Bottom cleaner?

[suds1421]

Hey everyone,

My daughter has a new tank with some platties in it. Was just wondering what would be a good bottom cleaner fish? I know pleco's have a huge bioload so I really don't want them...

Anyone have a good fish to help keep the gravel clean?

I do water changes weekly with a siphon and am able to get the gravel pretty clean, don't have a water problem... so maybe I am trying to solve a problem I don't have?

I just want to stay ahead of this tank...

 

[dkpate]

You could try some snails.
Common plecos get HUGE (2 ft) so I am glad you weren't part of the "norm" who just goes and buys one.

 

[drobertson]

I have always enjoyed using cory's to assist in keeping the bottom clean.

 

[zach_1_6]

i have a rainbow shark who really cleans up some mess, if the tank is big enough you could try one.

 

[BigJim]

If you're looking for a critter to eat food that falls to the bottom, cories, khulis, or snails do a good job. If you're looking for something to clean the waste for you, you're out of luck.

You may not need any bottom-dwelling animals to keep the tank clean at all, but they're nice to have. Bottom dwellers fill a niche in the ecosystem that is your tank.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

+1 on the cories! They are worth getting for their own sake, brilliant little things!

What size of tank do you have?

 

[suds1421]

Thanks for the info, the cory's look cool, I'll have to show them to by daughter... it is "her" tank

If we were looking for snails which ones would be preferred? (I don't want 1000 snails in the tank

I'm not looking for a fish that eats waste, if you find one you'll be a millionare Just looking for something to help keep the excess food down and some interest in the tank. Right now we don't have any bottom feeders..

 

[Shetland James]

Cory's are definitely what you will be after. Algae eaters occasionally troll the bottom of the tank for food too and they'll keep the sides clean but I imagine their ability to also grow quite large will affect your decision.

 

[dkpate]

Depends on the size of the tank for the corys. Schools of 6-10 are preferred, but you need a fairly large tank.
I have snails that do eat fish waste, but your tank can be easily overrun by them. I have assassin snails to keep them in check.

 

[XimeD]

Nerite snails are really good at eating algae.

Other cleaner crew options (besides the corys)
-Otos
-Shrimp (ghost shrimp, red cherry shrimp)

 

[suds1421]

Depends on the size of the tank for the corys. Schools of 6-10 are preferred, but you need a fairly large tank.
I have snails that do eat fish waste, but your tank can be easily overrun by them. I have assassin snails to keep them in check.

What types of snails eat fish waste? Assassin snails would be fun and I have a crayfish in another tank that likes snails so I might be able to keep them down?

 

[dkpate]

My malaysian trumpet snails eat poo, but they can quickly overrun your tank if you overfeed (I do) so I keep one assassin snail in there. My other assassin snails are in a different tank that I put snails from the main tank every other day. I only keep one assassin in my big tank because my mystery snail in in there, and my ramshorns.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

What's the size of the tank?