good bottm feeder for cichlids?
- Thread starter fish_chic
- Start date
African cichlids and plecos both like to have their own little "cave". It isn't a nice thing to see when they get territorial over one and start to fight and you have to rip out the rocks to get to them to separate them. I was horrified when my plec and my three inch yellow lab got into it. They were both injured: the plecs fins got tore up and my yellow lab got a big gash on his side. I ended up passing the plec on to a friend w/ more hospitable fish. I would recommend just not getting one.
Great point: when my Syno lived together with JD and Sev I was always worrried about him getting enough food.
After feeding my JD starts to sieve through gravel sucking every tiny piece of food.
It depends on cichlids because Severum eats almost exclusively food that is in mid-water: he does not eat floating pellets and does not take gravel in his mouth looking for sank pellets. So, if he lived alone he probably would benefit from some kind of bottomfeeder friend.
-s
After feeding my JD starts to sieve through gravel sucking every tiny piece of food.
It depends on cichlids because Severum eats almost exclusively food that is in mid-water: he does not eat floating pellets and does not take gravel in his mouth looking for sank pellets. So, if he lived alone he probably would benefit from some kind of bottomfeeder friend.
-s
Looking at your current list of inhabitants - I'd suggest adding a couple of the smaller types of Pl*co - L76 red fin for instance will only get to 4 or 5 inches (although they can be a bit shy). It all depends on what your LFS has (or can get) in stock.
Severums, although they like thier own corner of the tank are not overly agressive, and your Angels won't bother a Pl*co either.
The "rules" change with the type of cichlid of course - some are just complete psycopaths ......
Depends on a couple of things - are you just wanting to add more fish to the bottom layer of the tank - or do you have a problem with uneaten food ? - and of course, is it for the tank you have listed in your signature ?
Severums, although they like thier own corner of the tank are not overly agressive, and your Angels won't bother a Pl*co either.
The "rules" change with the type of cichlid of course - some are just complete psycopaths ......
Depends on a couple of things - are you just wanting to add more fish to the bottom layer of the tank - or do you have a problem with uneaten food ? - and of course, is it for the tank you have listed in your signature ?
For that I would try to get some of the syno cats. I have three S. multipunctatus and they are some of my favorite fish period. Active and very smart. These are also known as cucu catfish for a good reason. With mouth brooders like mbuna, the catfish will eat the cichlid eggs, then deposit their own for the mouth brooding cichlid to pick up thinking that it is one of her own eggs. The young catfish hatch sooner than the cichlid eggs, and then feast on the other cichlid eggs all while in the parent cichlid's mouth.
But it takes a while for the catfish to reach breeding age, and if your not worried about breeding the muba then you shouldn't have any worries.
But it takes a while for the catfish to reach breeding age, and if your not worried about breeding the muba then you shouldn't have any worries.
The fish labeled as "Mixed African" at the LFS are invariably Mbuna of some sort, and as such, should be considered as fairly aggresive when fully mature. Fin nipping little gits basically. I've seen Mbuna nip Pl*cos and Synos 5 times their size - real "hit and run" merchants.
I'd say run with no bottom feeder - stick with sand or a bare bottom to allow the "Mixed Africans" to keep the bottom clear of food. Your filter should take care of any waste (so oversize a bit on that score).
Snails can be fun - but watch out you don't get over-run with the things (though they do make great footballs for larger agressive fish).
I'd say run with no bottom feeder - stick with sand or a bare bottom to allow the "Mixed Africans" to keep the bottom clear of food. Your filter should take care of any waste (so oversize a bit on that score).
Snails can be fun - but watch out you don't get over-run with the things (though they do make great footballs for larger agressive fish).
thanks everyone for the suggestions i think i will just do without a bottom feeder and have the cichlids do the cleaning of the bottom. i have some gravel in there from my established 90 gal and when it is done cycling i will be adding some sand (but keeping the old gravel in panty hose until i know the bacteria has spread to the new sand) that way it will be easier for the cichlids to pick food of the bottom. again thanks everyone for your suggestions.