doberman15
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello all. I have 2 peacock cichlids, and two kenyi cichlids, a pleco, a rainbow shark, and a kuhli loach. The water is crystal clear, and there's no significant algea growth... however, every time I feel them there's always food that makes its way down to the sediment, and it builds up over time. I vacuum the gravel once a week during a water change, but I was hoping for a more effective scavenger to clear out the rocks so I may not have to vacuum as much.
I've tried getting 20 ghost shrimp or so... figuring 5-10 would get eaten right away, and the other 10-15 could stay alive for a few days and clean up, but every time I add them, it becomes a massacre. They're all eaten within an hour.
I tried a crayfish, thinking he's a bit larger with his pinchers, he may be able to fend off the peacocks. He did well while the lights were on, but when I woke up the next morning I found his tail under the pleco, and his upper half being shared by my kenyis. Any idea what kind of an interesting scavenger I can get that can survive in a cichlid tank?
I've tried getting 20 ghost shrimp or so... figuring 5-10 would get eaten right away, and the other 10-15 could stay alive for a few days and clean up, but every time I add them, it becomes a massacre. They're all eaten within an hour.
I tried a crayfish, thinking he's a bit larger with his pinchers, he may be able to fend off the peacocks. He did well while the lights were on, but when I woke up the next morning I found his tail under the pleco, and his upper half being shared by my kenyis. Any idea what kind of an interesting scavenger I can get that can survive in a cichlid tank?