Can I get some inverts?

[Midnighttang]

I have a 30 gallon that is fully stocked with 2 gold gouramis, 6 cherry barbs, 3 (soon to be 6) neon tetras, and a pleco (yes, I will get him a bigger home soon). I would like to add a snail and a couple interesting inverts, if I can. I have heard that you do not have to worry about bio load with invert. Can this be true? If so, can I get some suggestions? I want some interesting/ pretty inverts that might also help clean up poop and algae. The clean up is secondary to just adding an interesting tank resident. I also don't want any crazy reproduction if I can avoid it. Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Jess1ca]

I have a 30 gallon that is fully stocked with 2 gold gouramis, 6 cherry barbs, 3 (soon to be 6) neon tetras, and a pleco (yes, I will get him a bigger home soon). I would like to add a snail and a couple interesting inverts, if I can. I have heard that you do not have to worry about bio load with invert. Can this be true? If so, can I get some suggestions? I want some interesting/ pretty inverts that might also help clean up poop and algae. The clean up is secondary to just adding an interesting tank resident. I also don't want any crazy reproduction if I can avoid it. Any advice would be appreciated

I think Apple snails do have a decent bioload... Could be wrong tho!

 

[Coursair]

Most creatures don't eat poop !!
Plants like it.

Nothing will replace PWCs
and gravel vac ( if no live plants).

If there is a lot of uneaten food, feed less.

I enjoy my inverts. I have MTS, Ramshorns, and Nerites. My Nerites are the most sensitive, but also the prettiest

Keep an eye on your Gold Gouramis, they may fight when they mature.

 

[Midnighttang]

I do have some plants, but I just planted a month ago, so they're still getting established. I hope to have a fully planted tank by the end. I do vacuum gravel and do pwcs and clean up is not an issue. I just thought that would be an added bonus. Really, I just want to know what interesting inverts are not likely to overrun my tank. I also want to figure out if they're bio load is less or if i need to be careful about over stocking the tank by adding them. Do I count them just like fish? I've seen a lot people talk about nerites, what is meant when you say they are sensitive?

 

[Coursair]

I do have some plants, but I just planted a month ago, so they're still getting established. I hope to have a fully planted tank by the end. I do vacuum gravel and do pwcs and clean up is not an issue. I just thought that would be an added bonus. Really, I just want to know what interesting inverts are not likely to overrun my tank. I also want to figure out if they're bio load is less or if i need to be careful about over stocking the tank by adding them. Do I count them just like fish? I've seen a lot people talk about nerites, what is meant when you say they are sensitive?

Their bioload is small. Unless you have big 2" Apple Snails, it's minimal is my guess.

Most snails won't eat healthy plants.

Nerites eat Algae fast. If they run out and you can't get them eating something else they starve.

Do not gravel vac near plants. I don't vac my planted tanks at all usually. I have sand in most of my tanks. I will be converting my gravel tank to sand this year.

 

[Sake]

They have some pretty interesting ramshorn snails, blue, white, red. Also I like MTS so they dig through my sand and keep it all fresh. Some of my favorites are shrimp, they eat a lot of left over food, ghost shrimp are cheap and pretty cool in my opinion.

 

[Midnighttang]

Sake,
I think shrimp are pretty cool to watch and I'd like to have a couple, but I'm worried about the gouramis eating them. I guess that as cheap as they are, the worst thing that would happen is that the fish get a snack and I lose a dollar.

Coursair,
Thanks for the plant advice! I do avoid vacuuming around them, but they don't take up that much of my tank, so I still feel like I should be vacuuming. These fish sure do like to poop! What do nerites eat? Algae wafers? Veggies? I'm happy to feed the little buggers.

 

[Sake]

I buy ghost shrimp for a quarter a piece that's why I said those instead of RCS, plus they get larger, mine are an inch and a half. Also most won't reproduce and even if they do the larvae stage is easily hunted and eaten.

 

[Coursair]

Sake,
I think shrimp are pretty cool to watch and I'd like to have a couple, but I'm worried about the gouramis eating them. I guess that as cheap as they are, the worst thing that would happen is that the fish get a snack and I lose a dollar.

Coursair,
Thanks for the plant advice! I do avoid vacuuming around them, but they don't take up that much of my tank, so I still feel like I should be vacuuming. These fish sure do like to poop! What do nerites eat? Algae wafers? Veggies? I'm happy to feed the little buggers.

Perhaps veggies or greens. Mine so far won't eat anything but algae and biofilm.

 

[Midnighttang]

Lesson learned, no ghost shrimp for my aquarium. They provided a tasty treat for the other residents while I slept last night. I am going to get a nerite, though. I think it has a much better chance of survival.

 

[MABJ]

Lesson learned, no ghost shrimp for my aquarium. They provided a tasty treat for the other residents while I slept last night. I am going to get a nerite, though. I think it has a much better chance of survival.

Yeah lol. Ghost shrimp are mean, so I'm sure they put up a fight at least .

A snail would probably be fine. But if you don't have algae, a nerite will starve. Make sure you're prepared to supplementally feed it.

 

[Midnighttang]

Not a problem. I think he'll be happy for a while, though. I'm always scrubbing the glass during my weekly cleanings, so I have a good supply. What do you supplement with?I already drop the occasional algae chip in for the pleco. Will nerites eat them, too, or should I use veggies?

 

[MABJ]

Not a problem. I think he'll be happy for a while, though. I'm always scrubbing the glass during my weekly cleanings, so I have a good supply. What do you supplement with?I already drop the occasional algae chip in for the pleco. Will nerites eat them, too, or should I use veggies?

Yes. Many of your bottom feeders/fish will benefit from the occasional blanched veggie or algae wafer.

From here on in dont scrub the sides or Back glass though. The nerite will eat more than you would believe. This is a 30 gal? You could easily get more than one lol.