Ideas?

[Omnominator]

Hello, I have a 29 gallon fresh water that contains 3 lemon tetras, 5 Neon tetras, a ghost catfish, a betta, a guppy, and a local top minnow. All these fish are settled in and I was looking for some bottom feeders that stay under 4 inches that will clean up my gravel a bit.
Additional information:
Lightly planted, Assorted fake plants
Aerated
Bio-wheel filter
If there are any other questions I will try to clear them up.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The best thing to clean up the gravel would be a gravel vacuum . Bottom feeding fish don't actually eat poo and such, but they do kick that junk up a bit so it is more easily filtered out. And they will take care of scraps of food that settle on the bottom.

I like cory catfish as bottomfeeders - they like to be in groups of 4-6+ and stay around 3" or so. Tend to get along with any community fish. And they are cute and fun to watch.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Yep, corys do stir up the bottom a bit, provided the substrate isn't too large and chunky. I've got 4 emerald corys in my 20. Mine hide most of the day. IMO, problem with corys is, you've got to feed them sinking food at a time your other critters in the tank don't gobble it up first. I have to feed mine in almost complete darkness. They're omnivores.

Have you tried ghost shrimp? They're pretty cheap and very entertaining IMO.

 

[exhumed07]

all my cories are active all day long in my 55 freshy but i have heard that from other people.

Cory cats are realy good as mentioned and there are so many verieties of them out there so it's pretty easy to find ones that you like. another option to me is petracola catfish. mine have always had a pretty good temperment and get alont with all my other fish. then there are the dojo and kuuli loaches. the dojo is also commonly called weather loaches. in groups with lots of places to hide they tend to be more active. they seem more willing to come out and move around if they know there are spots close by to hide in if need arises. i wouldn't get fewer then 4 though. not really strictly bottom feeders but still cool and will eat scraps of food off the bottom would be panda garra, and hillstream loaches. hillstream loaches need high oxygen though and like current.

Those would be my suggestions for bottom feeders that tend to be fairly easy to find. there are many harder ones to find that are more interesting though. banjo cats, and bumble bees right off the bat come to mind.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The emerald cories aren't strictly cories Fresh, though they look pretty much like them. They are a different genus (Brochis). I would agree that the emeralds seem more timid than the other cories I've had though. And with any of them, having a group will make them more comfortable and therefore less skittish.

 

[FreshyFresh]

The emerald cories aren't strictly cories Fresh, though they look pretty much like them. They are a different genus (Brochis).....

Interesting! I had no idea.

When I originally purchased them in January 2013, I bought 5 of them (Petco). One died within a day. The others have been very healthy and have grown some.

They do flutter around the bottom a bit when I feed the fish during the day, but I generally don't see any activity from them.

They do come right out in the dark when I feed them their sinking pellets. They know the routine.

I'm fine with them, but would not buy this particular make/model fish again LOL.