cjmeyer57 wants to know:
I have a 55 gallon tank that I’m setting up for some african cichlids (some electric yellow, electric blue and christmas fulu) and was just wondering if anyone had any other ideas as to what I could use for bottom feeders/cleaners for my tank. I’ve run cichlids a few times before in my assorted tanks over the years (I’ve had as many as 8 tanks up and running at one time, smallest was 55 gal, biggest was 400 gal, so I’m definitely not a newbie!
), and it seems that I always wind up with the same types of maintenance fish (boitas and plecos) whenever I have a cichlid tank up and running. And I was just wondering if anyone had any success with anything else than those two types. I’ll be stocking these before I get my cichlids in, so I don’t have to worry about any existing territorial aggression towards the maintenance fish. I really don’t have a problem with boitas and plecos, but would just like to try and mix it up, know what I mean? Oh, also I am getting my cichlids from a private breeder in my area, who’s cichlids are raised in pretty hard (7.8 to almost 9 ph) so that is a factor as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated and 10 points for the best answer!! Thanks much in advance, and I’ll be glad to return any help I get!!
I can’t put a blue lobster in my cichlid tank, solely based on the fact that the water will be too “hard” for the crayfish to handle. With the higher PH range of my water for the cichlids, it would put the crayfish under too much stress, causing it to slowly loose it’s claws, legs, and eventually die, and that’s really not something that I can put an animal through. As for the GEOPHAGUS, I did a quick bit of research on it, and I think that my water might be a bit too hard on it. With my breeder’s water being so hard it’s making for a difficult task to find some tankmates that can handle the water quality. Oh, and I do apologize for the terms “cleaners/maintenance” fish, I just wanted people to get the idea as to what I was looking for, and in no way was demeaning what boitas/plecos can bring to a tank. Many of these are very attractive fish, I was just looking for a change of pace, while trying to find species that can “maintain” the tank, while not really being the norm!
Oh, and Scott T. I apologize accidentally clicking on the low rating icon. It was totally unintentional. I am trying to find out how to remove that from your response!!!
I have a 55 gallon tank that I’m setting up for some african cichlids (some electric yellow, electric blue and christmas fulu) and was just wondering if anyone had any other ideas as to what I could use for bottom feeders/cleaners for my tank. I’ve run cichlids a few times before in my assorted tanks over the years (I’ve had as many as 8 tanks up and running at one time, smallest was 55 gal, biggest was 400 gal, so I’m definitely not a newbie!
), and it seems that I always wind up with the same types of maintenance fish (boitas and plecos) whenever I have a cichlid tank up and running. And I was just wondering if anyone had any success with anything else than those two types. I’ll be stocking these before I get my cichlids in, so I don’t have to worry about any existing territorial aggression towards the maintenance fish. I really don’t have a problem with boitas and plecos, but would just like to try and mix it up, know what I mean? Oh, also I am getting my cichlids from a private breeder in my area, who’s cichlids are raised in pretty hard (7.8 to almost 9 ph) so that is a factor as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated and 10 points for the best answer!! Thanks much in advance, and I’ll be glad to return any help I get!!I can’t put a blue lobster in my cichlid tank, solely based on the fact that the water will be too “hard” for the crayfish to handle. With the higher PH range of my water for the cichlids, it would put the crayfish under too much stress, causing it to slowly loose it’s claws, legs, and eventually die, and that’s really not something that I can put an animal through. As for the GEOPHAGUS, I did a quick bit of research on it, and I think that my water might be a bit too hard on it. With my breeder’s water being so hard it’s making for a difficult task to find some tankmates that can handle the water quality. Oh, and I do apologize for the terms “cleaners/maintenance” fish, I just wanted people to get the idea as to what I was looking for, and in no way was demeaning what boitas/plecos can bring to a tank. Many of these are very attractive fish, I was just looking for a change of pace, while trying to find species that can “maintain” the tank, while not really being the norm!
Oh, and Scott T. I apologize accidentally clicking on the low rating icon. It was totally unintentional. I am trying to find out how to remove that from your response!!!
April 13th, 2010 at 9:23 am
well, in one of my aquariums we have a blue lobster, it keeps the tank real clean!
April 13th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I agree, a large lobster would be cool!!
April 14th, 2010 at 11:28 am
A “dumb question” would be “Why is my bottom feeder chewed to pieces in my cichlid tank?” lol. It is awesome to see a person listing so much info Lake Cichlids! I work in a pet store and what customers put them through amazes me sometimes. Other than saying I hate the terms “cleaner fish or maintenance fish” I can’t add a lot to help you. It seems you are one of the EXPERTS that other folks turn to : ) Clown loaches have protective spines by their eyes and most cats have some heavy duty spines but you know this I am sure. As I type this though…perhaps a GEOPHAGUS? While they are rather peaceful they get fairly big…have you looked into those?
April 17th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Ya with water that hard the only thing that’s gonna clean up the tank is you holding an algae scrub brush lol. I like to keep the south Americans myself for just that reason because you can have more catfish and plecos in there with them. I have a south american 55 that has (small) Dempsey’s,Convicts,Fire-mouths,Salvini and some pictus cats two big driftwood pieces and some amazon sword plants and it looks just like if someone took a chunk outta a river. I love it . I have another 55 in witch i was able to pull off plecos and piranhas (red belly’s) and that looks cool too. I really don’t know what you could keep at such a high ph as i have never kept those fish myself so. Maybe some inverts that can handle both cichlids and high ph would be best. Good Luck
April 20th, 2010 at 12:59 am
I had a bristle nose pleco with my africans without any problems
you could keep 1-2 pairs of them in a 55 gallon tank
also another option are clownloaches which you can put 5 into a 55 gallon tank without any probs
April 21st, 2010 at 11:37 am
Many people think that they need some sort of fish to “clean-up” their tank ~ I never recommend this. Only get a “bottom-feeder” if you like them, and if they’re compatible with your existing fish.
Bottom-feeders will snatch up excess food that reaches the floor of the tank, but they also produce their own waste ~ so I really don’t think of them as being efficient. As long as you don’t over-feed your fish, and perform a partial, monthly water change (using a gravel siphon), your tank will be just fine.
If you just want bottom-feeders to add a variety to your tank, research which fish can handle the aggressive tendencies of cichlids, and make sure you provide plenty of hiding spaces for your new additions.