Small Cat Fish - Small Whiskers

[Primous]

I'm looking for a school of small bottom feeders that don't have elaborate whiskers like juli cory. I'm using "Unipac 2-3mm black gravel" and while it has been given the my cory cats over time have damaged their whiskers. While researching the problem specifically to my substrate it appears that others have great success with other catfish that have less elaborate whiskers.

I have seen a few examples on other forums but don't know the names of the catfish. They are small and look/shapped more like barbs as opposed to cory cats. Something like Otocinclus Vittatus

 

[Cazgar]

Oto's aren't bottom dwellers as such as they spend a lot of their time either on the glass or hoovering the wood & plants, rather than staying on the substrate.
They can be quite fragile & need an established tank, they also need veggies to supplement their algae diet.
Courgette, broccoli, green beans mine like

 

[Sammyb]

Ottos great little fish, will clean your tank glass, bottom sides of algae in one or too days i have read that they can die easily after a month or two of starvation so make sure to feed them algae wafers and courgette
Mine have been fine for about 4 months

 

[Primous]

So there isn't a small bottom feeder you'd recommend. I'm not really a fan of suckerfish although they do look like a gorgeous species.

 

[thereverendturtle]

You might be better off with some kind of shrimp. Suckerfish aren't really bottom feeders. If you want a schooling bottom feeder, there aren't a lot of choices, besides corys and loaches.

 

[Primous]

Which would have the best rate of success with my gravel?

 

[kylealastairlove]

what about dwarf/chain loach, lovely little fishes