Catfish Or Bottom Feeder For 10 Gallon Recomendations

What would be a good catfish/bottom feeder for a 10 gallon? Preferably something that does not need a big school and something easy to care for.

 

What would be a good catfish/bottom feeder for a 10 gallon? Preferably something that does not need a big school and something easy to care for.

Cory catfish are my favorite, there's a whole bunch of different varieties, but they should be keep in a small school of about 4-6.

Another one is otocinclus catfish, which is a sucker mouth, so it will eat the algae of the glass and what not. I personally don't like these fish though, never had any luck with em staying alive for more than a couple weeks. And they too require being in a school of about 6.

You could probably do a clown, rubberlib or bristlenose pleco, they don't need to be in schools. Just make sure it's one of those and not a common pleco because they get big quick.

There's also SAE's or Siamese Algae Eaters, which are cool fish but are sometimes hard to find, so check your LFS.

There's kuhlI loachs, which is another favorite for myself. They sift sand through the gills which is cool to watch. I'd keep about 4 of those together.

Finally I'd say snails, I like nerite snails, but there's mystery snails, Japanese Trapdoor snails etc. Tons to choose from, so that's another option if you wanted to look at that.

Hope's this helps!

UNC

 

Ok thanks for the info. Would clown, rubberlip, or bristlenose plecos really fit in a 10 gallon? And if so do they need driftwood like other plecos? I had thought about buying them but were told not to because of their huge bioload and that they won't do well in a 10 gallon.

 

Ok thanks for the info. Would clown, rubberlip, or bristlenose plecos really fit in a 10 gallon? And if so do they need driftwood like other plecos? I had thought about buying them but were told not to because of their huge bioload and that they won't do well in a 10 gallon.

Clown probably not, but I've had a bristlenose in a 10 gallon planted for years now, all is fine. He's about 4" now, and will only get as bug as about 5".

 

There's a large consensus that bristlenose plecos and normal corydoras catfish are not suitable for a 10 gallon tank. Bristlenose plecos produce too much waste/get to large and require around 20 gallons of minimum tank volume. Corys need more floor space then is possible in a 10 gallon tank. There are a few species of pygmy corydoras that more people think are suitable for a 10 gallon that you could try. Honestly shrimp are really interesting to watch, and if you want GOOD bottom feeders that actually help keep your tank algae-free (you still need to feed them), I'd suggest amano shrimp, they are really awesome, I have a bunch of them in my 20 gallon.

 

I wouldn't do kuhlI loaches, plecos, SAE's, or corys in a 10 gallon tank. Dwarf corys maybe. Otocinclus maybe, but for a group of them to have enough algae/biofilm might be a challenge. Some peoples otos will take to prepared foods, others don't.

Clown plecos would actually do better than bristlenose in a smaller tank, but I wouldn't do either in a 10g. A 4-6 inch fish like a few of the suggestions (kuhli, pleco, SAE) don't have a place in a 10 gallon IMO. They will survive if cared for, sure. Its definitely not ideal for them and I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

The best for a tank that size would be amano shrimp or nerite snails.

 

Tbh the bioload of any of the small plecos is tough for a ten gal BUT if you can get your hands on a dwarf pleco... such as the snowball pleco, that's much, much better for a 10gal.

Because otherwise, because of the bioload, youd only get to keep a bristlenose as the only fish in a 10gal... they can still get to 6 inches.

Kuhlis need to be in a group of 6 and for this they need a 20gal. Same thing for most cory species and oto cats. None of these do well in tanks smaller than 20gal ideally.

There ARE dwarf cory species, though they still need a group of 6, but theyd do fine in a 10gal.

Unfortunately most "bottom feeders" are social and need groups, or grow too large.

A snail would be a good fit in a 10gal though or the dwarf cories.

 

Your best bet for a pleco that's both readily available and stays small (not getting mich larger than 3") is a Clown. It does require wood, though. Mine is barely 3". PlanetCatfish has them listed at about 3.3". Scientific name is Panaqolus maccus.

There are other small varieties as well, but they're generally harder to come by.

 

Clown probably not, but I've had a bristlenose in a 10 gallon planted for years now, all is fine. He's about 4" now, and will only get as bug as about 5".

ok Would it need driftwood or a special diet?. I do have plants as well as sinking pellets.