Help with Good Bottom Feeder For 6 Gallon Tank???

[MyameeGirl]

Hi All,

Well, I finally got my tank up, FISHLESS cycled, and ready to go. I'm waiting for my beautiful betta from Thailand, should be here next Wednesday! Yay!!

My question is this:

I am only putting a betta into the tank with a bottom feeder/scavenger of some kind to help keep the tank clean, but I'm confused as to what I should get.

I was going to get a ghost shrimp, but have been told and read various threads that bettas hunt them, so I don't want anything in my tank that has to fear for its' little life.

I'm not too excited about getting a cory because the ones i've seen look like they're on crack flying around the tank all day and night. My sister has one and she says it barely stops moving. I don't want it to scare by betta.

Sooooo, with all of that said (Sorry for the novel), is there a good bottom feeder/scavenger that anyone can suggest that would do well in 6.6 gallon tank with a betta, meaning the water temp would be about 79/80 degrees???

Any suggestions would be appreicated. I'm looking to go in the next few days to pick up something, but thought I would check with you all first, x since I trust you guys more than the fish guy at the shop!!

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[MartinBlank]

In a 6 gallon, as long as you are careful with feeding, you may not need a bottom feeder.

But that being said, have you considered a snail? Low bio load, won't bother your betta, you can get one large enough that you I don't think it will get eaten... though depending on the betta it is entirely possible he'll pester the snail.

And that gets to the root of the issue, as some bettas will be fine with other beings in the tank, while others will be very aggressive. Though I think the smaller the tank, the likelier the betta will feel he needs to defend his territory against any other living things.

And a cory won't work in a 6 gallon, as they get too big, prefer to be kept in schools, and are very active. Dwarf corys would work I think you could get away with a group of 3 or 4 of those as far as bio-load, and I don't think they would bother your betta.

In a 6 gallon tank your options will be limited when talking about in addition to the betta. Personally I would try the betta solo.

 

[Bud]

+1 Martin

The issue is what the betta will tolerate. I would think that a snail would work. Maybe an amano shrimp or some larger type of shrimp. I would think that you don't actually NEED a bottom feeder. Don't overfeed and keep up with your PWCs. If you WANT one, there are options.

 

[MartinBlank]

And thinking about it, if you kept it to 3 or 4 dwarf corys, I think you would be fine as far as bio-load in a 6 gallon with a betta.

While they are active swimmers, I would be very surprised if they would pester the betta.

(updated my earlier post to say this exact same thing, apologies for the spam)

 

[Mogurako]

My suggestions would be snails, larger shrimp like Amano or a school of dwarf Cory they only get 1/2-3/4".

 

[MyameeGirl]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

I know the tank is small and I do plan on doing regular PWC weekly, but I notice that there's quite a bit of algae and slimy stuff thorughout the tank, so I would like a bit of a housekeeper in there if I could manage... aside from yours truly...lol.

I really like the dwarf cory's.... do you know if they have the same behaviors as the cory pygmy? I'm looking at those as well.

Thanks again for you advice!!

 

[MartinBlank]

please note that dwarf corys (or corys for any sort) aren't going to help with algae. For algae you are definitely going to want to go snail or shrimp.

and yes, pygmy corys are like dwarf corys in the way they behave.

 

[Mogurako]

Agreed, for algae issues get shrimp and snails they ad almost no bio load on the tank. The real question though is what is causing excess nutrients in the tank and thus making lots of algae? First thing that comes to mind for me is over feeding, lights being on for to long or the tank being in direct sunlight.

 

[rich311k]

I would just clean it myself and let the betta fly solo.

 

[MyameeGirl]

please note that dwarf corys (or corys for any sort) aren't going to help with algae. For algae you are definitely going to want to go snail or shrimp.

and yes, pygmy corys are like dwarf corys in the way they behave.

Ah, I didn't know that cory's didn't help with algae. That makes a big difference in what I look at getting.

Thanks!

 

[MyameeGirl]

Agreed, for algae issues get shrimp and snails they ad almost no bio load on the tank. The real question though is what is causing excess nutrients in the tank and thus making lots of algae? First thing that comes to mind for me is over feeding, lights being on for to long or the tank being in direct sunlight.

Hmmm, well, I don't have anything living in my tank yet, so I don't put any food in after I cycled it. I have two live plants in there. That's it.

My tank doesn't get any direct light, but I guess I could be leaving the lights on too long. I turn them on at around 7:30 in the morning and they're on until I go to bed. I have a fluval chi, which comes with 10 LED lights. They're not that strong, which is why I went with two low-light plants and why I keep the light on so long. As a matter of fact, I purchased a natural light side lamp to use in conjunction with that, but I had algae before I started using that. I only put that on a few hours a day for extra light anyway, so I don't think that would cause it.

I'm not sure, but I guess I'll try keeping the light on only for 10 to 12 hours a day and see if that helps. it's just that my tank gets no natural light generally cause it's in my kitchen away from the windows.

 

[MyameeGirl]

I would just clean it myself and let the betta fly solo.

I'm leaning that way... maybe a snail.