Clean Up Crew For 75g

HI everyone, I will be starting up my 75 gallon SA cichlid tank soon and was wondering if I could get some advice on a good clean up crew. The tank will be moderately planted with drift wood and rocks for hardscape. I know they're not a substitute for maintenance, but I just want my tank to look as best as it can. I would like something to eat algae off glass, eat leftover food, and hopefully clean off plants as well.

My stocking will be as follows:
1x Blood parrot
1x Blue Acara
3x Bolivian rams
School of congo tetras

I was thinking about a BN pleco to help clean the glass and scavenge for food but from what I've researched, they produce a ton of waste and I'm worried it would do more harm than good. I've also thought about Oto cats, but I don't know if they'll be a snack for my larger cichlids. Not sure if nerites would survive in this tank either.

I came across the red tail and rainbow sharks today while researching and they need about the same water parameters as the fish I plan on stocking. Some people claim them to be great algae eaters and scavengers and they don't get very big either. With these fish, my concerns are: 1.) they're not a fish you typically think of as a suitable cleanup crew and 2.) I don't know how they would be with my rams since they swim around the bottom of the tank and are a tad bit smaller than the sharks.

I would appreciate opinions on fish I've listed as potential cleanup crew as well as any other suggestions. Thank you!

 

Rainbow sharks can grow quite large and get aggressive they also wouldnt eat algae, their more of a show fish than a cleaner. Otocinclus would get eaten quickly, I would go with the BN pleco I've never heard of their bio-load causing trouble and they're really hardy so they'd be able to resist any aggresive just make sure there is a cave that it can hide away in

 

Pretty much all herbivores are big waste producers (cows being an obvious example, but even nerites compared to other generalist snails), but that shouldn't deter you from a BN pleco, they're awesome and armored from more aggressive species. They are also more active at night when most of your fish should be on auto-pilot.

 

In a 75 a BN pleco's bioload would be negligible. They max out at less than 4" in length.

Siamese algae eaters might also work if you need some good algae eaters.

 

Thank you everyone! I think I'll go with one BN pleco then, don't think I should put more in with my stock.

From my understanding, there's a bunch of different variations of BN plecos. Which ones are your favorites?

 

If you have sand substrate ...prepare yourself for staring at poop all over the place...instead of algae and leftover food. If it's gravel it will sink in and you won't see it.

Don't get me wrong...I love bn plecos...but they make the tank messier than they do cleaning it....so if you are going for a cleaner looking tank...a pleco is not the right choice in my opinion.

 

If you have sand substrate ...prepare yourself for staring at poop all over the place...instead of algae and leftover food. If it's gravel it will sink in and you won't see it.

Don't get me wrong...I love bn plecos...but they make the tank messier than they do cleaning it....so if you are going for a cleaner looking tank...a pleco is not the right choice in my opinion.

I will be doing sand. I was considering black sand to hide the poop... but I think I want to go for a more natural look.

What would you suggest?

 

Let me mention a few things about your stock. Blood parrots are basically deformed red devils. Red devils are a Central american cichlid. So if you are going for purely SA tank, blood parrots will not meet that criteria. Also, blood parrots do like waters in the high 70's or low 80's. Really 80 degrees is ideal for them. This is a bit too warm for bolivian rams. You can try to shave a few degrees off and keep it around 77. But keep an eye out for stress symptoms in your parrot. Black spots that won't go away, limited appetite, listless behavior. If these are factors then you may need to consider doing something different with either you rams or your parrot.

Like you have said, you are the best CUC. Sharks and SAE's are not south american but asian fish. I also wouldn't consider them in a parrot tank. Though, if you are looking for someone to clean up the substrate from uneaten food, let me suggest a south american catfish that in my experience, pretty much eats anything that hits the floor. Hoplo catfish, specifically marbled hoplos. I have 2 in my 135 right now and they are great little guys. Not a common fish but if you look hard enough you can find them. Trins Fish keeps them relatively regularly.

+1 for black sand

 

Let me mention a few things about your stock. Blood parrots are basically deformed red devils. Red devils are a Central american cichlid. So if you are going for purely SA tank, blood parrots will not meet that criteria. Also, blood parrots do like waters in the high 70's or low 80's. Really 80 degrees is ideal for them. This is a bit too warm for bolivian rams. You can try to shave a few degrees off and keep it around 77. But keep an eye out for stress symptoms in your parrot. Black spots that won't go away, limited appetite, listless behavior. If these are factors then you may need to consider doing something different with either you rams or your parrot.

Like you have said, you are the best CUC. Sharks and SAE's are not south american but asian fish. I also wouldn't consider them in a parrot tank. Though, if you are looking for someone to clean up the substrate from uneaten food, let me suggest a south american catfish that in my experience, pretty much eats anything that hits the floor. Hoplo catfish, specifically marbled hoplos. I have 2 in my 135 right now and they are great little guys. Not a common fish but if you look hard enough you can find them. Trins Fish keeps them relatively regularly.

+1 for black sand

Yeah, you're right about the BPs, I don't really classify them as SA or CA cichlids. I may also replace it with a Severum instead, we'll see.

Thank you for the info. I will check into hoplos as well.

Why do you prefer black sand?

 

I will be doing sand. I was considering black sand to hide the poop... but I think I want to go for a more natural look.

What would you suggest?

I have black sand....And the light brown poop is not hidden one bit....

Enjoy a bn pleco if you like them. But cleaning your tank is not what they will do....what they clean is overshadowed by the large amount of poop they produce.

 

Yeah, you're right about the BPs, I don't really classify them as SA or CA cichlids. I may also replace it with a Severum instead, we'll see.

Thank you for the info. I will check into hoplos as well.

Why do you prefer black sand?

Do not misunderstand me when I say a Severum would be better suited for this tank. I love BPs. Adore them. Bizaliz will attest to this. But it sounds like from the species you have you've got a pretty solid SA setup going. BPs can be on a different aggression scale than the other cichlids you have going. I would suggest that a severum should be a better tankmate than a BP will in this tank. Also, the severum has a better range of temps as it does well from the mid 70s to lower 80's. So you could keep the tank at 75-77 and everyone would be happy.

If you are considering a severum, another option for you for a south american set up and bottom dweller would be corycats. Aeneus corydoras would be a good addition to this tank. They will keep your substrate clean, are active (moreso than any other catfish including the hoplos), and none of the cichlids would see them as a potential snack. Though I do prefer hoplos.

I love my BN. He's quite the character and I love watching him skirt around the tank and find new hiding spots. They are fun. But he does produce a ton of poo and does very little to clean the tank.