Small Bottom Feeding Fish

[NorthEastFisherman]

Hello, so after trying and trying to get my local fish store to order me pygmy cories i decided to give up on asking them to order them for me. I guess the breeder they buy from didnt have any? Im looking for a replacement bottom feeder for my 29g. If you follow the 1'' per gallon rule i can have about 6-8 inches of fish. I frequently do water changes and make sure my tanks and fish are healthy so a little bit overstocked shouldnt be a problem. What do you guys think would be a good bottom feeder fish? Id like a school of them so 3-6 would be best (rather than just 1). Im currently looking into 4 dwarf/chain loaches and im going to see if my lfs can order these ones if nobody knows of a better species.  

 

[lefty07603]

emerald catfish are great! they are nice color and i believe their max size is 2 inches, hope it helps!

 

[geordieelvis]

I have a group of Panda Cories and they are great. Depending on your substrate though ,they do prefer a smooth gravel or sand. I have had them since the start of my set up and they are fab,good fun and surprisingly active in the evenings.

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

Oh yeah i forgot to say stuff like that, I have a half sand have gravel substrate. Its basically sand with some gravel sprinkled over top. I alsoway looking into panda cories since ive kept them before and they get small but my petco isnt selling them anymore so id have to order them. I dont really like emerald cories that well they just dont amuse me (no offense). I also have peppered cories but i know theyre one of the bigger cories so im not going to get them. Heres a picture of the tank:

I also should add i have neon tetras, glowlight tetras, two bolivian rams (m+f), a rainbow shark (really gentle only chases the male ram during feeding time), a gold gourami, and a von rio flame tetra. Tanks pH is 7.4, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are perfect (nitrate is usually at 25-30ppm before i do a water change), the tank is semi-blackwater (blackwater extract), has lots of live plants, and one piece of wood.

 

[RCA]

Check out the Blue Neon Goby (Stiphondon Atropurpureus)

 

[This Old Spouse]

Your tank would still be classified as having a gravel substrate, so I'd stay away from cory, really. I'd also up the numbers of your tetras as they all like to school.

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

Your tank would still be classified as having a gravel substrate, so I'd stay away from cory, really. I'd also up the numbers of your tetras as they all like to school.

The tank in your signature look like it has gravel and i see cories on that rock..

Check out the Blue Neon Goby (Stiphondon Atropurpureus)

Beautiful fish but id think that itd be pretty expensive (30$).

 

[This Old Spouse]

Your tank would still be classified as having a gravel substrate, so I'd stay away from cory, really. I'd also up the numbers of your tetras as they all like to school.

The tank in your signature look like it has gravel and i see cories on that rock..

Lots of people keep cory on gravel, but they're not at their best on it and it can degrade their barbels, possibly causing infection.
 
If you're talking about my tank in my sig, that's the play sand I get around here. It has some larger pieces but they're all at the front of the tank, as you can see if you look closely. This is my cory tank, and they're all very happy!

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

 

Your tank would still be classified as having a gravel substrate, so I'd stay away from cory, really. I'd also up the numbers of your tetras as they all like to school.

The tank in your signature look like it has gravel and i see cories on that rock..

Lots of people keep cory on gravel, but they're not at their best on it and it can degrade their barbels, possibly causing infection.

I think theyd do fine so id take the risk.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Ugh. They'll likely survive, but they aren't in their natural environment. Cory like to snuffle around and sometimes even dive into the sand. 

 

[lefty07603]

no offense taken that u dont like emerald corys, different strokes for different folks  also if u have never tried shrimp before theyre fun and    different, red cherry shrimp, bamboo shrimp, amano shrimp or even ghost shrimp are cool. but again, its all about what appeals to you! inverts are a nice change of pace. however, im unsure of how ur tankmates would feel because ive never kept bolivian rams or rainbow sharks

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

no offense taken that u dont like emerald corys, different strokes for different folks

 also if u have never tried shrimp before theyre fun and    different, red cherry shrimp, bamboo shrimp, amano shrimp or even ghost shrimp are cool. but again, its all about what appeals to you! inverts are a nice change of pace. however, im unsure of how ur tankmates would feel because ive never kept bolivian rams or rainbow sharks

Not too sure if the fish would like them either. I have ghost shrimp (i think) but i havent seen one in probably a month. Theyre not in this tank but id like to get a shimp, probably cherry. Didnt think about shrimp and stuff actually, thanks for pointing them out.

 

[lefty07603]

yea or bamboo shrimp are tan and large so u would probably see them more often, also cherry shrimp reproduce rapidly so if u started with around 5 that would increase over time. but idk how much hiding spots ur tank has for the young shrimp

 

[RCA]

Check out the Blue Neon Goby (Stiphondon Atropurpureus)

Beautiful fish but id think that itd be pretty expensive (30$).

 
I got two for £15 (or single £8.50 each), so not the cheapest but entertaining.  Interestingly though one just totally disappeared and I have never found it!  They shoot under the substrate and are not always visible, yet despite a complete vac of the bottom, after not seeing him for awhile - NOTHING!  Before anyone asks there is nothing big enough in there to have eaten it!  A mystery...

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

 

Check out the Blue Neon Goby (Stiphondon Atropurpureus)

Beautiful fish but id think that itd be pretty expensive (30$).

 
I got two for £15 (or single £8.50 each), so not the cheapest but entertaining.  Interestingly though one just totally disappeared and I have never found it!  They shoot under the substrate and are not always visible, yet despite a complete vac of the bottom, after not seeing him for awhile - NOTHING!  Before anyone asks there is nothing big enough in there to have eaten it!  A mystery...

Ive had a few fish disappear (neon tetra, glowlight tetra, and a julii cory) but i found them a day later dead or close to death.