whats a good sand cleaning critter?

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


plebe_iz_da_name
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:13 am

whats a good sand cleaning critter?

by plebe_iz_da_name

so i recently switched to a white sand substrate and was wondering what kind of fish or other little animal can help keep my sand bed poop free? Ive got 2 ghost shrimp and a albino cory that make up the cleaning crew but for some reason they've been dragging on cleaning it.. the guys at my LFS assured me that these guys would do a great job, but lately they've been more worried about who can clean the little plastic palm tree the best.
id love to hear from you guys !


Alasse
 
Posts: 993
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 5:35 am
Location: QLD Australia

by Alasse

Cories and shrimp wont eat poop, they clean up excess food. Apple snail eat some so they say, but mine dont touch poop either *L*. Can't say i blame them. As far as i know nothing eats poop....excess food and rotten plants material yep, but poop, nope!

You may need to clean the sand more often yourself.


plebe_iz_da_name
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:13 am

by plebe_iz_da_name

your right .. i dont think anything would enjoy eating poop.. lol ... well guess i gotta work on my sand cleaning skills.. im gonna look into the snails tho..thanks for the reply Alasse!
Last edited by plebe_iz_da_name on Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

khuli loaches will adore the white sand (funny, I just added some white sand to one side of the tank - I have khuli loaches); these loaches will burrow themselves in the sand as well as eat whatever morsels are in the sand


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

the great thing about sand is with enough water flow and a slope toward the back of the tank it will nearly clean itself, since there are no crevasses for crap to fall into like with gravel, all the undesirables stay on the surface.

Its possible the LFS employee was insinuating a cory would disturb the stuff laying on the bottom sending it into the water column and then into the filter, but thats probably just wishful thinking. He probably actually thought something besides a plant would eat waste.

If your tank is big enough get 5 more albino corys. They really don't like being alone, and its far more rewarding seeing them interact socially as they were meant to.

Just a note: corys made up some of my first fish and my first mistake was to assume peppered corys would associate with other corys (in my case a Julli cory) -- generally this won't work. More albinos are the key.


plebe_iz_da_name
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:13 am

by plebe_iz_da_name

okay so today after doing a bunch of research on the khuli loaches and a buch of snails..turns out the snails help a little with the waste on the sand bed especially in the little tight corners. so you were right alasse

and the khuli loaches look pretty cool too just darting all over the place a the LFS.. i didnt know they were so active and fast....id love to get a couple of those,but maybe not in this tank.. now i want a separate tank just for them..8)

and thanks for the sand leveling tip.. i did that too and i have to say i have never seen my sand so clean since i first set it up..oh and my other little cory also got a new little buddy today(hes no longer a loner) now he has someone to zip up to the top of the tank with.

thanks for your advice you guys..really helped me out..
32e6e-fishies.jpg


dream2reef
 
Posts: 521
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am

by dream2reef

If you want a good sand cleaning critter get cichlids lol. They are good for many reasons, one being keeping my sand clean. Although, they won't work on the sand leveling. Whatever you do they will change it . You can make a huge mound wake up and its gone. I never have much laying on the bottom. I still get a buildup around the plants more then anything which obviously is good. Love the change over. I rather enjoy sand more then rock. A mix is nice to have too I've done that before too. It also makes your tank look much brighter. As in your case here. Great job! It was worth the work I'm sure you'll agree.


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

khuli loaches, thing on these loaches is the numbering game:

if you purchase just 1 of the loaches you will probably never see it again for it will keep to itself...if you purchase more than 4, they will not socialize as much...so the best grouping of these fish are 3 to 4, 4 is best, they will be more active, happier, less stressed and very socialiable

and yes they are very fast...great debris cleaners of the bottom of the tank

not only that, very cheap to purchase...you won't go wrong with khuli loaches


plebe_iz_da_name
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:13 am

by plebe_iz_da_name

see what you guys did now !looking at all your cool fish made me want to start another tank!..now where am i gonna put it?


yasherkoach
 
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm

by yasherkoach

if you get a metal stand to hold the first tank on top, you can put the other aquarium on the lower level

whats a good sand cleaning critter?

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