Best bottom feeder for a gravel tank

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jaylach

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I've posted so much about my tank that I probably don't need to supply info but it is a new thread so I will.

Totally sterilized a dead tank with antibiotics and bleach.

The tank is a 20 gallon cube that is pretty heavily planted unless I kill the plants. ;)

Currently there are no fish in the tank. Prams are ~0.375 ammonia, ~0.0003 NH3. PPM. Nitrite 0.0 and nitrates unknown as I didn't bother to test. A lot of live plants.

Substrate is course but smooth gravel so I hesitate adding a pleco or corys but still would want a bottom feeder even though the plants would probably handle most waste. Right now there is no driftwood but I have no issue with adding.

Any thoughts about a possible good bottom feeder? Possibly a loach of some sort?

To get an idea as to the setup here is the tank.
 
Something like a cherry barb or Checkered Barb would suit this tank and feed at the bottom of the tank.
 
Thanks! :) I didn't really look at specs on the barbs you mentioned, just images. They don't look like bottom feeders. I'm looking for a bottom feeder.
Actually, Barbs are related to goldfish which are carp, and all carp are bottom feeders.
 
Actually, Barbs are related to goldfish which are carp, and all carp are bottom feeders.
OK, thanks a LOT! :)

Since, in my opinion, the tank is heavily planted, would the combination of plants and barbs do a good job of keeping the substrate clean?

Also, if I can ever find, I'd like a couple of Laetacara Dorsigera (south american dwarf red breast cichlids). Would these do OK with barbs.

I have to admit that this is the smallest tank I've ever had and really don't know how to populate. I think that I have live plants covered but have not a real clue as to proper fish. :dunno:

Also I still wonder if my tank water specs as stated in a post above would be OK to start adding a few fish at a time and letting them help finish the tank nitrogen cycle by adding their ammonia.

Sorry if my questions are dumb but I'm just not experienced with live plants.... :dunno:
 
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OK, thanks a LOT! :)

Since, in my opinion, the tank is heavily planted, would the combination of plants and barbs do a good job of keeping the substrate clean?

Also, if I can ever find, I'd like a couple of Laetacara Dorsigera (south american dwarf red breast cichlids). Would these do OK with barbs.

I have to admit that this is the smallest tank I've ever had and really don't know how to populate. I think that I have live plants covered but have not a real clue as to proper fish. :dunno:
They are nice Cichlids, and should be fine.

I had a 15g cube, one of the coolest tanks I ever set up. In that tank I had Pygmy catfish and Clown Killifish, both spawned and the tank was always alive. Just a thought
 
They are nice Cichlids, and should be fine.

I had a 15g cube, one of the coolest tanks I ever set up. In that tank I had Pygmy catfish and Clown Killifish, both spawned and the tank was always alive. Just a thought
You caught my interest with saying pygmy catfish. What are they and do they do well with gravel? I want something that will be mostly at the bottom of the tank and can deal with gravel substrate.

With having a rather course gravel substrate I doubt that a pleco or corys would be a good choice but I would still like a bottom vacuum cleaner type fish. From what I've read here a pleco or corys do not do well with a gravel substrate.

Sigh, I have problems expressing sometimes and this is one of those cases... :)

I'll try again as to what I want. As said I want a couple of Laetacara Dorsigera (south american dwarf red breast cichlids) as a feature but they are not a deal breaker if there is a better and available option.. They would tend to take the middle depth of the tank. Sadly there seems to be zero source for these right now so I want to build a population that is nice but would be mainly bottom and top dwellers leaving the middle for the cichlids if I ever find.

I just don't have a clue as to what to get in this small of a tank. I would LOVE advice as to good bottom feeders that a gravel substrate won't hurt... possibly some type of loach. ??? I also ask for advice as to a school type fish that tends to keep to the top of the tank. While there are types of tetras I could deal with I don't want black skirts or neons.

I'd LOVE to have a school of pygmy corys but have often seen that it would not be a good choice for gravel substrate. Would the heavy live plant situation make corys or a pleco OK?

With the small tank size I now have I just don't know what fish to do. If I had a 50+ gallon tank I would have no issue. I'm finding that a smaller tank is a lot harder.

Sorry, I think the tank is very well planted and filtered but I just have no clue as to what fish I should include in a tank this small. I want levels of fish where they tend to reside at different levels. I also want color. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Ya, I have zero clue as to what fish would fit
. :dunno:
 
If you do not fancy a BN, have you considered a Clown Pleco?

They are another small variant and one would be fine in a 20 gallon aquarium, they don't need a huge amount of swim space so 20 gallon cube would probably suit them, especially with it being planted too. Get some driftwood for it to have a good chew on cos they love wood in their diet. They grow to an average maximum of around 4 inches.
 
If you do not fancy a BN, have you considered a Clown Pleco?

They are another small variant and one would be fine in a 20 gallon aquarium, they don't need a huge amount of swim space so 20 gallon cube would probably suit them, especially with it being planted too. Get some driftwood for it to have a good chew on cos they love wood in their diet. They grow to an average maximum of around 4 inches.
I would consider ANY pleco as they are one of my favorite fish. I worry about having a gravel substrate and all I've seen on these forums saying that gravel is not good for a pleco. :dunno:

If by 'BN' you mean bristle nose they are cool but would one do well in course gravel. If I manage to not kill the green stuff I put in the tank would that offset the gravel by giving plecos or corys other things to do with?

I have no clue as to a Clown Pleco but am going to look for images... please wait... ;) Ok, after the interlude a Clown Pleco is totally cool! Very similar to a zebra pleco in basic appearance. I could easily deal with this fish but the gravel substrate could still be an issue. However, with how heavy I've planted, I don't really know if the substrate type really even matters anymore. :dunno: Does it? I mean everything I've read on this site says that gravel is not good for a pleco. Yet I have more plant surface than gravel surface. Does that make a good enviornment for a pleco?
 
My BN's live on gravel and sand...past Clowns have lived on gravel....

Clowns spend most of their time chomping the wood, scooting about in plants and over the gravel and playing hide and seek and have a bit of a rummage in the gravel at night for midnight feasties...put somewhere to hide away during the day or they will find it amongst the decor and plants

A Clown would be fine in your aquarium.....you are over thinking and over processing far too much. Just relax. Just cos you got the fish mix wrong first time around doesn't mean you will again...cos me and others will stop you if you do go in the wrong direction (whether you listen or not is up to you :lol: )
 
I have just put Pygmy cats in my 150g they will do fine. The whole sand only for Cory's is a lot of baloney as far as I'm concerned
 
I have just put Pygmy cats in my 150g they will do fine. The whole sand only for Cory's is a lot of baloney as far as I'm concerned
At the front of my aquarium, I have small pebbles (1" to 3" across) that sit on top of the sand/gravel mix. The Cories spend hours...literally hours...trying to find out what is under those pebbles and shifting them around the place. They sit on the sand/gravel mix for their "mothers meetings" but otherwise they are busy excavating and shifting those pebbles.
 
Gravel can have a negative effect on bottom dwellers sand is better so I do think it is limiting in that respect.

I think the best option would be Shrimp and Snails but not sure how the Laetacara would be with Shrimp. I was starting to wonder about catfish with harder bodies and harder barbels like Moth Catfish - Hara Hara and Hara Jedrioni, also thinking of Talking Cats like Humbugs and Doras - I found a pygmy talking cat called Physopyxis Iyra, which is quite rare but if you live near Dans Fish they might get it as they get nice rare stuff :) I was also thinking of smaller Synodontis species as they dont live in as pure sand habitats as things like Corydoras and encounter rocky surfaces a lot more than south american species but they might be too big for this tank.

I think I agree with the comments above about plecos and sucker mouth fish being a good option too. I find any kind of pleco a bit too big for smaller tanks as their bioload is so great it limits other species numbers but a pair of small plecos and a pair of Laetacara I think could be great for you :) An other option is Whiptail Cats which is my preferred group for this niche, Red Lizard Whiptails are a great fish and a good size for this kind of tank. The gravel wont really be an issue as they will be in and around your wood, plants and glass.

Don't forget your cichlids will be bottom dwellers too, pecking at the substrate and stirring things up into the water column.

Wills
 
You caught my interest with saying pygmy catfish. What are they and do they do well with gravel? I want something that will be mostly at the bottom of the tank and can deal with gravel substrate.

With having a rather course gravel substrate I doubt that a pleco or corys would be a good choice but I would still like a bottom vacuum cleaner type fish. From what I've read here a pleco or corys do not do well with a gravel substrate.

Please don't go with pygmy cories for a couple of reasons. Number one, the old school style keepers like Iti and I disagree on is the gravel/sand debate. I keep pygmies, their tank is half gravel and half fine sand (because I impulse bought pygmies before preparing a tank for them, so removed some gravel and made a beach at the front) the pygmies much, much prefer to feed and sit around on the fine sand beach. But it's also a pain to be worrying about food falling down into the gravel that they might hurt themselves trying to reach, or that could fester and produce bad bacteria that they'd be vulnerable to while forcing their delicate little heads into the gravel to forage.

2. Because they're a tiny, shy, not bold at all species, and you're thinking of having things like barbs or cichlids in the tank. Pygmies need small, super peaceful tank mates or a species only tank, they will be out competed by barbs/cichlids for food, may well get bullied, and will be reclusive and hide away all the time, not showing their full behaviours, and also not being able to practice filter feeding on the gravel substrate.

Get pygmies if you really want pygmies, but only if you've set up a tank with them in mind. This tank and potential stocking isn't suited to them at all.

The other thing I want to mention unrelated to the pygmies is that I haven't seen anyone say that plecos can't handle gravel. Important to keep the gravel clean since they're a bottom dweller, but they're not a filter feeder like cories and aren't shoving their heads down into the gravel in the same way with delicate face barbels, so most people I've seen don't object to plecos on gravel. You're a pleco fan anyway, and they can handle living with barbs, so seems like a much more sensible choice for you.
 
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