looking for a fun bottom feeder

J

jenricae

Small Fish
#1
Jan 10, 2010
24
0
0
#1
Can anyone recommend a bottom feeder that is:

  • -is not too small (smaller than 3"). Can live with larger fish without getting eaten
  • -doesn't get too large (over 5-6")
  • -fun, likes to get around nice gravel, rocks, plants and driftwood with lots of nooks and places to explore
  • -works singly, in 2s or in 3s (or even 4s) but doesn't need a large shoal live comfortably

Haven't stocked the tank yet but am trying to figure out what to put in there.

Thanks!
 

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#2
Jan 29, 2010
108
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0
#2
I was going to say clown loach but he does not fit all of your requirements. He can grow well over your 6 inch limit if not for that, it would have been a perfect match. How big is your tank?
 

Last edited:
lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#4
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#4
Again, I recommend Pakistani (yoyo) loaches. I had just two before I added two more, and they were super happy together. Very active - 'squirrelly, I call them! - and fun to watch. They will eventually max out at about 5", so should be okay in your tank. I bought mine when they were about 2.5", and no one in the tank picked on them at all.
 

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#5
Jan 29, 2010
108
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0
#5
jenricae said:
the tank is 36g. Don't clown loaches need to be in groups?
Click to expand...
They certainly are happier in groups but they're okay on their own. Just make sure that your other fishes are not shy-types as the clown loach will mimic them. I have my loach with a gourami, red-tailed shark and a common pleco and Clowney is thriving. he actually swims "standing up" to the top of the tank during feeding time. This shows that he's very comfy of where he is.
 

beckyd

beckyd

Large Fish
#14
Mar 16, 2009
381
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0
#14
Tough call. I really like my cories, but I gotta tell ya. I got a yoyo loach to keep my snails in line. Eventhough I only have one, for now, that guy is hilarious! THe cories are cute, but the loach has real personality. I have this log that is hollow. He claimed it right away for his "alone time". He gets in there and peeks out to see what is going on. I watch him fall asleep in there sometimes and he literally rolls onto his side. Sometimes, he goes in head first and leaves his whole back half hanging out, like you can't see him. ANd when he falls asleep and relaxes his tail, he falls right out of the log! I am not kidding. That is the funniest fish I own. I need more...
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#15
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#15
Re: cories - Let's get back to what Jenricae asked about, and that is a larger bottom feeder that doesn't need more than two to be happy. And that's where cories, I luv them too, don't fit with J's inquiry.
Thanks beckyd for chiming in on your yoyo - he sounds like he's okay alone! When I had just two together, they were also hilarious and active, and very much together all the time. Now I have four, and they still will curl up in my mini terracotta pots and fall on their sides, sleeping, and then when the food time comes, they literally shake their heads awake and race around, like, "what did I miss, what did I miss????"
 

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