Looking for a bottom feeder

Bruckm

Bruckm

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Mar 31, 2004
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My 20 is up and running, but not done with the cycle yet. When it finishes, I'd like a bottom feeder that will clean house, so to speak. Eat any food left around and perhaps some waste too. I'm willing to allot 5"-10" of length space for this scavenger.

Right now there are 4 mollies. Females=A calico that looks like she's about to bust with fry, a silver lyretail that is gorgeous, and a black. Male=is a sailfin, kind of calico, but his tail has splotches of blue. He's a handsome fellow.

Want some small schooling fish to complement colors/temperment too. Glowlight Tetras?

What scavenger would be a good pal with this mix? I do already have some ghost shrimp in my other tank and I like them well-enough. I wouldn't be averse to having more.

So, what suggestions and how many?
 

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fishlover25

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Jan 11, 2003
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get corydoras or cory for short, i would say get atleast 4, they are schooling fish and need more than one,4 is a good #. if u still have the space after adding the other fish then i would say get about 2 more to make a total of 6
 

revfred

revfred

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Jun 21, 2003
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As suggested any of the cory species would do fine. There is a small cory . . . paleatus that will grow to about 1" max . . . they grow very slow. A school of 6 are very attractive and playful. Albino cories tend to get pretty husky.
 

Bruckm

Bruckm

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Salt issues

Hey thanks for everything. I just read something from a link posted elsewhere in the cichlid discussion about salt. It specifically mentioned Corys as being sensitive to salt. I'm not going totally brackish for my mollies, but I am using more than the basic amount. I've been told that mollies do better with more than just minimal salt. Is this true about corys? If so, what scavenger could be substituted (remember the previous parameters please)?

sinasster-I was hoping for a fish relative for the ghost shrimp which do eat the fish poo. I'll still vaccum the gravel, just looking for a little help.
 

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geoffgarcia

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Oct 22, 2002
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albinos are kinda disgusting looking IMHO.
A rope fish would be ideal but would eat your shrimp...which in itself is worth buying it for...but thats a personal call...

khuli loaches are adorable, they work best w/ buddies, ie 3-5 per tank. Don't go by the inch rule with them as they are incredibly skinny, you could probably go by by a 3:1 ratio for them or something. They hide during the day mostly under rocks/plants/etc and come out at night.
They have great color markings.

Another thing that is cool and not an eye sore on your tank are pygmy cory's....they might be hard to find if your from a state that doesn't have much in the way of LFS quality/diversity (similar to where I am now in PA)

then of course ya have clown loaches, but they get a little large, and tend to steal the spotlight from other fish...so again, personal call....good luck!

oh! one last one! you can get a crayfish...they grow fairly slow and you can always cut off the thumbs on their claws if they eat to many of your fish, before you go screaming about this being barbaric realize that these things don't need their claws for anything other than a bit of machismo, they don't eat anything with these things they just enjoy using them for some climbing, and to catch fish. They have 2 pairs of little mandible feeders in the front
 

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steakaphagus

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Apr 7, 2004
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Don't know any fish that eats poo....even if it did, it would produce poo itself. Rabbits eat their own poo, but don't swim too well.....
I'd definitely go for the Corys, and if it isn't too late, get a sand substrate for them - they love digging around, and help to keep the top layer constantly turned over and clean. If you already have gravel in the tank, make sure it isn't sharp - that quickly destroys their barbels, and leads to an unhappy, even dead, Cory.
In terms of shoaling fish, I personally like neons and white clouds. They are really active, and add loads of colour and movement to the tank. Cardinals are hardier and a little larger than neons, but IMO not as nice. Problem is that once the fish feel secure, they tend to stop shoaling as much, and wander among the plant doing their own thing.
Saw a tank recently with just a load of male guppies of different strains. I'm not a huge guppy fan, but it looked pretty good! The mollies may take a shine to their tails though.....
 

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ashleigh

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Jan 8, 2004
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Hi,
I would suggest Kuhlis or cories.
When Mr. Garcia suggests "Rope fish" I assume he means a polypterid, would absolutely NOT be ideal, it would eat all of your fish and quickly outgrow your tank. Crayfish should only be kept in species tank, as they also eat fish (and will mow through your plants, from what I understand) Clown loaches are simply an insane suggestion- insane. they need to be in group of about six and get to be a foot and a half long.
Look through some of the fishprofiles here and see what you like- People here are happy to answer questions- Good luck to ya.
 

Bruckm

Bruckm

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Mar 31, 2004
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Corydoras it is then!

Well, it looks like the Corys have won. Though I'm still unsure about their tolerance for salt. That one site was pretty emphatic, if memory serves me right.
 

Violet

Violet

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Jan 24, 2004
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I have salt in my tank and many cories, they are all fine. Some of them have grown to be huge. I have about 7-10 different types, in groups, from pygmy to emerald in size. They are the one fish that I have almost never lost. So in my experience, there have been no problems with the salt/cory combo.
 

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geoffgarcia

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Oct 22, 2002
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Originally posted by ashleigh
When Mr. Garcia suggests "Rope fish" I assume he means a polypterid
Click to expand...
nope, different fish...if you insist on a scientific name it goes by Erpetoichthys calabaricus..but I've never seen them called that in a fish store...they always seem to go by rope fish

Originally posted by ashleigh
Crayfish should only be kept in species tank, as they also eat fish (and will mow through your plants, from what I understand)
Click to expand...
while they certainly will consume any fish they catch (as I mentioned in my inital post), they won't do much damage to plants...unless you hvae something against them climbing on them....I've kept crayfish in all my community tanks throughout the years...so this is from my experience...

Originally posted by ashleigh
Clown loaches are simply an insane suggestion- insane. they need to be in group of about six and get to be a foot and a half long.
Click to expand...
puh-leezee!!!!
show me a foot and a half clown loach in captivity, in all the public aquariums I've been to (boston, baltimore, camden, chicago) I've never seen one larger than 9"....

they are fine in groups of 2-3
and do get big, again, as I said in my initial post, but if they get to big for your tank just return them to the fish store or get a new tank.

If you get them as babies it should take quite a while for them to grow to over 3" (maybe 2 years)....

there is nothing insane at all about the suggestion (based on my experience from having kept clown loaches for years in multiple tanks)...however, if you have never kept them and believe every tall tale you hear on these boards then best stay away from clown loaches....

time to unclench...
 

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ashleigh

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Jan 8, 2004
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I am unclenched, I was simply pointing out that you give bad advice. Sorry, but you do. Why suggest something that is going to be detrimental to his tank long term when there are so very many sensible options from which to choose? and plenty of people don't want to just dump their fish at the nearest pet store because of their own bad planning, I don't. And I think plenty of people see this issue the same way I do. I would love to have a fire eel but I don't because I have nowhere to put a three foot long fish. And plenty of stores are not going to take those overgrown fish- then what? why not just be responsible from the start? Also there is a clown at my LFS which is easily nine inches. I suppose you are right, their full wild size is irrelevant here, but no matter what one of those fish is too much in his tank.
 

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geoffgarcia

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Oct 22, 2002
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I've kept one for 5 years with a variety of fish...its a wonderful community fish...and at full length if quite happy in anything 30+" in length. 2+ fish u'd probably want to jump up to a 4'
 

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geoffgarcia

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Oct 22, 2002
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no way would a rope fish ever grow to 36" in length in a home aquarium 12-15" is about max...

they only things they'll consume are shrimp and a few snails...(assuming they are fed properly they love beefheart)

I'm getting a mess load of black mollies...I'll keep ya posted if any are consumed...but I'll put money against it.
 

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