not cause any harm to my fish.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I chose the oto cat b/c they are TEENY. I really wanted a pleco, but my 29 gal isn't big enough. I plan on having 6 otos in a divided 10 gallon for my 2 boys. Butch seems amused by his otos.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Which is fine if you don't have another school already in there.  But otos do have quite a large bioload for such a teeny fish. 

Quotation, the best algae cleaner is the human hand.  Alternatively, maybe a small group of amano shrimp.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

I mean don't get me wrong I clean my tank regularly. Well I plan to I've only had it 3 weeks and I've been having issues with condensation, like if I fill my tank up so you can't see the water level because of the lid then within about 2 days it's down about a centimeter and I have no clue how to stop it.

What do you guys think of a snail.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

2 bettas + 6 otos= 8 fish, but probably 10 inches of fish in the 10 gallon. Close, but "they" say that otos need a school of 3. 

I just did a quick search & "they" say you can have 10 RCS per gallon of water!! Another site says 1 shrimp per 10 gallons! Ow, my brain hurts...


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

Haha thanks for that I think i'm going to stick to how it is right now. I still want some form of cleaning crew or cleaning creature lol But i may just have to wait to find the perfect one.


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## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Ok, betta and shrimp are fine if the bettas are not overly aggressive. I have 1 ghost shrimp with my DbT HMPK male and he is fine, they have been together in the same little PetCo stacking containers and the shrimp is left alone. Ghost shrimp WILL disappear merely because of their coloration. He eats leftover pellets every now and then and I have found him munching on goldfish pooh when he was with one. We are getting a few more soon, 2 for each betta.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

They sound good. i might see about investing in two. My Betta is pretty relaxed I mean he has the odd chase of the Tetra's but he mostly leaves them alone.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Ghosties are no good for algae cleaning - they are scavengers and prefer a meatier diet. Cherries are ok for algae, but amano shrimp are the best.


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

I'm having the same dilemma right now. My two babies (one's half an inch, the other a little over an inch) are about to move into a 5 gallon with a divider. They stress easily when I do water changes, so I'm hoping between a filter and the help of a "clean up crew", I can keep them to a minimum. I asked a guy at PetCo about snails and he told me they're not a good idea because they really pollute the water when they die.

I'd like a fish that won't bother with them (I'll probably wait until they're bigger to get them so the new additions won't make a snack of my babies) and that is a small size, but won't need a school. I'm a bit of a fish noob, so I need ideas. =]


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

I plan on putting more Amanos in my sons tank, the algae in his tank builds up on the stupid plants pretty well, and the 1 Amano just can't work fast enough.


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Hmm.. I do like the idea of shrimp. Doesn't seem like a load of stress on the tank. Thanks for the idea lol.


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## JayPe3 (Feb 21, 2013)

Shrimp are cool to watch, you can actually seem them pick apart the algae and eat it, and when they swim it's like 6 little legs going crazy.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I had a dried oak leaf in w/my RCS. It looked funny yesterday, so I pulled it out, and it is a leaf skeleton! They ate all the plant material betwen the veins- how cool- they got another oak leaf.. cute and busy little critters!
BEWARE! When transporting shrimp from bag to tank- they can jump a country mile! Be prepared! They can also jump out of shallow containers w/ no problem.


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Thanks for the tip! I'm excited about these shrimp now. I was also leaning toward a couple neon tetras in each side of the divided tank, but would that really mess with the ammonia levels? That would be 4 tetras, 2 bettas and some shrimp to a 5 gallon filtered tank.. I know some advise against it but many have done it, so I'm curious at their outcome. If not, I'll be happy with the bettas and shrimp. Might get a little catfish but I hate that I would have to keep it in one side or the other. Hmm.. decisions, decisions.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Most catfish like to live in groups of 3 at the minimum. They're sociable, unlike our beloved bettas.
I just bought 4 Ocellifer Syndontis. I have the goal that they are going into the 29 gallon. (They're in QT now) They may get to big, but I chose them on the parameters of being able to withstand harder water & higher temps, and they eat a varied diet, but it does include more algae than most. Same with the Oto cat I bouhgt. Problem with them is they're tiny, practically invisible, and they'll never be big enough to make a dent in the 29 gal, so they're headed to my male's tank (divided 10). Add a buch of RCS & snails, & I hope this is the receipe to keep algae down (plus more real plants, of course). I don't kid myself that I won't be scraping algae of the tank walls, but it would be nice to have the leaves of the real plants tended to.


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

I am getting an amano shrimp. They are the only ones I can find that seem to be pretty successfully kept with bettas in heavily planted tanks, and that actually eat algae and not just detritus. Pretty hardy shrimp, and not a gazillion dollars. 

Also, I am getting a nerite snail. Their eggs can only hatch in brackish water, so they don't overpopulate the tank. 

Shrimp seem to have a pretty negligible bioload, as long as you are keep under 10 or so. Snails obviously have a much higher bioload.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Can you breed Amanos? They're expensive compared to CRS & Ghosts.


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## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

I think they need brackish water for the babies to hatch. But i an still doing a ton of research on them just to keep them happy and healthy, so don't quote me on that.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I prefer shrimp I can breed easily- I always buy something else when I go to the store for $2 shrimp. I'll come out w/$200 worth of new equipment, but forget the shrimp!


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

I want to try shrimp but fear they will end up as food or the betta.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

All my ghost shrimp did :0(
If I can grow out the (what are they? Red Cherry Shrimp or Cherry Red Shrimp?) to a mature size (around 1"), they SHOULD be OK. 
With bettas, nothing is for sure!


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

My cherry colony (I started out with two males and three females) has managed to survive two male bettas and eight females to become a colony of about 70, spread between two tanks. With plenty of cover, they will be fine, and breed very easily in the right conditions.  They are also extremely fast - sometimes, it is really hard to follow them when they decide to jump away from an investigating betta. They are on the left of the tank one moment, the next they have apparently teleported to the other side. 

I'd definitely no-no the neons and/or catfish in anything less than an UNdivided 10 gallon. They need room to zoom! Plus, they like schools.


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Yesss, I feel totally prepared for my Petco trip now. Definitely going for the red cherry shrimp, and nix on the tetras.. very sad, but maybe santa will bring me a bigger tank for Christmas! ^.^ One can hope.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

You'll never be disappointed with cherry shrimp! Pop some popcorn & pull a chair up to the aquarium. They are little clowns!!! I love them!!! They go from busily working cleaning a leaf, to racing around like they're on fire, leaving the bewildered betta to wonder what is going on!


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Xaltd1 said:


> You'll never be disappointed with cherry shrimp! Pop some popcorn & pull a chair up to the aquarium. They are little clowns!!! I love them!!! They go from busily working cleaning a leaf, to racing around like they're on fire, leaving the bewildered betta to wonder what is going on!


They were all out of shrimp! =[ I couldn't believe it. I ended up with an albino pleco, since it was about the same size as the babies. The guy at the store said it shouldn't bother with the bettas, and they're solitary and just kind of go about their business. I'll go back for the shrimp, that way I can have some on one side of the divider and the pleco on the other lol although if I really like him, I might forgo the shrimp and just get another pleco. We'll see. Probably not because I feel one is enough for my tank load. He's tiny now, thankfully, but I'm not sure how big they get. But I've seen cheap 20 gallons at Walmart, so that will be my next investment. =P

I'm all set up for the new tank and it's not here yet! Gah.. Damn FedEx. It says it's en route to delivery and has been since this morning. They're certainly taking their sweet time lol.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

I think I might get like 2 Amano shrimp just to help.


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

I got a stingray suckerfish for my sorority tank, they don't get to big and are pretty cool looking I am going to see how well it does if it does well I might get a few more for my bigger tanks. They get to be about 3 inches


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

sweet how big is your tank?


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

That is AWESOME!


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

I adore plecos; the bushynose don't get as big as the regular" pleco, but they do get large. The plecos that stay a reasonable size are $$$$, Which is why I chose the otos & the ocel cats.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

That is a cool fish!!!!


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

It looks like a mini like sting ray thing....


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## JBonez423 (Mar 11, 2013)

Xaltd1 said:


> I adore plecos; the bushynose don't get as big as the regular" pleco, but they do get large. The plecos that stay a reasonable size are $$$$, Which is why I chose the otos & the ocel cats.


I was wary about it, because I've had a scum sucker that got HUGE, but I just figured I'd use him as an excuse to get a bigger tank. My birthday's in just a month. ;] Once the babies get older and I know more about it, I'd like to try my hand at breeding. At that point, I'll take the divider out of the five gallon, leave him in there and use it purely as a breeding tank lol.


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## QuotationRaven (Feb 21, 2013)

I wouldn't have time for breeding or have the money to give them everything they need. Hopefully when I'm older i can try my hand at breeding.


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Yes! A giant fish does justify going up a size. These Ocelifer (sp?) cats can get big. but they're headed for a 29 gallon. If they 1. All SURVIVE and 2. get too big, I'll either sell 3 or surrender them to my LFS.


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

that is a 29 gal sorority tank


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## Xaltd1 (Dec 9, 2012)

That's beautiful! How many girls? Do you have a "clean up crew"?


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