# some zero risk critters for those with water features



## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

I posted this in a separate thread called "what do you have in the water?" but I thought that some might be interested in a separate thread for vivarium critters that won't stress frogs or feed on tads. My experience is mostly with aquatic creatures, so I will only list those that I have extended experience with (pics are not mine, with the exception of the CRS):

1) Zebra nerite snail








Aquatic, herbivorous, will decimate any algae you have underwater but will not eat plants. Recommend a small piece of algae tab occasionally if you don't have any algae. Will not breed in freshwater, so they won't overrun your tank. Definitely big enough to avoid being eaten, max size 1"

2) Otocinclus catfish
Same care/description as the nerite, except they can breed in FW but most often will not. Prefer slightly acidic water that is free of nitrates/ammonia etc, max size 1.5" at the largest. They WILL NOT touch tads or anything that moves.
Standard oto-








Zebra oto-









3) Cherry dwarf shrimp 
Prolific and hardy, they won't leave the water and can live in most FW conditions. They won't touch tads, I have kept them with spring peeper tads before, and they don't even mess with planaria or daphnia. There are other subspecies of neocaridina that are identical other than color (yellow, green, blue pearl, orange)
(pic from aquariacentral.com)









4) Crystal Red Shrimp
More advanced care, need cleaner water where the params don't fluctuate.
I recommend pH 6.2-6.5, temp. around 75 (they will die if it is above 80), and CLEAN with a good oxygen supply (a sponge filter under the false bottom is ideal if your water is unfiltered, which will help the cleanliness of your tank without needing to take it out for maintenance... great for beneficial bacteria)
Will not breed with cherry shrimp and both can be kept together. Hikari crab cuisine is great for these guys, one or two pellets will feed quite a few of them (as well as the cherries) and it's pretty hilarious watching them trying to steal the pellets for themselves. NOTE- the higher the grade, the more careful you have to be. I wouldn't recommend above A grade for a viv unless you have experience with these. 
(this pic is mine)









5) Galaxy microrasbora/celestial pearl danio
Incredibly peaceful, max size around .75".. these aren't even a problem with baby cherry shrimp which are smaller than any tad I've ever seen. 









There are also several varieties of killifish that will stay under an inch long and would be possibilities as well. I would be careful with the choice of fish here though, there are many types that grow larger and might pose a risk.
It's too bad bumblebee gobies do better in brackish because they would otherwise be an excellent choice. Endler's livebearers and cardinal tetras are good choices as well, but I wouldn't trust them with newly hatched tads unless you feed them religiously.

I think I covered most of the readily available zero risk species, if I've forgotten any feel free to add. If you don't filter your water, I can only recommend the nerites... if you have a water feature with movement via a powerhead the cherry shrimp will be fine too.


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## SmackoftheGods (Jan 28, 2009)

I'm wondering if you've taken into consideration competition for resources. It looks like you've posted a lot of algae eaters. While they may not touch/stress tads directly it seems that they would compete with potential tad food (then again I don't know for sure since my experience with aquatics is pretty minimal).


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

One marimo moss ball or some java moss will provide enough microorganisms for the shrimp to feed on for sure if you're worried, which I really wouldn't be as there is usually plenty of biofilm to go around.. the snail and the oto should get SMALL pieces of algae wafers to supplement (which the shrimp and I'm guessing the tads will eat also), and the galaxy microrasboras should get a tiny bit of flake daily. I can say with confidence that the shrimp would not pose a problem here, and I was under the impression that most keepers feed their tads a little bit anyways. As long as the water is well oxygenated, the biofilter will support them and the minute bit of extra feed just fine.

These species don't eat much at all, with the exception of the nerite which mows down the film type of algaes that grow on glass.. but they're too heavy to feed off of the leaves of most aquatic plants (java fern, java moss, hornwort, and crypts to name some hardy low-lighters), which leaves plenty for the tads. 

That's also why I suggested 2+ gallons of water for even a few shrimp, an oto or two, or a snail- the microrasboras will do fine with 5 gallons, but will need some sort of filtration (again, a sponge filter and a few plants will be plenty).


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## PumilioTurkey (Feb 25, 2010)

the real problem might the frogs 

I know cases where the frogs grabbed small fish with their tongues out of the water.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

I'd be totally fine with that, personally hahah.. cherry shrimp and danios are often used as feeders in the aquarium industry due to their prolific nature, if the frogs could figure out how to nab one on occasion it would probably be a pretty nice supplement to their diet. 

Max size on the oto (1.5 or so) is probably big enough to avoid being eaten, as well as them being SO paranoid about anything moving around them. They can turn their fins into spines, but when they do this, they're too wide to get stuck in a PDF's mouth. The spines aren't sharp enough to pierce through the frog, so the worst that could plausibly happen is- frog gets poked and leaves, fish dies on land. owner pays $3 for a new one. The chance of this happening is SO remote to begin with.. oto's won't let hardly anything get within a foot of them. 

Nerites are just too big, and their shells are way too hard.. so that leaves the CRS, which would be fine if they're breeding well, but pretty darn expensive if they're not 

Like I was thinking before, I still see the cherry shrimp and nerites as being the best options hands down, and that's what I'll be using in my viv.


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## smilexelectric (Mar 14, 2009)

i want to see a dart frog nab a fish man!


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## nathan (Jul 24, 2009)

Know any good sources for these?
Galaxy microrasbora/celestial pearl danio


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

nathan said:


> Know any good sources for these?
> Galaxy microrasbora/celestial pearl danio


https://www.azgardens.com/p-872-galaxy-rasboracelestial-pearl-danios.aspx

They also got some nice FW shrimp.


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Personally Im interested in Caridina﻿ cf.spinata or some bluetiger shrimp.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

nathan said:


> Know any good sources for these?
> Galaxy microrasbora/celestial pearl danio


I'm getting some again for one of my planted tanks (lost the others when my A/C broke last summer and DESTROYED what I couldn't transport in time).. I can probably get some up to you pretty soon if you'll still be interested in a few months. I have a friend at an LFS who throws me a discount and special orders them, otherwise they can be pretty pricey (the only LFS I've seen that has carried them was selling them for $10 a pop).


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

D3monic said:


> Personally Im interested in Caridina﻿ cf.spinata or some bluetiger shrimp.


If you're talking the orange eye blues, then you obviously have good (and expensive) taste ... both are pretty hard to care though for if you haven't done shrimp before. If you have, get some and send me some babies


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