What Is A Good Bottom Feeder?

[williamc]

I was wondering what would be the best bottom feeder for a 55g fishtank?
I was sorta thinking red tailed shark?
What kind of substrate is best for them

 

[drobbyb]

I'm a fan of loaches myself (and there's lots of them!)

 

[fifefish]

I was wondering what would be the best bottom feeder for a 55g fishtank?
I was sorta thinking red tailed shark?
What kind of substrate is best for them

a plecostomus or a loach would do a good job...
i think gravel is the best substrate it doesnt clump together like sand can..

 

[SharonCC]

For me, it would be Loaches...with a sandy substrate.

 

[williamc]

so would a bulldog pleco be able to eat scraps and clean the glass?

 

[dnn3]

i would go with a bn plec or some type of loach.i lean towards loaches because of the entertainment factor.

 

[fifefish]

if you are going for loaches i would recommend the clown loach..
they look great , are easy to look after, and are good cleaners..

 

[n3ont3tra]

I wouldn't recommend clown loaches as they grow to around 12" which is too big for your tank. I would go with a bristlenose pleco and some kind of cories.

 

[williamc]

What about kuhili loaches about 4-5 are they good bottom feeders

 

[fifefish]

What about kuhili loaches about 4-5 are they good bottom feeders

theyre quite aggressive ..and terroritorial for a small tank.

 

[williamc]

aggressive really? They would not seem like they are aggressive?
So would corys be the best bet?

 

[Corleone]

Kuhlis aren't aggressive. They're generally quite shy unless you have a big group of them. They're also very skinny and quite low bioload despite their 4" length. If this is for the 55 you were talking about in your other thread, the convict would probably make spaghetti of them, but if you decide to move that to the other tank, I'd suggest a group of 8+ kuhlis if you get them.

Corydoras are always great, IMO there's no better option for a community bottom feeder. Peaceful, playful, social, and unlike loaches won't eat shrimp or snails if you have any. They are very curious and pretty dumb, which can be a bad mix if there's territorial bottom dwellers around. Mine get chased by my petricolas, bristlenose, and keyholes occasionally, but have never been hurt by it, or even deterred from snooping around other fish's lairs.

There's plenty of nice smaller loaches. Zebra loaches, weather loaches, polka dot/burmese border loaches are attractive and still smaller than clowns. Synodontis nigriventris (upside down catfish) and petricola both stay under 4". USD catfish look sa lot like a cory, but has the barbels and behavior of a syno.

 

[fifefish]

aggressive really? They would not seem like they are aggressive?
So would corys be the best bet?

yeh i think so..they are quite small and easy to keep not sure about how good they can clean a tank .

 

[williamc]

What about 3 leapord corys and 3 albanio corys?? I like my corys I was just wondering if a red tailed shark is good for bottom feeding?

 

[Corleone]

Generally best to get the same species of cory - albinos and brozne corys are the same species, if you want to get a mixed group. There's mixed opinions on this, more people seem to have had luck mixing cory species than, say, tetras, so your mileage may vary.

Red tailed sharks become quite territorial and intolerant of each other (or similar species like rainbow sharks) as they mature, so only get one if you get one. Rainbow sharks have a better reputation when it comes to that aggression spilling over onto other species, but are still intolerant of their own kind as adults. Attractive fish in the right tankmates, but not good as a scavenger just because of that. Corys and loaches are social, so there's more mouths to cover ground with.