hi all. I have been doing a fair bit of research today and thought it was worth asking for opinions. I have just set up, and am now on my second week of cycling. I have introduced 2 fish to the tank- a 8" ornate bichir and a 9" common plec. It is my hope to introduce p. reticulata within a week or 2, once i have everything perfect. The tank is a 160g tank.
With the above in mind, i have decided to use a FW silica sand substrate that looks lovely. Well it did right up until the introduction of the fish. The volume of waste these 2 fish have produced is astonishing! As the title may suggest i am looking at a solution for the unsightly waste issue. Vacuuming is fine as is manual turning. however i do not want to regularly stick my hands and a vacuum it as it will potentially upset the rays, hence my looking at detritovores. Now before anyone points out the obvious, i appreciate that the rays will turn the substrate but the idea of active detritovores is to expedite the breakdown of the waste, thus reducing the build up of ammonia in the substrate and also to stir the substrate. So what i have found so far are that MTS and assassin snails can do this job but the former can reproduce to silly numbers and the latter do not consume detritus as their primary diet, meaning they would not be as effective. Are there any other options to consider? Are there any other creatures, that will be ok with rays, that can do the job?
My wolf tank currently has a snail population that is growing far too rapidly so i will have to do something about that and am thinking assassin snails so i am unsure if i want any more snails!
So there we are. Opinions, suggestions?
With the above in mind, i have decided to use a FW silica sand substrate that looks lovely. Well it did right up until the introduction of the fish. The volume of waste these 2 fish have produced is astonishing! As the title may suggest i am looking at a solution for the unsightly waste issue. Vacuuming is fine as is manual turning. however i do not want to regularly stick my hands and a vacuum it as it will potentially upset the rays, hence my looking at detritovores. Now before anyone points out the obvious, i appreciate that the rays will turn the substrate but the idea of active detritovores is to expedite the breakdown of the waste, thus reducing the build up of ammonia in the substrate and also to stir the substrate. So what i have found so far are that MTS and assassin snails can do this job but the former can reproduce to silly numbers and the latter do not consume detritus as their primary diet, meaning they would not be as effective. Are there any other options to consider? Are there any other creatures, that will be ok with rays, that can do the job?
My wolf tank currently has a snail population that is growing far too rapidly so i will have to do something about that and am thinking assassin snails so i am unsure if i want any more snails!
So there we are. Opinions, suggestions?
