dirty tank?

[mincedmeat]

Hi guys,

I noticed that the bottom of my planted tank gets pretty dirty and there are pieces of left over food pellets (probably due to over-feeding?); I have a variety of fishes in the tank also. I would like to find out besides having plecos (I have 5 L183 - only seen 4 actually so 5th one might have died somewhere ) in the tank, how else can I keep the bottom clean? This is besides siphoning the dirt out. Would putting in otos or shrimp help?

[Neondagger]

Dun over dose your food.... Just feed enough for your fishes to finish. use a thong or if you want use your hand to pick up the leftover before if grow fungus on it and also leak ammonia.

[Neondagger]

I realised sometime. when you feed alot at once the fishes cannot eat the food in time and food drop to the bottom. What I do to stop that from happening is by dropping the food probably 2-3 times at 1 feeding session.
example instead of dropping 10 pellet at once. you can drop 4 pellet at once till they finish the food then drop more.

[mincedmeat]

I suppose you learn that the hard way also? thanks for the tip!

[felix_fx2]

I suppose you learn that the hard way also? thanks for the tip!

Lol good one.

[Aquanoob]

You can try some cory if you want. Keep about 3 and they will eat up the leftover food on the substrate.

[mincedmeat]

any recommendations on the type of cory then?

[Solasido]

I think any cory will do. I have panda corydoras and they are doing a great job.

[mincedmeat]

then what about otos? what do they do? are they algae eaters or like corys who are carnivorous?

[takaco]

then what about otos? what do they do? are they algae eaters or like corys who are carnivorous?

Oto only eat algae or vegetable-based flake or wafer food.

[takaco]

But then its time to do a mass cleaning for your tank

[stormhawk]

Otos do not feed solely on algae or veggie-based diets. They are omnivorous in dietary needs and will feed on small invertebrates like bloodworms, tubifex worms and a variety of other foods.

If you want to keep the bottom clean, it's fairly simple. Follow what the rest have suggested - do not overfeed. Depending on the type of pellets you feed the other fish, Corydoras may or may not ignore the food in question. Some of these Corys are very fussy when it comes to food. If they don't like it they just spit it out, so don't get one just to be a scavenger. As for your L183, they will be shy so if you want to make sure they're eating, feed them at night when the lights are out. This is the period when Corydoras and other catfish in the tank get busy.

[mincedmeat]

I often mix different types of food in my feeding routine. I would throw in the flakes first and give it some time to sink. Subsequently, I would add in the Hikari sinking micro pellets, and then the carnivorous pellets (just 2 or 3 of them); I have about 20-30 fishes in the tank and most of them are tetras with a couple of platys, corydoras and pleco. With all those fishes in, I still get some left overs at the bottom and I was beginning to think that they are fussier in their choice of food than I am! I guess I am going to convert my feeding food to mostly the micro pellets as soon as I am done with the flakes.


Random rant: I am giving up on my DIY CO2.

[lh_nerd]

you can get the gravel cleaner works like a vaccum cleaner and there is a netting to filter the dirt.

[armourshrimp36]

Sorry to hijack your thread.. Its is safe to keer otto with crs?

[mincedmeat]

i think the general consensus is yes. cory's, plecos (those that don't grow beyond 2-3") as well as rasboras.

[stormhawk]

Otocinclus yes, other fish, no.