Food at the bottom of the tank

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iman74

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
21
There is no doubt it's my fault for having that, but besides vacuuming it up, my buddy was telling me I can buy a fish that will clean the bottom of the tank. I am interested in getting this in addition to an algae eater: what should I look for? I get small community fish in a 20 gallon tank.
 
Any of the corydoras catfish would work. They're small bottom feeders that are also active and playful. They like to be in groups of 5-6.
 
Also keep in mind that you will still need to gravel vac. Bottom feeders are good at cleaning up food and algae, but as for any other crud, it will build up if you don't.
 
I'm with LWB, even with the additions of cories or any other bottom feeders, you still have to gravel vac. They won't make your maintenance on the tank any less. They will only eat the food and not the fish poop, so you still need to do water changes and vac the bottom.

What fish do you have in the tank and how many of each?

If you get an algae eater, I'd go for otocinclus, assuming your tank is cycled and water conditions are good. They stay small. Dwarf plecos are great, but alot of them don't eat algae (bristlenose plecs do) and they produce alot of waste. Also, dwarf plecos can be harder to find. The ones that are just labelled "Plecostomus" or "Common algae eater" are not dwarves. So, stay away from them. ;)
 
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