General Care Discussion :: Messy Tank problem

[steve]

Hmmm, then the filter might not be up to the task.

[cooleststan]

ahh really, i was hoping i could wait on a new filter until i had to upgrade the tank

also, would having any feeder fish in there clean it up? I know my turtles will not eat the fish yet, they are too small. (the turtles)

[adam85491]

You never know if they will eat fish-even if they are small. They don't help that much and a mystery snail would be better since they don't reproduce asexually and can hide in their trap door and survive for a bit of time easily.

[cooleststan]

i thougth they eat snails too...?

[lotsofpets]

If it is a larger snail sometimes a turtle will "yank" the snail out of its shell and leave the empty shell behind. With smaller snails the turtle will eat the whole kit'n'kaboodle.

[adam85491]

I've had snails live a few months..feederfish last about a day for me.

[marisa]

If you've got a lot of debris on the bottom, it sounds like either you're feeding too much and they're pooping a lot or the tank isn't being cleaned often enough.

Turkey basters are good for "spot" clean-ups, but trying to clean the bottom of the tank with them is tedious.