# best for maintaning tank?



## mwsr (Jan 2, 2011)

what would you guys recommend to keep the tank clean? its a 10g. I have one of the normal sucker/cleaner fish whatever its called now but have been told they can get big and bully the other fish?

Iv also been told that snails and shrimp work well for this? but that snails can breed like crazy. im new and really dont know a whole lot so any info is appreciated,thanks.


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

I use real plants (that helps with the water, ammonia and all that stuff) and 1 snail. I also have a 10gallon freshwater. If you get one snail it shouldn't be a problem. Try and get a mystery snail, they lay eggs above the water and you can just clean them out before they hatch and then after that you shouldn't have any issues with just one snail, if there is 2 you can get babies all the time. I plan on getting a shrimp eventually to help with clean up


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## mwsr (Jan 2, 2011)

i have 2 live plants now dont know the name of them.. i havnt seen any algae at all in my tank yet but its only about 3 weeks old but im sure it will be coming.

just want o get some ideas. might go with a snail, i made the tank for my daughter and im sure she would like that.


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Make sure you have a good water testing kit too... I use API, don't use test strips they aren't accurate. Test your water at least weekly. But your tank is probably still cycling so you may want to test a couple times a week if not daily to make sure its doing ok. when you do water changes its best to do from the gravel/sand/rocks with a siphon. Make sure and put conditioner in fresh water you add to the tank so it doesn't kill the good bacteria. ummm... not sure how much you know about tanks and fishkeeping. What kind of fish do you have?


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## mwsr (Jan 2, 2011)

i dont know much this is my 1st tank.. i started with 2 live plants, 4 glofish,2 neon tetras and the sucker/cleaner fish(forget name).. 1 glofish died last night and the cleaner fish is sick now and on his death bed


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## danilykins (Dec 22, 2010)

Ouch.. that sucks, sorry  Make sure and read some of the articles on here like the nitrogen cycle. These will help you with the whole process of the cycling process, less fish killed is best  And remember to ask questions the people here are very helpful and experienced. People at the pet shops majority of the time don't know what they are talking about and give bad advice. Good Luck with your fishies, and poke around the boards a bit


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

yeah if you put all those fish in there right off the start, you probably had a nasty ammonia spike, and that's probably what's killed those fish


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## mwsr (Jan 2, 2011)

i started with the 2 tetras then added the others over about a 4 day period.. i think im gona take a day off from feeding them also.. iv been told the food cant cause ammonia, i think i overfeed a time or 2


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

yeah every 4 days is too quick, especially if the tank was just set up


search "aquarium nitrogen cycle" and set aside 20 minutes to read up on it


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## mwsr (Jan 2, 2011)

automatic-hydromatic said:


> yeah every 4 days is too quick, especially if the tank was just set up
> 
> 
> search "aquarium nitrogen cycle" and set aside 20 minutes to read up on it


just read it and ya after that i guess im pretty lucky i only lost 1..


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

The cycle is tough for those who were not expecting it. Good news is once you have a well balance tank things are much smoother. Until then frequent water changes will probably be needed to save the other fish.

You don't have to have a clean up crew, plenty of people have tanks without them but they can be useful and fun. I wouldn't add any more creatures until the cycle is done. After that: Snails don't usually overpopulate if you don't over feed. It kind of depends on how you feel about snails, some people just hate them. I enjoy seeing them in the tank and if there are loads of them all of a sudden I know I've been feeding too much and just cut back a bit. MTS are good for cleaning the substrate, if you see them at the LFS they will often give you a couple for free. Ramshorn snails are also good and there is a bright red strain which are colorful. Nerite snails eat algae and most types don't reproduce in the aquarium although they do lay lots of white eggs. Larger snails make quite a bit of mess of there own so should be counted when working how many fish you can stock.

Shrimp are great but I think your dainos (glofish) might pick on them. 

Ottos would be your best bet for a cleaning fish but I wouldn't add more fish because you don't have a lot of space in your tank. Let me explain the problem: You may have aggression problems with your fish as dainos and tetras are schooling fish and bicker when kept in smaller groups. At least six of each is best but you don't have room for that so I'd aim for 4 of each, which is not ideal but could work okay. Even better return the glofish (which would do better in a slightly larger tank) and go for 6-8 neons some ghost or red cherry shrimp and a mystery or apple snail.

Plants are great for keeping the water clean. Some do better than others in a basic low light setup. If the ones you have don't do well I'd add a marimo ball or java moss which tend to be okay in any setup. Anubias and java fern could also be a good choice.

Keep us posted on how things are going!


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