metfan581
Fish Addict
What is the best fish to clean teh gravel of my 55 gallon fish tank?
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puddle_inc
Fishaholic
pond snails, ghost shrimp, and some MTS should be the perfect group of substrate cleaners 
but plecos do good to
but plecos do good to
tenxiong
Fish Fanatic
You can also try an Earth Eater or a Cory Cat.
my fat fish
Fish Addict
dont earth eaters need sand???
what exactly do you want cleaned off your substrate? Nothing is going to eat fish poo. The only things that things like cories would 'clean' up is excess fish food, and if thats a problem then you may want to lower the amount you feed. Malaysian Trumpet Snails will eat excess food, algae and plant debris but if there is too much food for them they will over run your tank. Plecos do clean up algae well but are horrific waste producers and poo ALOT.
KathyM
Fish Herder
What type of plecs do you already have? It's just your smaller tank isn't really big enough for one plec, never mind two. You might get away with one bristlenose at a push in your smaller tank (if that's what you have), but if they're commons, I would return one at least, and put the other in the 55g until it's time to upgrade for him. Eventually a common plec will need at least 48" x 18" x 18". Hope that helps
Tommy Gunnz
Fish Crazy
I agree that a pleco is not the best choice here, especially in a mainly discus tank since I hear they are extremely picky about the water conditions they are kept in. I also agree that most plecos get too big for a 55 gallon tank and it is not just the size they can reach but also how much they need to eat and the wastes they produce. I must have missed something though since I dont see where it says you have two of them already.
I also would agree that there is basically nothing out there that you can buy to get rid of any fish poo, but as far as algea, you might want to look at snails, but be choosy about which ones since they can breed fast and in huge numbers like has already been pointed out and can over run a tank in almost no time at all.
Most discus tanks I have ever seen are usually planted and contain clown loaches. Clown loaches are a good addition, in my opinon, because they will eat nearly anything that is considered food off of the substrate. They also would control the snail population if you had some larger snails. They are also micro-eaters and do not contribute huge amounts of waste all at once. Yes, they do get big, over a foot long even, but they grow so slowly that most people can get away with keeping them in a smaller tank for years and years. I have four in my 55 gallon tank and they havent grown an inch since I got them about 8 months ago. They do like to be in groups of three to five or more so you should try to keep at least three. Otherwise they will be very reclusive and shy. They may also be hard to find for a while after you put them in the tank but they will come out more and more as they get acustomed to your tank.
I also would agree that there is basically nothing out there that you can buy to get rid of any fish poo, but as far as algea, you might want to look at snails, but be choosy about which ones since they can breed fast and in huge numbers like has already been pointed out and can over run a tank in almost no time at all.
Most discus tanks I have ever seen are usually planted and contain clown loaches. Clown loaches are a good addition, in my opinon, because they will eat nearly anything that is considered food off of the substrate. They also would control the snail population if you had some larger snails. They are also micro-eaters and do not contribute huge amounts of waste all at once. Yes, they do get big, over a foot long even, but they grow so slowly that most people can get away with keeping them in a smaller tank for years and years. I have four in my 55 gallon tank and they havent grown an inch since I got them about 8 months ago. They do like to be in groups of three to five or more so you should try to keep at least three. Otherwise they will be very reclusive and shy. They may also be hard to find for a while after you put them in the tank but they will come out more and more as they get acustomed to your tank.
puddle_inc
Fishaholic
if your wanting fish poo cleaned then an underground filter. but if your wanting pretty much everything in the gravel clean except poo plus interesting critters, the mix of invertebrates i said earlier are awesome. the ghost shrimp eats excess food and dead things, snails eat the algae and dead things at the bottom and the MTS will move around the gravel and clean stuff in it.
KathyM
Fish Herder
I'm so sorry, my mistake - I was looking at the wrong signature. 
Carry on! LOL!
Carry on! LOL!
tenxiong
Fish Fanatic
Nope, I'm talking about the cichlid earth eater.
OohFeeshy
It's only forever; not long at all...
Which do need sand- they can easily choke on gravel, and do.
metfan581
Fish Addict
i had a clownloach in there and he reached about 4 inches i got him at 1 inch a wile back....
I'm so sorry, my mistake - I was looking at the wrong signature.
Carry on! LOL!
Youre not alone on that one Kathy, I was looking at the same sig as you.
pica_nuttalli
don't be a twit
yeah, with discus in that tank, i would only add inverts to help clean up the bottom. Malaysian Trumpet Snails are your best bet since ghost shrimp would quickly become snacks. MTS are also plant-safe and tend to hide in the gravel except when the lights are off.
you don't really want to add any fish because they would only eat excess food and some algae, but would greatly increase the bioload.
inverts would munch on plant debris, most algaes, a limited amount of poo and any excess food, but wouldn't heavily increase the bioload.
you don't really want to add any fish because they would only eat excess food and some algae, but would greatly increase the bioload.
inverts would munch on plant debris, most algaes, a limited amount of poo and any excess food, but wouldn't heavily increase the bioload.
KathyM
Fish Herder
I'm so sorry, my mistake - I was looking at the wrong signature.
Carry on! LOL!
Youre not alone on that one Kathy, I was looking at the same sig as you.
LOL! Yeah, but you didn't fess up til I made myself look a plonker.
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