Question on good cleaner fish

[severum mama]

Originally Posted by HUKIT

If you have room then I agree with one of the many species or corys, but the best bet is not to overfeed as there should be no leftovers. If your feeding flake you might consider switching to pellets as there is less waste and provides better nutrition to the fish.

There ya go.

If you want to add cories or shrimp because you like them in their own right, then go for it. If you are just looking for something to clean up uneaten food, try feeding less.

[HUKIT]

Originally Posted by quisemarboy

What is the best pellet food?

New Life Spectrum is what I'd recommend, they have a pellet size and selection for just about everything. Much more balanced nutrition than flake, plus the nice thing is there is no need to supplement with anything else. It's a one stop shop when it comes to feeding.

[quisemarboy]

Oh ok that helps a lot....thank you so much

[siva]

What size tank do you have?

[quisemarboy]

Originally Posted by siva

What size tank do you have?

46 gallon bow front

[siva]

Great, any cory is suitable for that size tank, as long as you have a smooth substrate. I would do atleast 6 if you go with cories. As far as shrimp getting eaten, what else is in the tank?

[quisemarboy]

Originally Posted by siva

Great, any cory is suitable for that size tank, as long as you have a smooth substrate. I would do atleast 6 if you go with cories. As far as shrimp getting eaten, what else is in the tank?

Just 3 mollies, 2 guppies,

[siva]

Any fish can end up being a shrimp killer, but I've had great luck with guppies. I've kept tons of them and never had a problem mixing them with shrimp. The mollies are more of a risk, but still they may be fine. You may also end up wanting to add other fish that may be a risk to shrimp, but you could always just go with some ghost shrimp. You can usually get atleast 3/$1 so if some get plucked off it's no biggie. Shrimp have very little bio-load, so you can easily add a bunch of them right along with the cories if you want to. For the cories, I do supplement with a high quality sinking wafer every other day or so. If you aren't overfeeding, there shouldn't be too much going to the bottom.

[adadkins1]

The shrimp would be fine in that tank. Cories would also work, so it is just up to your preference.

[Ches]

Please don't let your cory catfish starve by letting them "scavenge" for leftovers...usually, unless you severely overfeed, there won't be enough leftovers on the bottom to sustain them and they'll starve to death. I agree you should supplement their diet with sinking shrimp pellets or wafers every other day for optimum health. As for shrimp, they can just be left to scavenge. You may also want to consider adding algae eating shrimp/fish to create a perfect "cleanup crew".