Clean up crew for dwarf cichlid tanks

[Wackytpt]

Hi,

As many of us are getting into the hobby of apsito keeping/breeding. I was wondering what type of clean up crews do you put in your tank.

As we know, apisto living in water PH around 5 to 6 plus.

Any suggestion of clean up crews to recommend?

Regards
Nicholas

PS : Valice, if you deem this thread is not suitable in this sub forum. Feel free to move it to the appropriate forum.

[Cacatuoides]

I have otocinclus and the very small abino pleco in my breeding tanks...

[genes]

Clean up crew...Hmmm...

ME, MYSELF and I!

[Shadow]

can you just put yamato shrimps?

[riltz]

well i used yamatos and oto! but 2 of my otos got killed and 14 dollars worth of yamatos became feed for my caca. oto seems fine with the bita

though.

[Shadow]

i see, so apisto eat shrimp

[creaturesfrombelow]

I have never tried placing anything else in my apisto tanks. If you are looking for something to eat leftover food (is that what you mean by clean-up crew), then Otos aren't the answer since they are algae eaters. The key to a clean tank, I have found, is feeding them slowly, over the course of 10 mins or so. Once they start showing less interest in the food, it is time to stop. You could try some ancistrus spp or maybe even some corydoras. I believe the Corydora rabauti can tolerate lower pHs. Hope this helps!

Randy
CFB

[Wackytpt]

Valice,

My worries for corys or dwarf pleco is when the apsito breeds.

And apisto lives in a PH around 4 to 6. Can a cory survive in it?

[creaturesfrombelow]

Any thing you put in as a "cleaner fish" has the potential to get beat up pretty bad when the apistos breed. If your intent is to breed them, I would suggest keeping an apisto only tank.

The cory I mentioned earlier is found in waters with a pH in that range(according to my Peruvian friend). The other corys are found in waters on the high side of that range (pH of 5.8-6.5).

However, I have never tried to mix the apistos with the corys.

Randy
CFB

[valice]

What you have to worry is the male. I figured out that I lost three broods of fries due to the pestering male.

If your female is strong and healthy, no fish will be able to enter their sphere of influence aka territory.

As for what cory can stay in that pH? Any of those that can be found in Rio Negro is a good candidate as Rio Negro and the adjacent tributaries are blackwater and has pretty low pH...

I had C.trilineatus in my tank when the pH was around 5.8... Now they are still there. But they are dull coloured. For more colourful (slightly only), maybe can check out C.duplicareus or its similar looking ones.

[Wackytpt]

How about pelco compare to corys as tank mates?

My purpose of clean up crew is to eat up the unwanted food.

[valice]

IMHO, cories are better. They kick up less substrate. You using ADA soil right? Then go for cories.

Plecos will kick the substrate. Everytime they kick, your soil breaks down. Slowly, you see the soil debris floating in the water and you will start to complain that ADA soil sucks.

[fisherw]

Would snails do? I know the problem is over-population. How about a single apple snail and hope it does not have eggs?

[valice]

Snails might suffer from the low calcium content in the water and the shells will suffer. And in the end, the snail might suffer as well.

[Wackytpt]

snails don't eat leftover food.

[fisherw]

snails don't eat leftover food.

Don't some snails? Perhaps not apples. But I am sure I read somewhere that for a shrimp tank, some specie of snails can be kept to clean up.

[fisherw]

Would snails do? I know the problem is over-population. How about a single apple snail and hope it does not have eggs?

Sorry. Just read from another thread that apples eat plants and lots of it. Perhaps another type?

[sunnydaze]

I have 10 Yamato, 1 SAE and 6 Oto as cleaner in my tank with 8 male Apistos......and 3 checker board.....and 2 rams.......and yes, 2 lamp eye from jef. Not forgetting many cherry(green & Red), hybrid shrimp to help clean up. Yes, cherry with Apistos!

[Wackytpt]

Shirmps with apisto? Yummy time for apisto.

[doppelbanddwarf]

What about Sturisoma sp.. I read from a lot of websites that they do not eat Apistogramma eggs. Just get a small one will do i think.