cleaning sand

[Tropjunky]

O.K. i've got 3 peppered catifsh and right now they clean the sad for me but is that a good idea and are they happy with doing that. or should i get up and do it myself.

i also have 2 clown plecos that don't seem to do their jobs properly, anty advice would be good one either things

 

[CFC]

If the sand is clean then leave it, if it looks dirty then run the syphon over it to remove the dirt.

What do you mean by your clown plecs arent doing their job? What job did you expect them to do? Clown plecs are omnivors that will eat a little algea and some meaty foods like bloodworms and catfish pellets. They will not eat other fishes waste.

 

[Morrgan]

If you have fine sand, then you could consider getting Malaysian trumpet snails. I've got dozens of these in a 26 gal tank with fine sand (about 0.1-0.6 mm in diameter). They dig through the sand and keep it from getting blocked. They'll also clean up fish waste and possible extra food. Just note that if you keep overfeeding they'll soon reproduce explosively, but they're easy to lure out and remove from the tank.

 

[Tropjunky]

If you have fine sand, then you could consider getting Malaysian trumpet snails.

wont they eat my plants and CFC i expect them to eat the algee i have

 

[Morrgan]

If you have fine sand, then you could consider getting Malaysian trumpet snails.

wont they eat my plants

If you had followed the link I provided, you could have read this: "One of the few plant safe snails." That's a quote from the site. There are different types of snails, after all. I myself haven't had any trouble with them eating any plants; I think they're a useful addition to my tank.

 

[CFC]

Clown plecs arent known for their amazing algea eating abilites, fish like otocinclus, siamese algea eaters or bristlenoses are far more efficient algea eaters.

MTS are carnivorous snails so wont damage plants, they will also eat the eggs of other "pest" snails. A down side is they can eat eggs of fish too so they are a nuisance in breeding tanks. They are live bearing snails and if not kept in check can soon over run a tank and cause high nitrate problems so it is a good idea to have some form of snail eating fish to keep the juvenile populations down.

 

[Tropjunky]

well enough about that what about my catfish.

 

[CFC]

If your corys are keeping the sand clean then they obviously dont mind doing so, fish cannot be made to do anything they dont want to As long as you are supplementing their diet with some live or frozen foods and small catfish pellets then they will remain healthy and happy

 

[jams.alaskan]

What are you asking about the catfish? Are they happy with sand? - yes, should they be getting fed or what?

ALASKA

 

[Tropjunky]

i wanna know if it's good for them to be cleaning the sand at the botom of my tank

 

[drobbins27]

Do oscars east Malaysian *** Snails?