ADVICE: cleaner fish needed for dwarf frog tank

[timxsi]

I have had a tank set up for 2 weeks and have introduced 4 dwarf frogs which have been in for 2 days in my 5 gal tank. however, these are quite messy guys from experience and wouldn't mind investing in someone to clean my tank, like a small pleco or something. it doesn't matter what it is as long as it stays small (2 inches or so) and is common in pet shops.

ANY IDEAS?

Thanks!

 

[Toirtis]

If you are looking for something that will eat fæces, only a filter will, but if you are looking for a general clean-up crew, consider a couple of snails....the size of your tank is such that it pretty much eliminates almost all catfish (including all Loricaridae) as an option.

 

[TankGirl]

I think snails or shrimp would be all you could do - but - consider that these snails or shrimp will have waste produced on their own, and you've got right much for a 5gal.

ADF's don't have the best eyesight in the world so you might need to get creative with feeding them so there is minimal waste. You almost have to put the food right in front of them sometimes, so a turkey baster or some other largish syringe might be helpful. Some people use some sort of shallow dish so the frogs know exactly where to go.

 

[timxsi]

I've always found them to feed ok. i use catfish pellets which sit on the bottom and they come and attack them whenever they cross their path if you know what i mean!! i like the idea of a freshwater shrimp. my tank is labelled as 20 litres which i do believe to be 5 gal but i may be wrong- us gallons may be different from uk gallons.

does anyone know what the ideal temp is for these. i have previously had them in with fish but this is a dedicated tank. i'm keeping it at around 26-28 oC

 

[Toirtis]

my tank is labelled as 20 litres which i do believe to be 5 gal but i may be wrong- us gallons may be different from uk gallons.

Correct....20L is slightly more than 5 US gallons.

 

[TankGirl]

21-27 deg C is ideal for these wee froggies.

 

[Zagz]

What about an otto? My son has one is a 2 gal with a betta and he does a nice job. Stays small too.

 

[TankGirl]

IME with otocinclus, they do a great job on brown diatoms, and otherwise are not much good when it comes to algae, and may not be the answer if you are looking for something to eat leftover food. You need more of an omnivore for that, but this depends completely on what exactly you are looking for the fish to do.

I would say shrimp are your best bet since they will eat fish food and will have the least impact on your bioload. Ghost shrimp are cheap and easy to find, and will eat anything.

 

[RoK]

Ghost shrimp are cheap and easy to find, and will eat anything.

I have a problem finding them and I visit at least 6 pet stores. The one place I did find them once, a Petsmart had a few of them for 33 cents each. I've seen people posting on these forums about getting them for about 3 times less that price.

 

[TankGirl]

I forget that how things are in my little world is not necessarily how they are elsewhere, my apologies! Usually they are available as feeders around here, even at PetsMart, but the mom and pop places are more likely to carry them. Any shrimp you can find will probably work, except some of the "bee" shrimp and cherry shrimp are probably a bit small for this tank.

 

[timxsi]

how many of these ghost shrimps should i get?

 

[TankGirl]

3-4 should do it.