Snails, Frogs Etc.

[kakihara]

Hi

As you can see by my signature I've a 60 litre (13 Gal) Hexagon tank with 4 fish.

I am defeintely thinking of adding an Golden apple snail and 2-3 cory catfish. However I would love to have a couple of African Dwarf Frogs, but I don't know if they would be compatable with the rest of the inhabitants, plus the fact that the tank is quite tall (almost 20 inches) would that be too tall for them to swim up for air.

Any help would be appreciated.

p.s any info on small-ish algae eaters would be appreciated too.


Cheers

 

[Luke_e]

ADF's are completly submersible and they dont have to go to the surface for air.
Apple snails are fine in practically any tanks as long as you dont have any loaches whihc i think eat them , they are good cleans too. I'd personally say an ADF and apple snail would be fine in the tank you mentioned, just make sure you have hiding areas for your ADF, and try to only get one apple snail otherwise they will breed out of control.
Also, shrimps are good clean up tank critters also.

 

[consp]

ADF's are completly submersible and they dont have to go to the surface for air.

Sorry to correct you but they do need to go up for air... they just never have to actually come out of the water. Sometimes frogs like to rest at the top so if you put in some tall broadleaved plants that rest at the surface they should do fine

 

[Luke_e]

Oh, sorry about that. I was told wrong then.

 

[laurasmithuk]

if u get some dwafr frogs they have to be hand fed..... i dangle blood worm in a turkey baster in front of them. they are not very good at hunting food and will go hungry if not hand fed in a community tank!

 

[kimbowee]

The frogs should be fine with what is in your tank including the snail. I have had my ADF's for about 2 weeks, they are in a 10 gal quarantine tank with 6 cories. No problems at all. Right now they aren't having any troubles come feeding time. Once they smell food they come out of hiding and find food right away. Once they are in the community tank though I will probably have to feed them with the turkey baster or medicine dropper to make sure they get food.

However your danios may not be that happy with the tank. Here is a link for the Danios http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=34996 They really appreciate longer rather than taller tanks, it gives them more room to swim.

Small algae eaters look for Oto's. Here is the link http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=35094 They are very sensitive though and need a tank that has been set up at least 6 months and should be kept in groups of 3.

Hope that helps!

 

[kakihara]

Cheers, that helps a lot

I know that the danios would appreciate a bigger tank but I've no where else for them to go unfortunately.

They've been in the tank about 3 weeks now anyway and they seem pretty happy. The big female is always bullying the smaller males though ... thoug I think now that there may be 2 females and one male. I put some bogwood in over the weekend and they can't get enough of it, they're always flying up and down its ridges and stuff. My tetra tries to copy them but he's not as agile.

Are there any hardy and smallish algae grazers that I could put i to the tank? I read somewhere that guppies eat it, or am I wrong?

Next on the list anyway is 2 frogs (plus some sort of hiding place for them, whatever that may be) and an Apple snail.

I'm trying to find some floating plants but am having no luck so far.

I think I may need a new filter too. Any reccomendations?

K B)

 

[kimbowee]

What kind of filter do you currently have? Also, is the tank cycled? You may want to wait a couple more weeks to make sure it is completely cycled before adding anything else.

My guppies have never touched any algae I did add 3 Oto's when the tank was about 3 months old & they did quite well. I lost one due to a bacterial infection but the other 2 seem quite happy in the tank now. From what I have read they need a good amount of algae to start with so I waited until there was a good supply. They are the only small algae eater I know of that could fit in your tank. I believe the Apple snail will eat algae but I could be wrong as I have never owned one.

For the cories I would definitely recommend for you 3 of the dwarf species. The others get too large for your tank. With what you currently have, the dwarf cories & 1 apple snail, that brings you to full stocking capacity. If you add a better filter you may get away with adding the Oto's but you would still be better off waiting until the tank has been set up a while to make sure there are no issues.

If really interested in the ADF's what about a small 5 gal with filter. They can be picked up fairly cheap for around $10 where I am from. Then no worries about if they are getting enough to eat or if they are being picked on by other fish, etc.

Just some ideas. Hope that helps!

 

[kakihara]

That's the funny thing, I don't know what kind of filter I have, it just came with the tank, kind of a built in one.

Well the tanks been running now for 5 - 6 weeks, I can't remember which to be honest, so I assume it's cycled

I've never seen any oto's in any of the stores I've been in so hopefully I'll be able to find some somewhere. Like you said about anther 5 weeks or so and I'll add them. Is algae bad for a tank, bad for your fishes health?

I've read about the dwarf cories and they really interest me, but again, never seen one in any store.

No to be honest I've only been to LFS but there are a few big "superstore" ones around Dublin that I could go to and I'm sure they'd have nearly anything.

So if I got the 3 cories and an apple snaoil I couldn't get ADF's? that's a pity, though like I've read most of the time they've to be hand fed and that could be awkward in that tank.

If I was to get a smaller tank I'd have one with a Beta or 2 in it. But I think that the next tank I would get would be bigger than the on eI currently have.

 

[kimbowee]

I don't think algae is bad for your fish, mostly is just bothers the person looking at the tank

Do you have a water testing kit? Pretty much the only way to know if your tank is cycled or not. I never trust the LFS to test my water. I tried it once just to see if they were telling me the truth. I had a ammonia of 0.25ppm & nitrite of .50 ppm & 0 nitrates. They told me it was "fine" and I could add more fish

If you like bettas & would like one in a small tank you could add 2 ADF's to a tank with the betta. Would probably have to be at least a 5 gal. Most bettas do fine but it really depends on the fish. Some don't like sharing their space. You definitely can not keep 2 male bettas together as they would fight to the death of one. If you were looking to keep female bettas you would need a large tank & would have to keep about 5 together to spread the aggression. For that I would check in the Betta section.

You could always call the larger pet stores and ask if they carry dwarf cories or Oto's before you make the trip out. I would highly suggest getting a test kit if you don't already have one. That way you could make sure your tank is cycled & if there are any issues in the tank would be able to know right away if its water quailty issues. The liquid test kits are best. They cost about the same as the strip kits but last alot longer.

Hope that helps!