Best bottom feeder

I am probably going to pick up nerite snail for algae if my LFS has them. But while I was doing my water change today I noticed that there is a lot of gunk on the bottom of my tank. (Still cycling I have 2 gold barbs in it). My tank is a 29 gallon tank, and I was wondering what bottom feeder would be the best at eating left over food, fish waste etc from the gravel in my tank.

 

cory's but they need to be in groups of 6 for the excess foos as well as their own food, but fish waste is gravel syphon

 

What kind of substrate do you have? It sounds as if you are overfeeding if there are only 2 fish in there.

 

I have gravel substrate, I've read that putting some fish food in a tank that is cycling helps it cycle when the food starts to break down.

 

only if you are doing a fishless cycle, but you have fish so just feeding them regularily is enough not removing excess food is only harming your fish

 

So you want something that cleans up anything? Ghost shrimp.

 

Ghost Shrimp are a good choice though because of how they are kept at fish stores, wait until cycled, they are very sensitive for the first 30 days or so, if they survive the 30 day period then they usually are good to go

 

Yep. If you can find them in good quality they are very hardy.

 

So you want something that cleans up anything? Ghost shrimp.

What fish can they go with? I know that I will have some mollies in there when my cycle is done. I might also put in rummynose tetras, I haven't made up my mind on what I want in my tank lol.

 

I was wondering the same thing. I have done some research and I am thinking of corys. But you would have to get a few. But they stay small and are very cute.

 

What fish can they go with? I know that I will have some mollies in there when my cycle is done. I might also put in rummynose tetras, I haven't made up my mind on what I want in my tank lol.

They can go with pretty much anything that won't eat them. Watch out for the ones that have long arms though, they aren't ghost shrimp and are Macrobrachium sp. whisker shrimp. They'll prey on your fish.

 

Ghost shrimp are a good idea as they get about 1-2 inches and if your fish like fresh shrimp they are really cheep to replace, my bettas ignore the ghost shrimp, even my puffers ignored them when they were In the puffer tank, I plan on putting RCS in the puffer tank, but that's because they are fast breeders and the babes will give a food source for the puffers

 

Ok, any need to quarantine/ drip acclimate ghost shrimp? Hopefully I can go to my LFS tomorrow to get some are tube and stuff to make a drip acclimation thing and see if they have any ghost shrimp.

 

Ok, any need to quarantine/ drip acclimate ghost shrimp? Hopefully I can go to my LFS tomorrow to get some are tube and stuff to make a drip acclimation thing and see if they have any ghost shrimp.

They can carry diseases with them. I just finished looking at a thread from another forum about this, and they can carry diseases like ich, but they won't suffer from it.

 

Just float bag for 10 minutes and do a bit of add in the tank water to their bag, dump into a bucket and either net into tank or dump bucket into the tank, I find transferring from bag to tank a pain as they can cling to the bag, but are easier to get out of a small dish, you just have to guide them all out, lol

 

Just out of curiosity a BN Pleco wouldn't really do anything right? They just eat algae? How much ghost shrimp should I put in my tank if I do get them?

 

I have a BN Pleco and he sucks.

 

I have a BN Pleco and he sucks.

Lol was there a pun intended? xD I'm assuming you're basically saying that they do nothing right?

 

While Plecos use their suction type mouth for feeding, they are actually major waste producers. Yes most of them will eat algae, however their diet needs supplementation as well, with wafers, fresh veggies, and occasional sinking pellets.

 

You can fill it up with ghost shrimp. But since you probably won't want a carpet of shrimp, 6 to 8 should be fine.

 

haha. Pun intended. He is actually a nice little fellow, but he sticks to himself. He loves driftwood, which you should get if you decide you want that fish. And he is not too big. About 4" and he is more than 7 years old. Since I put in driftwood, he spends almost all of his time there.

 

haha. Pun intended. He is actually a nice little fellow, but he sticks to himself. He loves driftwood, which you should get if you decide you want that fish. And he is not too big. About 4" and he is more than 7 years old. Since I put in driftwood, he spends almost all of his time there.

They rasp on the driftwood, its a source of fiber for them and it greatly aids in their digestive health. When you see them latched on the wood that's what theyre doing.

 

Depending on the stock, you may want to get a few extra or double the number you actually want.... I've had batches where all survived, 1/3rd survived, and even on where only 1/10th survived using the exact same drop acclimation methods for all. Some are just hardier than others. The ones that survive the first month are almost impossible to kill afterwards! And they clean up anything. Watch out though. They can be a bit more outgoing and will steal food even from a fishes mouth.