10 Gallon Clean Up Crew?

[Brandon.]

Hi,
I currently have a 10 gallon tank with sand substrate and a few live plants. At the moment there are 9 neon tetras and 1 honey gourami.
I am looking for a cleanup crew that can live comfortably in there.
Any suggestions?

 

[Essjay]

What do you want to clean up?

Uneaten food - cut down on the amount you feed.
Fish poop - it's the fish keepers job to clean that up.


Having said that, a nerite snail (though they add a lot to the amount of poop) or a few shrimps.

 

[Brandon.]

What do you want to clean up?

Uneaten food - cut down on the amount you feed.
Fish poop - it's the fish keepers job to clean that up.


Having said that, a nerite snail (though they add a lot to the amount of poop) or a few shrimps.

I’m kind of just looking for fish id be able to add to my 10 gallon without overcrowding the tank and assumed that fish that clean would fit that category.

 

[Rocky998]

I’m kind of just looking for fish id be able to add to my 10 gallon without overcrowding the tank and assumed that fish that clean would fit that category.

Well you already have a good amount of fish for the tank... Any more and you may over crowd it... Nerite snails are very pretty and then you have blue shrimps and shrimp like amano that practically eat anything lol (besides poo)

 

[Rocky998]

Well you already have a good amount of fish for the tank... Any more and you may over crowd it... Nerite snails are very pretty and then you have blue shrimps and shrimp like amano that practically eat anything lol (besides poo)

If you add any fish, it would be like two more neons

 

[Brandon.]

Well you already have a good amount of fish for the tank... Any more and you may over crowd it... Nerite snails are very pretty and then you have blue shrimps and shrimp like amano that practically eat anything lol (besides poo)

Thank you! I’m gonna look into the shrimp.

 

[Brandon.]

Well you already have a good amount of fish for the tank... Any more and you may over crowd it... Nerite snails are very pretty and then you have blue shrimps and shrimp like amano that practically eat anything lol (besides poo)

Do shrimp need to be in groups, if so (or if not) how many would be comfortable in my tank?

 

[Back in the fold]

Funny thing about sand or else I goofed something. You can't really siphon vacuum it. You swirl your siphon tube gently above the surface then siphon out the mulm. I'd been doing that with satisfactory results for a while until I put (most likely too many more) more fish in my two 20 highs. No plants in those two tanks. The mulm build up got heavier. I do weekly 75% water changes in those two tanks because of the fish load. Finally that mulm build up got to be more than I could bear so I got the bright idea to siphon out the sand into a bucket , clean the sand ( in the aquarium water of course) and return it to the tank . Now the mulm sticks to the sand like a scum carpet. If I try to siphon it up it pulls a hunk of sand with it. So . . . I was wondering about Malaysian Trumpet Snails even though I've heard stories about massive population explosions with them. I have a fix in mind that I know will work but I relate my sad experience as a warning : If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Leave well enough alone.

 

[Essjay]

There are no fish which can be described as clean up crew. Uneaten food? Fish which live on the bottom of the tank can't live on left overs, they need their own food which means potentially even more uneaten food. Poop? No fish eat poop.

 

[Brandon.]

There are no fish which can be described as clean up crew. Uneaten food? Fish which live on the bottom of the tank can't live on left overs, they need their own food which means potentially even more uneaten food. Poop? No fish eat poop.

I never mentioned not feeding them their own food…?

 

[Brandon.]

There are no fish which can be described as clean up crew. Uneaten food? Fish which live on the bottom of the tank can't live on left overs, they need their own food which means potentially even more uneaten food. Poop? No fish eat poop.

I don’t have an issue with uneaten food in the tank. Im looking for different types of fish I’d be able to add.

 

[Essjay]

It's the phrase 'clean up crew' that made me think you wanted fish to remove things from the bottom of the tank. You'd be surprised how many people use that term to mean fish to eat left over food and no other food, or fish to eat poop. I apologise if I misunderstood you.

To be honest, your tank is fully stocked as it is. I wouldn't add any more fish. Shrimps are an option though as they have a low bioload. However, shrimps do need somewhere to hide. Baby shrimps are very tiny and make a tasty snack for fish, and adults need to shed their skin to grow; while the new skin is hardening they are vulnerable. You haven't mentioned tank decor so I can't say if your tank would be suitable for shrimps.

 

[Rocky998]

Do shrimp need to be in groups, if so (or if not) how many would be comfortable in my tank?

A small group isnt a bad idea. For small shrimps, do about 5 of them but for amano shrimps, 2-3 should suffice.