Tank Cleaner
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penguinpimp1990
Fish Addict
do you mean scavenger or algae eater?
i read your signature (4 blackfins sharks, and a scat in a 77 gallon) i hope you understand that you will need a larger tank to house 4 of these. And your scats should be be kept in groups of at least 3. Just in case you didnt know
i read your signature (4 blackfins sharks, and a scat in a 77 gallon) i hope you understand that you will need a larger tank to house 4 of these. And your scats should be be kept in groups of at least 3. Just in case you didnt know
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
The only tank-cleaner that matters is you. There really aren't any fish in any type of aquarium that "clean" the tank. Adding more fish (or snails, or shrimps) merely adds to the biological loading of the tank, which makes the water dirtier, which means you need to do more water changes.
Now, if you're saying, are there some fish that will eat leftover food or remove algae, that's different.
Assuming you have an SG less than 1.008, then I'd recommend Malayan livebearing snails. They do an excellent job of eating leftover food, and also aerate to substrate better than pretty much any other aquarium animal. They do not harm plants and do not carry parasites. They do breed very quickly, but reducing the population isn't hard using a snail trap. Buy or make your own trap -- all you need is a carton of some kind with a small hole. Put a catfish pellet inside it, and leave it in the sand overnight. Remove in the morning, and discard unwanted snails. I do this for a few nights every three or four months.
Among the algae eaters, there really aren't any plec-type fish. Mollies will eat some green algae, as will Florida flag fish. Violet gobies will also scrape some green algae and hair algae. At low salinities (SG less than 1.005) you can use Colombian ramshorn snails and Cardinia ("Amano") shrimp as well. But really, you're best bet is to use a decent algae scraper and remove algae by hand.
Do bear in mind that Colombian sharks are predators, and will eat small fish and shrimps, though not snails.
Cheers,
Neale
Now, if you're saying, are there some fish that will eat leftover food or remove algae, that's different.
Assuming you have an SG less than 1.008, then I'd recommend Malayan livebearing snails. They do an excellent job of eating leftover food, and also aerate to substrate better than pretty much any other aquarium animal. They do not harm plants and do not carry parasites. They do breed very quickly, but reducing the population isn't hard using a snail trap. Buy or make your own trap -- all you need is a carton of some kind with a small hole. Put a catfish pellet inside it, and leave it in the sand overnight. Remove in the morning, and discard unwanted snails. I do this for a few nights every three or four months.
Among the algae eaters, there really aren't any plec-type fish. Mollies will eat some green algae, as will Florida flag fish. Violet gobies will also scrape some green algae and hair algae. At low salinities (SG less than 1.005) you can use Colombian ramshorn snails and Cardinia ("Amano") shrimp as well. But really, you're best bet is to use a decent algae scraper and remove algae by hand.
Do bear in mind that Colombian sharks are predators, and will eat small fish and shrimps, though not snails.
Cheers,
Neale
Matty
Fishaholic
could you use these so called tank cleaners (the scavengers) in marine applications as well if they were slowly acclimatized?
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
In short, no.
How carefully you acclimate something makes no difference if the animal lacks the ability to deal with reduced salinity. The overwhelming majority of marine invertebrates completely lack any ability to osmoregulate, that is, control the balance of salt and water in their bodies. They've evolved to work at normal marine salinities. While all marine fish osmoregulate, this is fixed in most cases to 'expect' fully marine conditions, and if transferred to fresh or brackish water the system goes haywire.
This is what makes brackish water fish (and inverts, like shore crabs and fiddler crabs) so special: they are able to tune their osmoregulatory systems to the ambient water conditions.
But just to re-state the key point: no fish or invert actually cleans the tank. Moreover, adding any fish or invert increases the total waste in the tank, which means more filtration and more water changes. It's important to clarify the distinction between having something that eats leftover food and having something that makes the aquarium cleaner and healthier.
Cheers,
Neale
How carefully you acclimate something makes no difference if the animal lacks the ability to deal with reduced salinity. The overwhelming majority of marine invertebrates completely lack any ability to osmoregulate, that is, control the balance of salt and water in their bodies. They've evolved to work at normal marine salinities. While all marine fish osmoregulate, this is fixed in most cases to 'expect' fully marine conditions, and if transferred to fresh or brackish water the system goes haywire.
This is what makes brackish water fish (and inverts, like shore crabs and fiddler crabs) so special: they are able to tune their osmoregulatory systems to the ambient water conditions.
But just to re-state the key point: no fish or invert actually cleans the tank. Moreover, adding any fish or invert increases the total waste in the tank, which means more filtration and more water changes. It's important to clarify the distinction between having something that eats leftover food and having something that makes the aquarium cleaner and healthier.
Cheers,
Neale
from my info true brackish water does'nt start untill 1.010 so mine is about 1.014. I have taken your info and went looking and found Olive Nerite Snails I think that this might be what I am looking for and thank you all for pointing me in the right direction.
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Hi there --
The definition of brackish water is anything more salty than humans can drink safely through to normal marine conditions. For aquarists, this is from about 1.005 through to around 1.018, at least at tropical temperatures (SG changes with temperature). From 1.018 upwards you can usually adapt marine fish, and in the early days of fishkeeping it was common to keep fish-only tanks at this relatively low salinity because, surprisingly enough, most marine fish do better at this salinity when kept in tanks. Supposedly, it reduces the osmotic stress on the fish, so their kidneys work less hard.
Below 1.005, it is possible the drink the water and not dehydrate. Admittedly, it doesn't taste nice, but water with an SG of 1.004 or less is usually safe for freshwater tropicals that are not salt (or high pH/hardness) intolerant. Many cichlids, rainbowfish, and livebearers, for example, can adapt to this just fine.
Olive nerites sound a good call. Adapt them slowly though. Invertebrates are often less tolerant of sudden salinity changes than fish. Olive nerites in tropic fish stores often seem to me to be "at death's door", probably because they're being kept in fresh water. Watch them carefully, and remove dead or dying specimens at once to avoid polluting the tank. You can buy them mail order from specialists, for example:
http
/www.snailshop.co.uk/
Cheers,
Neale
The definition of brackish water is anything more salty than humans can drink safely through to normal marine conditions. For aquarists, this is from about 1.005 through to around 1.018, at least at tropical temperatures (SG changes with temperature). From 1.018 upwards you can usually adapt marine fish, and in the early days of fishkeeping it was common to keep fish-only tanks at this relatively low salinity because, surprisingly enough, most marine fish do better at this salinity when kept in tanks. Supposedly, it reduces the osmotic stress on the fish, so their kidneys work less hard.
Below 1.005, it is possible the drink the water and not dehydrate. Admittedly, it doesn't taste nice, but water with an SG of 1.004 or less is usually safe for freshwater tropicals that are not salt (or high pH/hardness) intolerant. Many cichlids, rainbowfish, and livebearers, for example, can adapt to this just fine.
Olive nerites sound a good call. Adapt them slowly though. Invertebrates are often less tolerant of sudden salinity changes than fish. Olive nerites in tropic fish stores often seem to me to be "at death's door", probably because they're being kept in fresh water. Watch them carefully, and remove dead or dying specimens at once to avoid polluting the tank. You can buy them mail order from specialists, for example:
http
/www.snailshop.co.uk/Cheers,
Neale
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