# Dirty Plants



## Orangebeard (May 12, 2012)

I have a 36g bow front tank thats moderately planted with various ferns, swords, and grasses. The tank is stocked with 3 platys, 1 molly, 2 Glo-Tetras, 2 Glo-Danios, 7 Neon Tetras, 2 African Dwarf Frogs, 2 snails, and 3 clams. The problem I'm having is sediment, debris, and of course poop collecting on the leaves of my plants. What's the best way to keep my plants free of nastyness? A brush? By hand? A little insight please . Oh and the substrate is sand but there doesnt seem to be a problem with it getting on the plants.


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## Kyle-87 (May 12, 2012)

i would try some fresh water shrimp, they are cheap and get the job done! you can order specialty shrimp that get a little bigger than the average ghost shrimp that are sold at local fish stores. i personal like the fact of the bigger shrimp because i feel like they clean more and have a less chance of becoming a good meal for one of your fish. but you should not have a problem with the fish you have in it now.


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## Orangebeard (May 12, 2012)

I had actually considered getting a few shrimp. I've looked at ghost shrimp and bamboo shrimp. I don't think the bamboo shrimp would be suited because I have a slow flow rate and I read they like to "fan" for food in quicker currents. Plus they're big and creepy looking lol. The ghost shrimp though might be just what I need. They're little scavengers and cute. How many do you think? 1-3? more? Thanks alot for the help.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

I use Cherry Red Shrimp for cleaning my plants and they do a great job but I am not sure how they would fare with your frogs. I am not very familiar with the frogs but with a bit of research on compatability of you are able the shrimp are the way to go.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

frogs will eat the shrimp and your fish will pick at them.

Add a powerhead(smaller one) and get some bamboo shrimps.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

That is another excellent option, if you can increase the current you can suspend the particles to keep them from settling until the filter gets them. I use that method in my larger tanks because the shrimp would be eaten as soon as they hit the water.


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## Orangebeard (May 12, 2012)

Well the 2 frogs are about the size of ghost shrimp and are as docile as can be. But they are very quick when they want to be. They dart to the top and back to the bottom in about 1 second when they breathe. I can increase the flow of my filter but I didn't want to upset the whole tank to feed the shrimp. I just wanna keep crap off my plants. Thanks again for all the help.


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