Clean up crew and pop control

[KevinES]

Ok so you guys may have seen my post about my new 29...
I have been doing a lot of reading and just can't find agreeing answers.
For those of you who haven't seen my other post I have a 29 with 3 platies (2 female, 1 male,) 3 Guppies (2 females, 1 male,) 4 neons and a cardinal tetra.
I want an exciting tank with a lot of action. Basically I want to see a lot of breeding and babies. But I want to see nature at work. I want play fry to make it every once in a while and I want guppy fry to make it every once in a while but I don't want the tank to become over populated. If worse come worse I will take them to the LFS but I want a tank that takes care of itself.
I also need a clean up crew. I wanted to try Cherry Shimp but I question their survivability in this tank...Ghost Shrimp might be an option...It would be neat to get them to breed...I have heard of them totally taking care of fry though...I have tried Red Claw Crabs, and I would try them again I guess...but the last ones crawled out and I think they need a dry surface...
My have considered a group of like 5 cories...they do a great clean up job and I have had good luck breeding them.
I also need something to take care of alge. It sounds like some of the most popular snails don't even do that...they just clean up flakes and crap...
I know bristlenose plecos do an amazing job at both and they stay fairly small. I had 2 in a 29 a couple of years ago and I actually got babies. None of them made it because I left them in there and apparently you are supposed to remove the parents from them. I am worried though that they would clean up all of the fry for my platys and guppies...

I just can't keep things straight...
I have heard all of the following...
Guppies will control their own numbers (know for a fact that doesn't happen)
Platys will eat ALL of their fry (I hope this isn't the case and I hope they don't clean out the guppies too)
I have heard of predators...but I had guppies make it with Angels...
I have heard danios eat ALL of them and that they eat none of them.
I have heard ghost shrimp eat all of them and none of them.
I heard frogs are good at getting rid of them but also good at getting out of the tank...

I don't know what to do. No one agrees. I just want 1-3 fry survive per batch, someone to clean up my glass and some one to clean up the bottom of the tank.

Any suggestions!

And I should mention that I have tons of fake plants and hiding places. I am consider java moss also...

 

[BigJim]

Red Claw crabs do need dry land. They're not suited for an aquarium.

Guppies help control their numbers, but they won't eat all the fry. I started with four and now have about a hundred.

Platies are more likely to eat more fry simply because they're bigger and have bigger mouths. Provide cover for the fry and some will make it. Java moss or hornwort are great baby protectors.

Predators are hit or miss. You may end up with lots or no fry left.

Giant danios would probably eat a lot of fry, but they're really too big for your 29g anyways. Other danio species may eat some fry, but I don't think they'd get all of them.

Ghost shrimp may eat dead fry, but I have a hard time believing that they'd take a healthy live fry.

Frogs are good at getting out.


For algae cleanup, get nerite snails.
For bottom cleanup, cories do a good job. No critter will eat fish waste, so you'll just have to remove that yourself.

Population control will be a trial and error process. If you do go the predator route, provide cover for the fry. My praecox rainbows are very efficient predators, but they can't eat bigger fry.

 

[iceywater101]

Go with Cories for the bottom and Ottos for the plants and glass.

 

[DragonFish71]

+1 with BigJim except...

Ghosts can catch live fry, it does happen. We actually watched some of ours clamp down on molly fry once. But generally fry are quick, these might have been weak.

 

[vic021]

With my past experience guppies will eat all the fry or leave a couple every once in a while unless you provide plants for them to hide in. Cories are good bottom feeders when it comes to feeding time and the fish don't eat it all and some falls, but you shouldn't expect them to eat any old food on the bottom. Also i have read its not good to have cories in a tank with gravel as substrate. As for snails i would say a cheap way to go is bladder snails they actually clean very well and eat algae but they over populate a lot. So what i did was let them populate a lot and ended up buying a yo yo loach to keep there numbers under control.

 

[KevinES]

Well I got some ghost shrimp and I don't know if they eat them or not but I have a ton of fry...There has to be 25 or more fry in the tank...
Also I have had cories in tanks with gravel bottoms for years and never had a problem.