[TheSplishSplashery]

I'm thinking of getting some tank custodians for the tank I'll be putting my betta in when he arrives from Thailand. It's a 5 gallon planted, but I've got another 5 gallon and a 10 gallon waiting to be set up so any fish that outgrow the 5 gallon can be moved to the bigger tank later on.

I have some wood in my tank, mopani I believe, that is growing some white slime on it. I know the slime is normal from reading and am not concerned about it, however it is unattractive and the bits that break off are making my water a bit gross looking. To combat this I've been scrubbing around the live plants with a bottle cleaning brush (works great btw!) I attached to the wood before it got all icky to get as much of the slime off as I can, and then doing a water change to get rid of the slime floaties and THEN an hour later cleaning my prefilter sponge in dechlorinated water to get rid of the remnants that get caught on it. Since it's a small tank it only takes about 20 minutes total, HOWEVER, I would rather get a species of custodian fish that will eat this stuff if possible to save me the hassle of doing this day after day for weeks until this clears up.

As I mentioned earlier I do have live plants in the tank (currently java fern, anubias nana and two marimo moss balls) and plan to add a carpetting plant such as dwarf hairgrass in the near future and I want my plants to be safe and un-nibbled by whatever I decide to put in there. What would you recommend?

 

[Wiggyl]

I don't have experience with slime, but my mystery snails are pretty intense about eating everything that isn't a live plant. The first couple of days after I moved them in, they did go after the live plants a bit, but I think it was more to get at the decaying leaves. Now they pretty much leave it untouched.

My zebra nerite snail loves algae and I've heard other people say their nerites are great for wood slime, but they're pretty small so it might take a lot of them or one of them a lot of time.

I think my snails are also really interesting to look at as well. One of my mysteries has mastered gliding and when he lets go of the glass now, he just falls slowly down and lands gently on his foot.

Hope that helps [=

 

[TheSplishSplashery]

Do you think cory cats would eat the slime?

 

[Wiggyl]

I don't own any but after doing a little research online, it sounds like they scavenge for leftover food and are unlikely to eat random things growing around the tank. If you want a cleanup crew a snail or some shrimp is probably your best bet. A single snail or a half dozen shrimp has a really small bioload compared to a fish that can get up to 4" long.

Especially if you're only keeping them in a 5g, there isn't enough room for a school of cory cats, which is what would make them the happiest.

 

[TheSplishSplashery]

Hmm probably won't want to get those then. I think I'll just stick to getting some shrimp and a snail. Thanks for the help

 

[Wiggyl]

No problem

I know some people prefer fish over snails and shrimp, but I think they're absolutely fascinating to watch. Enjoy your bottom feeders [=