What cleanup crew?

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BOD

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What cleanup crew go best in a cichlid tank?
 
Not sure about cleanup crew for a cichlid tank, but you would probably get alot more answers if you posted this in the cichlid section of the forum.
 
i would but theres no one in there... :rolleyes:
 
well...the ones in my sig + others so malawis...mbuna
 
:fish: ............................so no one has a clean up crew??? -_-


edit: BTW why is this in the new world section when i have africans!!!!
 
GHOST SHRIMP. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Best cleanup crew and good food too.

Really without looking at your profile I would say a good sized pleco would do well. Just make sure you keep up with the gravel vacs as they are poop machines.

edit: I should mention I am basing this on parrot fish so if yours are more aggressive than that then I'd look to someone else for info.
 
well...my fish are not agressive..or at least are not showing it now...they all get along well....i doubt they would touch a plec....so ill be on the look out for one..i gravel vac once a week....
 
Most of the Synodontis catfish work with Mbuna, I have 2 Syno Eupterus and a sailfin plec and the tank is spotless. Gotta be honest though, most of that is down to the plec. He is bigger than all of the Mbuna, any smaller and i don't think it would work but as it is they all stay out of his way. :lol:
 
my biggest mbuna is 2 inchea at the moment so if i buy one at 2inchs it should grow with them...wot do the catfish do??? oh yea also i wos thinkin of transfering the botia and gettin him a few friends as i understand the prefer groups or is that not a good idea??? btw is 7 cichlids too many for my 35? thats roughly 28inch or fish when fully grown avergine 4inch per fish...plus i understand they can be slightly overstockd with adquete filtration...
 
The Syno's clean the tank bottom and the plec takes care of algae and pretty much everything else but a sailfin gets too big for a 35 gal i'm afraid (12-18"). You could try Bristlrnose Plecs as your Mbuna are peaceful by Mbuna standards, should work fine.

Your stocking level is fine. :D
 
yay....yes i was thinkin a bristlenose beacause they are quite small...plus i think they are cuter :wub:....anyone have ne ideas about compatibilty with botias....seeing as mine are peaceful species there shuldnt be a problem..im guessing...
 
plecos do well. I have a pleco with convicts and kribs in my 55 gallon and they dont bother him at all and the tank crystal clear.
 
You don't need a cleanup crew in an African tank - the cichlids don't leave anything behind. You have the option of bottom feeders, but get them because you like them, not to clean up - they'll need special attention and will starve to death if you don't feed them directly.

If you have mbuna the bottom feeder diet is very meaty, so you may need to feed them at night, once the mbuna settle down. I'd never use a pleco in the mbuna, who are avid algae grazers - it removes a large part of their natural behavior when you remove the algae.
 

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