Best Bottom Feeder?

[DjLeethul]

Hey guys,

I have a 29 Gallon Freshwater Tropical Tank filled with 4 Tiger Barbs and 4 Serpae Tetras, a few plants, a bubble wall, and a large rock in the middle. I was wondering if anyone knew of the best bottom feeder for such a tank or just the best bottom feeder in general for a 29 gallon. According to my calculations, my surface area of my tank is 288 square inches and using a generic calculation from: http/home.comcast.net/~jps201/stockfeed.html I found that my rough estimate of square inches for my fish is around 144 (Using Adult Sizes). In other words, I have enough room for one or two more good bottom feeders.


29 Gallon Tank
pH is 7.5
gH ~ 70
kH ~ 120
Temp ~ 78
Tetra 30 Power Filter

Thank you for all your help.

 

[drufly]

There are lots of bottom feeders to choose from for a tank of that size. Corys, rtbs, loaches, plecs it all depends on what you are looking for, just have a look in your lfs and see what takes your fancy.

If you go for plecs just remember some can get way to big for a 29gal, bristlenose, orange marbled are the ones i have

 

[8inary]

not sure what reason you want a bottom feeder for, is it to keep the substrate clean n tidy? if so, beyond the obvious 'plec' a clown loach may be helpful, they are very slow growers and do clean the substrate up, you might get a couple of them, or mix them with corys, they would make a great combo.

 

[murphyk32]

as far as ive understood the clown loaches would get to big for that sized tank.

 

[8inary]

clown loaches are known for slow growth, they take years to get any size. plecs grow much faster.

 

[Spishkey]

i have a variety of 'bottom feeders' with corydoras being my favourite. my banjo catfish is a fab one too, though he does spend most of the time buried in the sand.

kuhli loaches are pretty little things too! shrimps (well mine anyway) tend to stay at the bottom too

 

[8inary]

i have what i class as my cleaning crew, they are mainly bottom dwellers

cory 'sterbai'
cory 'bronze'
cory 'pepper'
cory 'albino'
plecs: - gold nugget, another plec with red eyes black bod, x2 albino and 1 common
4 clown loaches

 

[DjLeethul]

I would like to get a good bottom feeder in order to keep the overall tank to be nice and tidy, mostly the substrate. This is mainly because I have to spread out the food so much in my tank because of the fact that my tiger barbs are extremely greedy and my tetras usually swim near the bottom. In other words, I have to put in more than enough food to ensure everyone is eating.

I was thinking about clown loaches but I saw that they grow up to 7 inches and I do not want to over stock my tank. I also wanted to be more creative than getting a pleco.



Thank you all again for your replies.


29 gallon Tank
78 degrees
4 Tiger Barbs
4 Serpae Tetras

 

[8inary]

i have had clown loaches for over 5 years, and know their growth is slow.

I do have two that are around 6", however 4 years ago, I bought them at around 5ish.

like with plecs, you will end up taking it back to the shop at some point, unless you get a big tank to put that in. same with the clown loachs really, get them small as they are great a cleaning up, but if in the next 4 years thereof, you find that they are a little big for the tank, then take them in and swap them for small ones again, or get store credit. i bet you will be changing your plec a few times before you change the clown loaches

 

[drufly]

not necessarly as you can get small plecs, bn's, orange marbled an more. #I have both in a 90tr and are doing brill.

 

[DjLeethul]

i have had clown loaches for over 5 years, and know their growth is slow.

I do have two that are around 6", however 4 years ago, I bought them at around 5ish.

like with plecs, you will end up taking it back to the shop at some point, unless you get a big tank to put that in. same with the clown loachs really, get them small as they are great a cleaning up, but if in the next 4 years thereof, you find that they are a little big for the tank, then take them in and swap them for small ones again, or get store credit. i bet you will be changing your plec a few times before you change the clown loaches

Thank you so much for all your advice. I believe that I will go for a couple of cory catfish or maybe even a couple of clown loaches. With all your experience with clown loaches, are they really affected by how many there are in a group (I've read 3 or more for Clown Loaches and 6 or more for cory cats)

 

[STEVE2493]

my red tailed garra is a great bottom feeder.

garra

 

[Corleone]

Thank you so much for all your advice. I believe that I will go for a couple of cory catfish or maybe even a couple of clown loaches. With all your experience with clown loaches, are they really affected by how many there are in a group (I've read 3 or more for Clown Loaches and 6 or more for cory cats)

As with most people, I advise against the clown loaches. Yes, they're slow growing, but when they start getting too big for the tank (around 6-8 inches), they're also hard to get rid of. Most stores only like them when they're small and can be sold in bulk to unsuspecting owners. Skunk loaches can be disruptive, but they have similar color (single black stripe instead of bars) and only get 2.5-3 inches.

Anyway, most loaches and all corys are heavily influenced by the size of their group. Single loaches are shy and reclusive, single corys can be lazy and unresponsive. In a good group, they're both active and playful fish.

 

[stang1]

I would also advise against Clown Loaches, it's best to buy fish that are suited to the size tank. It is a lot fairer to buy a fish for life, rather than "replace" it when it gets too big.
I work in an LFS and am saddened to see so many fish returned because they have gotten too big for the tank. Many will not sell as they are too big and the chances are they will end their days there.
Go with a group of 6 Corydoras, fantastic characters and will not need to be rehomed.