Options for bottom cleaner fish?

[sdrone]

I have a 20 gallon high aquarium with a Aquaclear 30 filter. The bottom is sand.

My fish are:
Orange gourami (big but kids love that fish)
5 serpae tetra
1 tiger barb (left from school of 4)

I had 3 albino corys. 2 of them died over a weekend a month ago, and the last one died last weekend.

Kids loved the catfish and have noticed the lack of catfish but I've been able to explain it for now. The funny thing is that the smaller fish don't like to eat at the surface when the bigger gourami is there, so they got used to stealing veggie wafers as they floated down - I've had to continue feeding the wafers.

Anyway, what options are there for fish that will clean the bottom of my tank?

Cory catfish: I could get 3 more; the kids like them and I could let the kids pick the type we get (green, panda, etc.)
shrimp: I'd like some shrimp, but they might be small enough to be hard to see, and I wonder if the occasionally aggressive gourami would eat them
Loaches? I think they will clean the bottom, but most of them get far to big for my aquarium, correct?

Are there other hardy bottom cleaners I don't know about?

 

[HeatherW]

not sure what to suggest for the bottom, but for the other fish when feeding you can do a submerged feeding. put a pinch of fish food in your fingers and put them under water and then give them a flick. this will put some of the food lower for the other guys to eat

 

[KaylNeko]

I'd stick with corys for the size tank you have. Maybe let your kids pick a species (just one) and get 5 of them, since they do better in larger groups.

 

[smallfry53]

Sounds like maybe you should figure out why your fish are dying before getting more. Have you been testing your water and doing regular PWCs?

 

[Hobgob]

Agreed don't waste the money just to has the fish die.

 

[smallfry53]

If you wanted to go with loaches, you could probably get some kuhli loaches.