General Care Discussion :: Cleaning fish and other such things

[Karawr]

I want to add some other little pets to my tank but I'm not sure what to add.

I saw these cute little $4 aquatic frogs at the pet store. They are African Dwarf Frogs and very easy to manage (so my research has shown). They live on the bottom of the tank and eat bloodworms, brine shrimp or krill or small pellets/flake fish diet.

The turtle will most likely eat the frogs in the end. In the case that he does, would it be that harmful? I would only get 2 frogs and the tank has lots of plants so that they can hide.

I also want to add fish or snails for the purpose of keeping the aquarium clean. What is the best fish/snail for this purpose? And do they help out that much with the cleanliness of the tank, or do they just contribute a little bit? If they are fairly useless at cleaning then I don't want to get them.

Thanks!

[untsmurf]

it's been my experience than ''cleaning fish'' make more mess than they clean up. this may be due to the large size of the tanks I tried them in (55 and 125) but I never had any luck.

Before you get the frogs, just do a little research and make sure they don't secrete anything toxic or have anything toxic on their skin and it should be fine.

Of course, everything you add to the tank runs the risk of being eaten, so don't get too attached.

[Karawr]

I figured the cleaning fish would most likely create more waste, but just wanted to check here and make sure.

And I don't think they are toxic but I will do some more research on the matter.

Thanks!

[untsmurf]

i'm pretty sure they aren't as well, but it's been a long time since I researched them

[ballyhoo]

Corydora's are fun little bottom feeder fish, they are quick and lively and do a great job of keeping things clean.

[Marcus.85]

I think that frog is gonna get eaten in no time. I don't think that's a great idea.. from what i hear the worst possible pairing for RES is with amphibians. As for the cleaning, I once had Apple snails in the tank, but i moved them out because some would get eaten from time to time. I also had 2 plecos but they had the same horrible fate. And now I'm back to vacuuming the sand a lot.

[ballyhoo]

I have 5 silver dollars, a Turquoise Severum, a Corydora, and a Blood Parrot cichlid in the same tank as my turtle and he doesn't bother them at all.