Crowds and Cleaning

Question
I have an issue trying to convince my family to clean the tank.  It is my tank but my parents said that I could leave it at home because it's really awkward to take to school and back during breaks.

It is a 10 gallon tank with 10 fish in all and has two new residents because my family decided that I didn't have enough fish, and these will clean the tank.  

My mom got me a rubber lip pleco (pet store told her a 10 gallon would be fine even with all the other fish) for the algae on the glass and my brother caught me a crawdad, partially because I did really want one, and to help keep the gravel clean.

My family is now convinced that the tank doesn't need to be cleaned at all because that's what the rubber lip and the crawdad will do.  They also don't believe me when I mentioned that the tank is now far too small for all the fish that are in there.  My brother actually believes that the rubber lip will 'grow to fit the tank' and is trying to talk me out of my normal cleaning schedule because 'I should let the crawdad clean it'.

What can I say that will convince them that the tank still needs to get cleaned regularly?  And possibly that it doesn't need anymore fish?

And just to clarify how bad this tank is: I have two corys (both about an inch), 6 guppies (largest is an inch), the rubber lip(not quite an inch) and crawdad (which is already a solid inch-inch 1/5) and my guppies are mixed sex (I was planning on culling the guppies and using them for fish bait, though my mom is now very attached to them).

Answer
Hi Rebekah,
I know you know this already, but an important key to remember is the 'cleaner fish' and 'cleaner bottom dwellers' like the crawdad are -ONLY- removing some algae and food particles they can find. Remember that fish are swimming in their own toilet. No fish, nor other aquatic creature can remove the dissolved pollutants produced by the fish and the crawdad. And dissolved pollutants are what builds up in your tank in just a short period of time, often to extreme levels if water changes are neglected, and will create ideal conditions for bacterial infections on the fish as well as stress to their immune system, breathing difficulties and even changes to the chemistry of the tank. Like causing the pH level of the water to drop drastically due to acids produced by decaying waste and other bio-matter.

Long gone is the idea that an aquarium can be a self-sustained system. Even heavily planted beautiful aquatic gardens must have water changes to benefit the fish and even the plants because minerals and trace elements eventually get used up and plants can start to suffer let alone the fish living in polluted conditions are subject to many health issues just like any other animal living in dirty conditions.

And an important thing to keep in mind is a crystal clear aquarium is not an indicator of healthy water. Dissolved pollutants like Ammonia, Nitrites or Nitrates are invisible. You can only test for them with specific test kits. But eventually, if water changes are neglected for too long, algae blooms are common, which will turn your aquarium green with free-floating algae. The rubberlip pleco won't be able to eat this kind of algae.

The lack of water changes means your fish won't grow, the reason fish 'grow to the size of the tank' is only due to the fact that there are not enough sufficient water changes to remove the growth-inhibiting hormones and waste products that stunt a fish's growth. So the fish aren't swimming around the tank and judging 'Ok, I'll only grow this big cause the tank is small' -- their body is merely being stunted by environmental conditions.

*The rubber lip can live for a while in this tank, but he will need a bigger tank before too long. These fish can grow up to 10" and with good care some fish will grow an inch a month.

The best top fish breeders and experts will tell you the key to continuous good fish health, growth and longevity is water changes. There is a saying that if you take care of the water, your fish will truly thrive. It is, after all, the most important aspect of aquatic life.

I'm glad you came here for help!
Best wishes and let me know if you have anymore questions,
Happy Holidays!
Susan~