What kind of bottom feeders to get?

pmnovak1 · Post by **pmnovak1** » 30 Sep 2003, 15:29

I have a 55 gallon tank with medium fish in it. I have some angels, silver dollars, gourami's in the middle and top.

At the bottom, I currently have a Leopard Pleco, a four-lined Cat, and a Peacock Spiny Eel.

I'm looking for 1 or 2 bottom feeder fish that will eat left-overs on the bottom. It seems that my only choices are Cory's and Loaches that only get 2" long and will act as feeder fish for the cat and eel, or larger fish which grow 10-15" like Clown Loaches.

Does anyone know of any bottom feeders that will not be problematic which are 5-6" long and can hold there own?

I wasn't sure which area to put this in, so I put it here.

Thanks,

Paul

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Sep 2003, 15:32

Isn't the four-lined cat already a bottom feeder? Seems that you have enough bottom feeders already there to take care of sinking food.

pmnovak1 · Post by **pmnovak1** » 30 Sep 2003, 16:25

He does eat off the bottom, but doesn't really take care of leftovers. From what I've seen, he seems to like bloodworms and such. Doesn't go for the sinking pellets or flakes that fall.

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Sep 2003, 16:52

It's a little strange that your four-lined cat will not touch prepared foods. Mine will eat pellets readily, even flakes.
One thing you can try is to wean your fish off of bloodworms (may be difficult to do that with a spiny eel in there).
If not, you can always try a talking cat, although I think that adding one more fish in there may be straining tank space somewhat.

pmnovak1 · Post by **pmnovak1** » 30 Sep 2003, 16:56

Really....he'll eat shrimp pellets and flakes. I've only had him in the tank for about 2 weeks, so he might still be a little stressed out and weary.

He has been opening up a little more the past few days, so maybe he'll start eating those as well. We'll see.

You think the tank won't be able to sustain more fish? I was thinking that adding 2 more wouldn't hurt.

Here's what I have:

55 gallon
2 Angels
3 Silver Dollars
2 Blue Gourami
1 Four lined cat
1 Leopard Pleco
1 Peacock Eel

Post by **Silurus** » 30 Sep 2003, 17:06

Well, given that your leopard pleco can reach 10" and your peacock eel 15", I don't think it's a good idea to add more bottom dwellers.

pmnovak1 · Post by **pmnovak1** » 30 Sep 2003, 17:14

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just have to keep up with my weekly vacuums/cleaning.