Any non-invert cleanup fish suggestion for a stocked 8 gallon tank?

[chrono1081]

Hi guys,

I currently have an 8 gallon tank that has 3 fancytail guppies, two ghost shrimp, and a nerite snail.

I'm finding that I have to clean the tank a lot more than anticipated, which is fine but I don't like to stress out the fish.

Is there a fish I could get that would fit in this setup to help with cleanup? I've seen catfish and Plecos mentioned but I'm not sure if they would be a good fit in a small tank like mine since in the past when I've had them they end up getting fairly large. I don't want to overstock by accident.

I am open to more inverts if they would be a better solution than a fish but I'd like to hear opinions on any fish that I haven't heard about yet that would make a good member to my cleanup crew.

 

[Maxkolbe]

First of all the sad truth is that no fish eats poop and even if they did they would just make more. With a tank that size I'd say your fully overstocked for fish, however if you want something to eat leftover food and pick at algae you may want to try red cherry shrimp or Amani shrimp. I also know that ghost shrimp make halfway decent scavengers.

 

[chrono1081]

With a tank that size I'd say your fully overstocked for fish

Oh no! That was my biggest fear :/

The research I did (including on this forum) said that 5 guppies fit in a 10 gallon (so I figured 3 in an 8 gallon was a safe bet) + the shrimp which I read was 10 per gallon (I only got 3, one died), and then a snail. I thought I was ok :/

I plan on getting a larger tank once I move anyway so this will only be a temporary thing.

I won't add anymore fish. Vacuuming the tank is no biggie, I just didn't want to do it so often as not to upset the fish.

 

[maxwellag]

First of all the sad truth is that no fish eats poop and even if they did they would just make more. With a tank that size I'd say your fully overstocked for fish, however if you want something to eat leftover food and pick at algae you may want to try red cherry shrimp or Amani shrimp. I also know that ghost shrimp make halfway decent scavengers.

I wouldn't call it overstocked. They have enough room to swim, it just depends on the bio load. 3 guppies and 2 shrimp and a snail in an 8 gallon is definitely not overstocked.

 

[chrono1081]

They do have plenty of swimming room. They tend to stay to the front of the tank and rarely go to the back.

The bio load seems to be a concern though. My tank was cycled (all ammonia dropped to zero in 24 hours), but every two to three days I'll start to see ammonia readings (not sure if thats normal or not) so I do a partial water change as soon as I see it.

I'm not sure if this will improve over time or not though.

 

[jetajockey]

It would be overstocked quickly if you allowed the fish to breed, but yeah I agree it's not really overstocked at this point.

My concern, though, is what exactly do you need to clean up?

 

[chrono1081]

Bits of food really. I vacuum out the fish poop.

Even though I watch them eat every morsel of food, sometimes I'll still see bits of it on the sand (not sure how since I literally see them eat it all). Theres never a ton of it, but my sand is black so it stands out and if a shrimp doesn't get it in a few days I'll vacuum it out.

 

[maxwellag]

They do have plenty of swimming room. They tend to stay to the front of the tank and rarely go to the back.

The bio load seems to be a concern though. My tank was cycled (all ammonia dropped to zero in 24 hours), but every two to three days I'll start to see ammonia readings (not sure if thats normal or not) so I do a partial water change as soon as I see it.

I'm not sure if this will improve over time or not though.

It's not cycled if you are still seeing ammonia.

 

[chrono1081]

It's not cycled if you are still seeing ammonia.

Oh no :/ My understanding was that when I saw ammonia that was freshly added to 4ppm drop to zero consistently within 24 hours each day it was cycled

Mine did that for about a week before I added fish.

Would these mean my cycle is near the end? I'll keep doing water changes if I detect ammonia so the fish won't be in ammonia poisoned waters.

 

[maxwellag]

Oh no :/ My understanding was that when I saw ammonia that was freshly added to 4ppm drop to zero consistently within 24 hours each day it was cycled

Mine did that for about a week before I added fish.

Would these mean my cycle is near the end? I'll keep doing water changes if I detect ammonia so the fish won't be in ammonia poisoned waters.

It has to have no ammonia at all times to be cycled. When did you start cycling the tank?

 

[jetajockey]

Bits of food really. I vacuum out the fish poop.

Even though I watch them eat every morsel of food, sometimes I'll still see bits of it on the sand (not sure how since I literally see them eat it all). Theres never a ton of it, but my sand is black so it stands out and if a shrimp doesn't get it in a few days I'll vacuum it out.

Definitely start with cutting back on feeding. If you are using flakes, you might also want to go with something like a small pellet or crumble so it is easier to keep track of. It's easy to overfeed with flakes because the fish can sometimes just make a mess out of them rather than ingest them whole.

If you cannot cut back on feeding (already feeding a tiny bit as it is), then reconsider your feeding schedule. It's not uncommon to feed every other day, or every 2 days. Try this and see if there's any leftovers.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Definitely start with cutting back on feeding. If you are using flakes, you might also want to go with something like a small pellet or crumble so it is easier to keep track of. It's easy to overfeed with flakes because the fish can sometimes just make a mess out of them rather than ingest them whole.

If you cannot cut back on feeding (already feeding a tiny bit as it is), then reconsider your feeding schedule. It's not uncommon to feed every other day, or every 2 days. Try this and see if there's any leftovers.

Ive grown real fond of brine shrimp cubes, like the hikarii ones. I would cut them into quarters. They wouldn't leave a mess on the bottom of the tank, well other than the poo, lol

 

[chrono1081]

It has to have no ammonia at all times to be cycled. When did you start cycling the tank?

I started cycling mid february and just added fish about a week ago.

Definitely start with cutting back on feeding. If you are using flakes, you might also want to go with something like a small pellet or crumble so it is easier to keep track of. It's easy to overfeed with flakes because the fish can sometimes just make a mess out of them rather than ingest them whole.

If you cannot cut back on feeding (already feeding a tiny bit as it is), then reconsider your feeding schedule. It's not uncommon to feed every other day, or every 2 days. Try this and see if there's any leftovers.

Will do. I was scared I was overfeeding because they'd swim to the surface constantly and eat if I sprinkled food. I just added them so I wasn't sure how much to feed them at first and I didn't want to underfeed.

 

[maxwellag]

I started cycling mid february and just added fish about a week ago.

You should be cycled then. But it's weird that you still have ammonia. When was the last time you dosed 4 ppm?

 

[jetajockey]

You should be cycled then. But it's weird that you still have ammonia. When was the last time you dosed 4 ppm?

Being that the tank was just cycled and fish were added recently, a spike isn't that unusual, things are still getting established. Fishless cycling isn't perfect, but as long as the parameters are kept in check all will be well I'm sure.

 

[chrono1081]

You should be cycled then. But it's weird that you still have ammonia. When was the last time you dosed 4 ppm?

March 30 was the last dosing date, and it dropped to 0 12 hours later. I then added fish the next day.