Fish without inverts.

[tmscott89]

So lately I’ve been contemplating getting a second smaller tank for all my fish in my tank and use my larger DT for other kinds of fish. My question is, how does tank cleaning work as far as algae when it comes to fish like puffer, trigger, butterfly etc that can’t allow inverts. I still clean my DT now but I’m just wondering if i will have to clean it more often with no inverts being allowed in there if I decide to change it.

 

[Jesterrace]

You will definitely have to clean more often. That said there are certain inverts that can work with invert munchers. Conch Snails are a good choice for keeping the sand bed clean and can frustrate the most determined invert munchers. Urchins can also be a good choice as precious few fish want to mess with their spines.

 

[Spare time]

Fish that eat algae and clean the sand become handy. Just keep phosphates low (not 0 though). A lot of those predator fish make a decent amount of waste so its a good idea to have some sort of good waste removal anyways.