Overfeed cleanup solutions?

[Acclaimed]

Thank you very much for responses from my first post. We talked about using a vac to clean up any uneaten food, which I will do, but I really don't want to put my hand in there everyday and starttle the fish. If thats what I have to do then I wil. However, what about some sort of scavenger? It might be a short term solution, but the puffers prolly wont bother anything larger than themselves and they are so young that they haven't developed fin nipping. Im thinking some sort of catfish. What is your oppinion?

 

[LadyMinion]

Bristlenose plecs make a great cleanup crew. You could get several in your 40 gallon. They will cleanup all the algae on the glass and eat any food remnants.

Make sure to give them the odd algae wafer though, in case they don't get enough from the tank.

 

[Puffer_freak]

You could get a group of cories or otos, I've heard these are good, an very fun to watch.

 

[SirMinion]

You could get a group of cories or otos, I've heard these are good, an very fun to watch.

Not cories. We know from experience that dwarf puffers just love the taste of cory tail.

As for having your hand in the tank everyday, it's better than leaving the uneaten food in there and the fish will soon get used to it.

 

[Aquascaper]

If it's a freshwater tank and you're looking for something that will clean up left-overs but not spoil the look of the tank try banjo catfish. They hide most of the day with just a nose and bit of tail showing so the focus is always on the puffers but at night they shoot around eating anything lying around.
I have 4 in with my GSP and they work wonders cleaning up his left over cockle, etc.