Best cleaner for dirty tank?

[Nuclear Queen]

I have a fully cycled tank that's been rather empty since I lost my last betta. It's a 5g stillwater with a slight snail problem. I bought a bunch of ghost shrimp, hoping they'd clean up the debris, but for the most part they just died (although something cleaned /them/ up pretty fast).
As I said, it's a fully cycled tank and has been for over two years so I really, really DON'T want to break it down to clean it.
What would be the best cleaner organism to put in that would round up the snails and other things a gravel siphon & wiping of the glass can't?

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[Luananeko]

Unfortunately all the good snail-killers are much too big for a 5 gallon tank... Taking down the tank to clean it won't hurt as long as you set the filter material aside in a bucket of tank water with an airstone while you're working on the tank. The only other thing I can think of is to remove all decorations and manually pick out/trap snails until you get them all.

 

[tigerbarb1171]

Get some bottom feeders I have Borneo suckers and they rock they've lasted a while I have a sixty gallon and I got two it was so clean a day or two later.

 

[Luananeko]

Borneo suckers need pretty strict requirements... They need high circulation and low nitrates. They're also not suited to such a small tank. It'd be pretty unfair to the loach even if you intended on returning it once the tank was clean.

 

[tigerbarb1171]

Also mystery snails they do the job but they don't reproduce quickly

 

[Mr Fisher]

Olive Nerite snails make for good clean up. They won't reproduce in freshwater but will sometimes lay infertile eggs.

 

[Luananeko]

If you the Mystery snail route, make sure you only get ONE. They are messy themselves and will breed like crazy. Keep an eye out for them laying eggs above the water level and eliminate them quickly, or else you'll have even more snails to deal with.

 

[Plantaholic]

Use a small bathroom cup, poke a few holes in it on the bottom and near the bottom on the sides(small holes, just enough for only water to drain from when removing the cup). Attach a thin slice of cucumber or zuchini in the cup with a rock or fishing line. Submerge the cup to the bottom of the tank at lights out. In the morning pull the cup out allowing water to drain back in the tank, and see how many snails your about to flush or rehome! Repeat until your satisfied, wont solve the issue right away, but will reduce their numbers. Good luck!

 

[J duff]

Assassin snail!

 

[Nuclear Queen]

Since it's stillwater, I don't HAVE a filter, filter material, air pump, or anything else to disturb the water. The only decoration is a small terra cotta pot. I've removed all my plants, too.
That's why I'm not sure what sort of cleaner to put in there (only for a little while, not permanently) because I don't want them suffocating or whatever.

If not to take care of the snails, what could clean up the general tank debris after a good siphoning?
(At this point, I can't just remove and rinse the gravel, since there's also a thick layer of aquarium planting soil that I don't want to stir up.)

Any more suggestions??

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[Nuclear Queen]

I've read that assassin snails like muddy/soft substrate. Would he be alright on gravel?

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