crayfish

Question
hello i have a 50 gallon tank with three 5 inch cichlids(firemouth, sevrum, jewel cichlid), 5 inch kissing gourami, two silver dollars, and yellow bullhead catfish. I wanted to get a crayfish to clean up dibris. would the crayfish harm my fish or visa versa. would this work. thanks

Answer
Hi Ben,

Well, your fish are pretty big, but I would advise against a crayfish.  He will indeed harm your fish.

If there is debris, you're overfeeding.  Cut back to what they eat inside one minute. :)  Nothing should ever hit the bottom of the tank.

I also advise 25% water changes once a week til the debris dissipates.

For cleaning up debris, I recommend a few really big clown loaches.  They will be great for getting into the gravel and eating the debris in it.

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee