help me choose a bottom feeder!

[jiffy]

I have a 10g tank that currently houses 4 longfin zebra dainos and 5 cardinal tetras. I plan on getting a total of 6 dainos and 6 cardinals. That leave the bottom...

Last time I rearranged my tank alot of dirt and just kicked up. There is always some food that falls to the bottom before the dainos or cardinals can catch it even though all the food is eaten within 3 minutes or so and that if I put anymroe in the dainos will still go mad to get to it and eat it.

So...I am looking for something that will eat the stuff that falls to the bottom before it starts to waste away. I do weekly water changes and gravel vacuming but if there was less food sitting in the bottom until I vacuum it would be healthier for the fish in the tank.

I would also feed the bottom feeder whatever food was neccessary for them, but I would like it if they also ate the flakes that fell before the other fish could get it.

I was originally thinking an otto, but I have learned that they are mainly alge eating fish. I do not have any visible alge at this point, so I dont know if they would be a good amtch even though they could recieve a supplemental diet.

So...
1) haveing a 10g with 6 dainos and 6 cardinals, what would you recomend for me?

2) am I better off just continuing with weekly gravel vacuuming and getting ottos to prevent/control any future alge?

 

[Lotus]

You will have to do your weekly gravel vacuuming, no matter what. A bottom feeder doesn't mean you don't have to clean the tank

As you have quite a heavy fish load already, you don't want to add too much. I would recommend a snail (mystery or apple snail) or some shrimp (ghost, amano or cherry). Both are pretty light on the bioload and will help eat extra food.

 

[kikuchiyo]

If you want stuff to get rid of the mulm, you'll need plants. No animal will eat that garbage, as I'm sure most of it isn't food but waste of one kind or another.

Lotus is, of course, right: snails or shrimp would be great for finding any bits of food that does get passed your fish, but for the most part all tanks have a bit of dirt.

 

[jiffy]

Lotus - Sorry is I wasn't clear. I will definitly still be doing my weekly waterchanges and gravel vacuuming. But I figured that if durring the week there was less food because something ate some of it, it would be that much healthier for the fish in there.

I want to watch the load of my tank (which I why I am sure to do my weekly maintenance and not fall behind)

kikuchiyo - aparently you missunderstood me too (mabey i am not clear enough) no harm. I dont mean I am looking for fish that will eat rotting food and crap. I want something that when I feed my dainos and cardinals and some food falls to the bottom, it will eat some of that.

Obviously there would be stuff they didnt get which would be picked up when I vacuum (and the poop gets picked up)

 

[Lotus]

No problem, jiffy. I just wanted to make sure you knew.

I would say shrimp or snails would fit the bill pretty well. They're great at all those tiny bits of food.

 

[bigredspecial]

cories are great, or even better for your situation, is shrimp... they add practicaly nothing to the bio load, and NOTHING gets past them.

 

[ashleigh]

plus they are surprisingly hardy and really interesting to watch.

 

[jiffy]

Shrimp sound good and I like how cherry shrimp look, but I have heard they are pricey. I dont know about amano shrimp. Ghost shrimp are neat and cheap, so that is good.

I do worry about shrimp escaping though. That creeps me out. I have a glass cover but there are some small gaps that a shrimp may or may not be able to get through. Creepy.

 

[bigredspecial]

amano's are fairly cheap too - not ghost cheap, but cheaper than most fish.

as for them escaping, I wouldn't worry about it, mine havn't!

 

[kikuchiyo]

Ah I see. Well, as I said, snails and shrimp will catch what gets by. Cories are hardy, but they need to be in groups, and that will add to the bioload

Even if the shrimp got out they couldn't go far. You can put mesh or nylon stocking on the bigger holes too.

 

[TaffyFish]

I'd keep the danios and cardinals at the present numbers and add 3 panda cories. They're one of the smaller cories so maybe no more demanding on your bioload. Cories are all action, always a joy to watch. This wouldn't rule out additional shrimp either.

 

[jiffy]

big red - good to know none of your shrimp have escaped. Whenever I go to the LFS I see ghost shrimp crawling all over the glass and it looks like if they could do this they could find a way out.

kikuchiyo - good point about the mesh. that is actually probably the easiest way to solve that problem. as far as adding to the bioload...that is one of my concerns and why i posted.

taffyfish - now that you mention cories...would a pygmy be better than a panda? I hear that pandas are kind of hard to care for and I see many posts about sick or dead pandas.

 

[Erik]

i say a dojo loach or a bambo/flower shrimp sails are great two

 

[Toyman321]

I have had ghost shrimp in every tank I have ever had and I have never had one escape, including from the tanks with no lids at all. They make a great clean up crew and definitly fun to watch.

 

[Violet]

I say definately go with the pygmy cories if you can find them. If not, pandas or even albinos possibly, I find the albinos don't grow as big. The shrimp are fun to watch. Malaysian Trumpet snails do a good job on gravel cleaning as well.

 

[bigredspecial]

I retract my statement on my shrimp not escaping; they havn't been seen for almost 3 weeks now...

try to avoid trumpet snails; they llive in the substrate, and reproduce quickly - as the old ones die off naturally, the bioload greatly increases.