The fish that you choose for your aquarium can really add a lot of interest and character to your tank. But, if you want a really unique aquarium, add some other aquatic animals such as snails, salamanders, eels, shrimp, turtles, frogs, crabs or even clams!

Adding various other animals to your aquarium will result in a more natural habitat. And, each aquatic animal will have their own different characteristics and habits that can be quite interesting to observe.   But, it will also provide an added benefit. Many of these animals are scavengers and they will help keep your aquarium clean!

Every aquarium needs at least a few scavengers to help keep it clean, they’re sort of the little garbage disposals of the fish world! Scavengers will clean your tank of leftover food, scum, algae and other decayed matter.

Snails

There’s a wide variety of snails to choose from and each one will perform a different job in cleaning an aquarium. If you have several different types of snails in your aquarium, they will all work together and do a much better job of keeping it clean.

Mystery snails are great additions because they will eat any left over food that your fish don’t devour, they will also take care of algae. Trapdoor snails get quite large, but along with algae, they will also keep scum out of the tank.

Melantho snails are great scavengers, but they’re also interesting snails. Unlike regular snails with rounded shells, melantho snails have a long spiral shells that are quite unique. Along with left over food, they will also eat algae and decaying plants.

Black ramshorn snails are great for an aquarium that receives too much sunlight which promotes the growth of green scum. They’re also really good at keeping your aquarium algae free. And, snails are so easy to care for. They don’t really need any special attention, you just simply add them to the aquarium.

Salamanders

Salamanders are another option, but you have to know which ones to add to your aquarium. Not all salamanders are fully aquatic, some will actually require land to survive. The axolotl is one type of salamander that is fully aquatic and can be kept in an aquarium. But, they will require a large tank, some reach 10 to 12 inches in length.

Axolotl salamanders can actually regenerate their tails, gills and even their legs if lost or damaged! But, they will eat any of the aquariums inhabitants that are small enough for them to eat whole! So, they should only be kept with larger fish.

Keeping the water temperature at the right level is critical in keeping axolotls alive and healthy. The low 60’s are ideal and they can usually tolerate water temperatures that reach the low 70’s, but anything higher can kill them.

They spend most of their time on the bottom of the tank and can be quite rough on plants and tank decorations. Axolotls generally live around 10 to 12 years and are carnivorous. They need a high quality diet to thrive. Some fish foods can provide a balanced diet, but sinking trout pellets are one of the best foods to use.

Salamanders can climb, so you’ll need to keep a secure fitting cover on the aquarium to keep them in the tank. And, handling them should be avoided as much as possible, the oil in your skin is toxic to them and can kill them or make them very sick.

Written by Connie Corder for The Home Aquarium, Copyright 2008 all rights reserved and may not be republished in any form.

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