Small Bottom Feeder/Cleaner for 6-gallon tank?

[DarylF2]

My Eclipse Six tank is doing really, really well. The plants are growing well (a little too well in the case of my Wisteria, which needs trimming), and the fish appear to be happy and healthy. The tank has been fully cycled since June 16, 2006.

The fish consist of 2 Neon Tetras (which I bought to cycle the tank before learning here about fishless cycles), 3 Otocinclus catfish, and 1 (Bronze) Corydoras catfish. I expected 1 or 2 of the Otos to die since they are such delicate little guys, but all three are doing superbly (it probably helped that I let my tank get a lot of green algae growing before getting the Otos); I may need to catch one and move it into another tank. The Neons are fun, friendly, and very energetic; I intend to get a couple more soon.

The issue is the single little Corydoras. I brought him over from my 38-gallon tank which has a large, triving colony of Corydoras (I started with 1 female and 2 males, and now have 18-24!). He seems healthy and is eating and growing well, but I know they like to live in groups. As a result, I'm thinking of moving him to my 20L tank, along with several of his family members from the 38-gallon tank.

But what can I replace him with? I need a non-aggressive, small (1"-2", but 1" preferably...) bottom feeder/cleaner that won't damage plants... A Kuhli loach is an attractive option, but I assume they'd prefer to live in a Kuhli loach group as well. I'm thinking of some sort of shrimp, but am unsure of what varieties to consider...

Suggestions?

 

[Ky'smommy]

how about some more ottos?
or a a good snail.
i have bad snails and they do a really good job i got to admit that. but i dont know the name of the good ones.

 

[DarylF2]

I want an omnivorous bottom feeder, someone to eat food that my Neons don't get as it drops. Otos don't seem to go for that; they prefer algae (preferably live growing algae, or algae tablets). I put the Eclipse Six in a spot where it gets indirect but fairly full sunlight to encourage algae growth for my beloved Otos, in fact, and they seem to LOVE this situation.

Snails I'd probably like to avoid for three reasons: 1-they can be hard to control, breeding like mad, 2-many snail varieties eat plants, and most varieties are less effective at controlling algae unless in large numbers, and 3-the "best" snail varieties (slow breeders, plant-safe algae eaters) are unavailable locally. If someone can point out a snail that avoids the "bad" attributes (breeding a lot, eating plants, slow algae eater) and that is both attractive and available locally (or safely, legally, and inexpensively over the Internet) I'd be happy to consider it!

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

ghost shrimp and flower shrimp may work

 

[Burks]

ghost shrimp

Mine do a lovely job of keeping my 1g Nano clean. Rarely do I see any kind of food left on the ground. They eat it all.

 

[DarylF2]

Cool. Now I have to see if either of my local pet stores carries them!

Shrimp also have a low bio-load, don't they?

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

Cool. Now I have to see if either of my local pet stores carries them!

Shrimp also have a low bio-load, don't they?

very small animal, so the bio-load would also be small.

Not sure how the bio-load is on a pound-for-pound basis

 

[JustOneMore20]

Please move the cory out of the 6g. He gets too big for that size tank.

I agree that shrimp are really your only option. 6g tanks are small, so nothing is really suited to live in it, as far as bottom feeders go. Cories are shoaling and you don't have enough room for a group.

 

[czcz]

I think the tank is too small for a flower/bamboo/wood shrimp, fwiw. Agree ghost shrimp or snails would be good. Cherry shrimp or other algae eating shrimp too, but best to have otos as the only fish to increase the baby shrimp's chance of survival.

 

[DarylF2]

The Cory went in very young, and is still a smallish juvenile/young-adult, so the size issue isn't a problem yet. This is also one of the smaller varieties of Corydoras (my biggest adult female is under 2"), so the size issue isn't quit as critical (yet) as it might be for a larger breed. I do intend to move him out soon (hence this posting) for his happiness. He's doing a terrific job in the 6-gallon tank, but I want him to be happy and I know he'd prefer being with his siblings in my 38-gallon tank.

I'm going to call around to see of my local pet stores sell Ghost/Glass Shrimp, as they do seem ideal for this tank.

I may also get Cherry Shrimp for my 20L, and perhaps one or two Flower/Wood/Bamboo/Singapore Shrimp for my 38.