Why "cleaner fish" are a BAD idea!
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- Опубликовано: 4 сен 2018
- Today I clean the 75g South American nano and discuss why the concept of cleaner fish is totally bogus. Bonus fish footage of the 75g South American at the end!
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#aquariumfish #aquariumhobby #cleanerfish 
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My favorite cleaner fish are plants. People underestimate how much healthier a tank is when it has live plants. But I also have nine or so dwarf cories because they are super cute!
@Aina I agree! I spend more money on plants than fish in my tanks. Happy plants mean happy fish, happy fish mean happy person. Plants do so much, from filtering and oxygenating water, to helping break down solid waste and processing the nitrogen cycle independently from the bacteria in the filter, to doing something as simple as providing a shady spot for a fish to escape stress. Can't recommend them enough.
Yup that statement is very true. I have a lot of plants and they take care of algae along with other problems. Snails are great too. I have been using the invasive bladder snails in both tanks and just control the numbers using assassin snails along with some nerite snails for algae.
Also I found out a little can be good too as far as providing food, additional filtration for the water, and a good indicator that something is not balanced.
Plants are not fish but I get it.😁😁😁😁😁🐳👍 just a lil joke....😂😂
I have a lot of plants live ones
At least one plant has got to be fast growers. Slow growers like java fern aren't as reliable cleaners and are just good as cover and oxygen suppliers
When I refer to my "crew," I always picture them as tiny backup singers and roadies for my star, the betta. I always pay them well because they work the hardest to keep the handsome dude looking good up front. They have different roles, but I adore them all. Just don't tell my betta I said that.
Just because you add a “cleaner fish “ doesn’t mean you disregard there other needs. I figured this was common knowledge.
Hiya Rachel, I agree with your philosophy on this. Treat them as equal members of the community and know their needs too. Nice common sense advice.
Wow, great insight. It’s one of the best tips I’ve heard about “cleaner” fish so far. Seems like everyone wants to exploit them and rarely consider their needs. Thank you. Lovely tank by the way!
You're such a book of knowledge!! One of the best educators on the tube👍👍👍
Hi Rachel, I so appreciate your methodical and educational focus in all of your videos. You are such a bright spot in the world of aquarists!
I work at a pet store and easily one of the most common things I'm asked for is a "cleaner fish" and it drives me crazy. Every time I tell them how nothing is gonna clean their tank except they themselves & try and talk them out of it because often they go straight to the common pleco for their 10 gallons or less tanks (plecos and goldfish are probably the fish I refuse to sell the most because nobody ever has a suitable tank for them) or they see the otos or cories and only want to get one of them. I get especially protective over the otos and cories because I have a whole tank just dedicated to them because I love them so much
I wish everytime a customer asked for a cleaner fish I could just show them this video!
Thats just not true. I've had a 10 gallon running for three months now with lots of fish, 22 white clouds, almost full grown now. one baby pleco, 4 amano shrimp, and a bunch of "pest" snails. I have never once cleaned my tank, I have done 2 water changes. My ammonia is zero, nitrites are zero, and nitrates are low too. the tank got really covered in algae (you almost couldn't see through it) so thats when I put my snails and pleco in. one week later, almost all the algae is gone.
Have you ever herd of Nerite Snails ? I 've got 2 Horned Nerite Snail and they clean up the most coverd with alge tank within a week. And they buiteful by the way.The only problem is you have to sort out males from females if you dont like eggs all over the tank.They are the best clean up crew you must have in your store.
dacz gegrbt I actually work at a pet store too lol, and I have the same problem as the OP. We sell horned nerites and I love them and have them myself, but most people go for the other nerite snails which tend to explore outside the tank a lil lol. They are excellent though
meghan rn SAME I also work at a pet store and this is a daily thing. It’s also a pain to explain to people that every fish needs a filter, and tbh bettas should be given a MUCH larger tank. I have a community aquarium with a school of cories, and they are precious to me
I recommend male or female Guppies in small schools , and Ottocinclinus fish and maybe a snail .
Lovely assortment of fish! And the tank looks spectacular! Also I loved the edit at the end, wonderful action shots with the names popping up! I mean I already knew what the fish were but still awesome!
hahahaha the music at the end made my day, thanks Rachel. Oh and good work so far with the daily volgging thing :)
Thanks for the 'pause' at the end for a fish close up!
The only thing I have ever added because of a problem was SAE's for a nasty black beard algae issue in a 29. That crap came in from a local store. BBA is one of the few algae that you 'catch' from other aquaria. I fought it with 35 years of tank keeping knowledge and just got sick of the daily work on it. So I picked up 6 SAE's.They knocked it down fast. Once they matured I transferred them to a 65g. I keep algae tabs on hand for them as well as organic spirulina tabs.
Best advice I have heard in a long time. Most of all the part where you explain addressing the problem first before addi g the cleaner fish. Love the music pick.
Wow.. Many thanks for this most important advice Rachel. Thanks for sharing 😀
Thank you for addressing this! This is a message people need to hear. Bottom feeders, especially loaches, are my favorite. It breaks my heart so few people who buy them don't understand their needs...and, as you say, their limitations as so-called "cleaner fish." Just the other day a friend saw my new tank and said "are you going to get an algae eater?" Common assumption is one lonely fish is somehow going to play housemaid for the rest of the tank. Also, beautiful tank!!!! Love the outro with closeups of the fish!!!
Thanks Rachel. Great info.
Well said! Well thought out... I love how your considering everything involved! Especially the best for the fish itself. You rock! ❤💖❤
That giant oto at 6:46 is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your insights as usual!
You make total sense about adding species...love you're in my life!
Fantastic reflections. Really showing a lot of great insight here :)
I love having otocinclus. I initially did get them as algae removers, but now they are one of my favorite fish to keep regardless of algae or not.
As always, great and informational!
Loving the frequency of the videos!
Wow, I could literally watch that aquarium forever!! It is so beautiful and the fish are so happy and healthy and you can tell they are in an environment that is very close to their natural habitat. Thanks for sharing!
*HEY RACHEL!*
RUclips has channels where you can see videos of like say, an hour long video of someone's fish tank put on a loop with some relaxing music. Exactly like you did at the end! I bet people would really like watching your fish to relax! I'd watch it! Anyhoo, it's just a thought. 😋💞
Never thought about this before. Tks for your help
Thank you for this. I’m new to this hobby and everyone whose seen an aquarium or knows someone who keeps one feels like they know enough to give advise on how to keep
One. It’s not that simple. We are trying to keep little tiny beings alive happy and healthy after all.
You make an excellent point, very thoughtful. I absolutely loved the footage at the end, such a nice community tank, I want that same tank in my house.
Everything you said is facts. I love my otocinclus. One or two of your videos actually influenced me on getting them. I now have 6 in my 20 gallon. At first yes I was unfortunately one of those who saw them as “cleaner fish.” They definitely help by eating a lot of the algae, but I actually learned from you to feed them zucchini. At first mine would only live a few week. Now three of them been living almost a year. They definitely produced a lot of waste on the substrate, but they help with other surfaces. I take care of them just as well as my other first. I really love them.
My favorite 'cleaner' fish are my mystery snails and my ghost shrimp. They add so much personality to the tank like my slightly larger ivory snail is more active were the smaller ivory is shy. And my shrimp are amazing I could watch them all day just zooming around the tank and swimming and getting so excited when they find the snail jello just love it.
I guess I'm a bit of a backwards fishkeeper: I prefer keeping loaches and catfish, and then add other fish as dither fish to make them happier. I've always been partial to bottom-dwellers, so I usually build my tanks around their needs, and then look for other fish that will be a good fit for the middle strata of the tank. It always bothers me to hear of loaches and social catfish kept singly. There's nothing cuter than watching a group of corydoras happily dancing around a large tank together! (unless it's a group of loaches)
The cories "dancing" is the most adorable thing. I keep panda cories and it is especially cute to watch a young juvenile just getting its colors join the group to scavenge.
Pretty much how things went with my tank. While researching the possibilities, I fell in love with reticulated hillstream loaches, and then looked for a fish that would love the environment the loaches need. Went with long fin rosy barbs. They're a bit intense around feeding time, but not to the point of it being a problem, and they don't bother the loaches and add a lot of activity to the tank.
that's an awesome tank! I can't watch till the end of your videos BECAUSE I get sooo motivated and inspired by you, I will leave your content on but since I found you, you only motivate and inspire me to work on my tanks thank you so much for everything you do. Saludos desde Costa Rica. If I ever have the chance to hear you speak it would be an dream come true. :)
This was really helpful information! Thank you :)
Great video! Love your aquariums!
I also applaud you for not pushing Monster fish keeping since very,very, few people really have a tank that's as big as they imagine for very large fish. Some people are calling their 100 gallons "a monster tank" and pack it with Arowanas and Gars and god knows what else. People on Tube who do truly have huge tanks- 1-5 thousand or even 10 thou gallon tanks?..at least can make a good home. But they must be like -1% of aquarists!
You make it more of a pet home for fish. I like that.
I refer to my 4'x2'x2' 396L as "the monster", but the biggest fish I have in there are weather loaches. It does mean I been able to have a good sized shoal of Rainbow Shiners and Odessa Barbs, which definitely appreciate the space to ruise around in. The idea of putting any kind of gar in it never crossed my mind.
Saw the title and instantly though "THE SHADE".
Yesterday I watched the Co-ops vid on cleaner fish.
When I worked at a chain pet store, I hater when people would come in to buy a 'sucker fish' for their algae, something to 'eat the poop' or were told by a manager that the mamario ball would act as a secondary filter.
Aquariums are a closed system, anything you put in, you have to be accountable for. Adding a fish to clean algae means you added more ammonia for your filters, more nitrates down the road.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences with the hobby, I have learned so much from you and use it in my own fish keeping.
(Though I do want to know how you do your hair bc I love it. I've already got the shaved sides and everything)
Great advice!
Cories. Love cories... although I've never seen them as clean up fish.. just bottom dwellers. They're so innocent and gentle and cute. Only have 2 peppered right now. Just waiting for quarantine tank to finish cycling so I can get more to have a big group :)
I've got a some peppered corys in a couple of my tanks and they are super funny to watch them snuffle around in the sand looking for tasty bits. Only problem is I have them in heavily planted tanks with black sand and black backgrounds so it usually takes half an hour of staring at a tank to find them unless you're giving them food
Same I bought my pandas for that reason.... plus they are housed with my Betta fish so I wanted a group that can give me something to look at without having to worry if my Betta would get a long with it plus they are funny little fish
Thank you for doing this video. I was always wondering how effective "cleaner" fish were. I always thought they would just make my maintenance slightly easier, but still have to do it mostly myself. This video answered that. As for a species I want to try out would be the fiddler crab as a substrate cleaner. They looks so much fun could watch em with that little arm cleaning my substrate all day! Keep up the great work Rachel!
Amazing video, Rachel!
Loving the daily videos!!!
Fabulous advice. Thankyou
Good advice! 🐠
As always a class act thanks for your teachings and greatness
I have a 75 gallon tank with 4 silver dollars, 5 black skirt tetras & an albino Bristlenose pleco. I decided to add 3 green corydora catfish to the community. It took them a couple of weeks to settle in. I’m enjoying them a lot!
The music in the end is so cute!! 💛💛💛💛
Four days in a row!! I could totally get used to this!! Someone amazing to watch/listen to while I teardown my humble fish room so we can properly deal with flood waters. ( Not caused by a water change - hhaahhaa!! I live in Manheim ) Thanks for being a bright spot in my day!! ( In all of our day ;) ) 😎
Thanks, good information to keep in mind. It may be best to be happy with a small number of manageable fish, ( for them and for enjoyment of a nice tank).
Love the videos Rachel, thanks!! My number 1 fish to keep (not just as a 'cleaner' fish) are my beautiful corydoras. For a long time I have only kept a nice group op panda corys, a nice group of pygmy corys and some shrimp. Corys are my absolute favourite! They are just the cutest, wiggling around and swimming through the aquarium together and once in a while, produce some adorable fry!
I kept a group of five clown loaches in my old 125 gallon aquarium. They were so much fun to watch in their synchronized swimming routines. My red tail shark used to join in, too!
Great advice and well explained, many mistake the concept that context matters when introducing fish.
Absolutely love your two main points - 1, tend to the social needs of the fish and they'll be much better off and 2, while some species will "clean" our tanks, we still maintain the primary responsibility ourselves. Great video topic!
GREAT Advice...! BEAUTIFUL TANK, THE FISH SPECIES COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER PERFECTLY...! KEEP rewinding, to view, OVER & over. THANKS. RRS...............
Great advice in general. Reminds me of the song "She swallowed the spider to catch the fly..." Wiser to think through what's causing issues and deal with that directly - hack at the root and not the branches, and all. I love that you underscore there is no substitute for maintenance and taking care of things - I've definitely become a better fish keeper for it. Kinda funny, but when you stop looking for shortcuts you find that doing it the right way isn't really that hard after all. cheers :-)
Personally, I adore corydoras - "carpet sweepers" ;), so any cleaning they do is a nice bonus.
My GF and I got a Beta to sort of test the waters on having fish. Nice sized tank, few live plants, a cool buddha statue with a filter and a light and a heater to go under the gravel. Had to learn the heater part the hard way since our first Beta, George the First died as we didn't know the poor thing had to be heated. Anyways, 2 weeks went by and we noticed some brown/green stuff everywhere... All over the tank glass, the plants, the statue, etc... Someone told us to get a snail so we got 2. A pretty big one and a smaller one. They've done a pretty great job at keeping the tank clean and George the Second is still alive after 3 months lol. We plan on getting another tank with more fish later on but this time we'll go a little bigger with a nice sized community. Thank you for this video as it was very informative.
I just love your South American tank!! Those otos look like little puppies that you just want to pick up and give a good squeeze!!! LOVING your daily videos!! Keep it up, please!!! Doesn't have to be big stuff... your little snippets of info are awesome!! 💗💗💗
I'm becoming fascinated with nano bottom dwellers. Loving hillstream loaches, pygmy corydoras, and Asian stone catfish!!!
Well said! I like BN plecos in most of my tanks, but I agree water quality must be maintained by the hobbyist first.
I'm a huge fan thank you for your knowledge
Great video keep up your good job!!!!!!😀
The green neons and otos are so fun to watch. A few years ago I got a group of otos to help with algae, knowing they'd need supplemental feeding eventually. And, of course, what goes in will come out. So, my main reason I got them was because they're a blast to watch, wiggling all over the place. Algae or not, they're great to have in a tank. Otos and cories are my two gotta-have fish in any tank. Even when the other fish are feeling shy or snoozing, those two groups will always be poking around somewhere.
Otos are so comical and adorable! I have like 10 in my 48 gallon. I like them for their own sake.
Girl! I love the way u explain things u r awesome!!
I always love your music!
I have 3 tanks that are interconnected, but with different purposes. The first is the "fish tank" that houses some Tetras and a Pleco. The Pleco does great cleaning this tank. The water and solid waste are sucked from the bottom of the fish tank into a filter tank. This is where I house my snails to break down the solid waste. This is also where I have my aerator since I don't mind not seeing the snails, and having it in the fish tank sometimes hides the fish. The surface water of the filter tank drains into the sump tank, which pumps water back into the fish tank. I monitor all three tanks for performance, and clean them all when necessary. So far, the filter tank is the only one I've had to collect any solids from.
Big fan and I am glad you are going make daily videos
Very good information and I had to learn the hard way that for me, my best cleaner is not adding a fish , it's me.
That is very cool.
I bought 3 Yoyo Loaches. I got them to help deal with my bladder snail problem in my newly cycled planted tank about 5 months ago. They cleared them out in one day and the shells were everywhere! They share a 40g with 7 Otocinclus and are very happy. I feed them frozen foods (they LOVE blood worms and shrimp) and blanched Zuchinni or peas for the otos every 3 days to give them a break off the algae. Although my loaches are greedy with the peas. I have a shrimp tank where I threw any bladder, pond or ramshorn snails into to breed and now I have a ton of them! My loaches get a nice live and noodley treat to slurp up twice a week now. My otos are just as cute. They relax on the amazon sword leaves, anxiously waiting for one of them to just start swimming so they can all huddle together like a cloud of darkness moving through my tank. Not to mention watching them clean algae on the glass and plants is always a cute wiggly plus.
I love red cherry shrimp for cleaning up excess food. The tanks I have them in also don't ever seem to get algae problems either, so I think they help a little bit with that as well.
Loving the birthday tank!
I agree with not using a "cleaner species" just to fix a problem, but I'm planning a tank that I'm really looking forward to adding a few of these types - mainly because I really like them!! I wanted to get otos (love them!), but may have to rethink that after watching one of your videos. Didn't realize they were schoolers. I love the little khuli loaches too, so I'm planning on a group of those. People definitely need to make sure their needs are paid attention to just as much, though. I guess I just didn't think twice about making sure EVERYTHING in my tank is accommodated and happy!
Such a great video. Great advice for proper and ethical fish keeping that more hobbyist need to know!
The ONE time I added something to “clean” my aquarium was when I was having a terrible green water issue with a new nano tank set up. I added 100 Daphnia and they cleared it up in 4 days never to return again. Sad thing is they all died after cleaning the tank :(
love the look on the tanganiqa(spelling) tank, it works amazingly with the stonesetting as to catch the eye. So important to have different sizes of stone, for a great effect, they enhance eachother well I think.
And love the subject cleanerfish. Thanks for bringing focus on it.
My tank hasnt run a long time yet, but I have 1 pleco for cleaning, but he's there for occupying space that my angelfish doesn't, not cleaning really. so far, not sure if he needs a mate, they seem like shy solitary fish mostly is my impression. He does come out now in daylight though to eat his cucumber etc.
I normally love adding amano shrimp to clean up algae. I don't feel they create a lot of waste, they are fun to watch and do such a good job cleaning up plants and even substrate.
I'll admit I did get 4 little catfish to help keep the glass clear for my kids to see their fish in our 15g tank. However, we chose a few that would be social enough to be out and about and then the kids chose the ones they liked the look of. As a hang over from our 180gallon marine tank we like to use a backdrop of plants then create movement and interest with top, middle and bottom feeders :)
Rams horn snails are my go to. That giant oto was cool, i always wanted kuli loaches just never pulled the trigger. Thanks for sharing i am enjoying the daily show.
Couldn't agree more, best cleaner in a tank is the keeper ;). Nice tank , those pencil fish look awesome.
I just came across the Giant Oto (Hypoptopoma gulare) on an online seller's site a few weeks ago and wanted to get some. I'm suddenly stoked seeing them in your tank! Here's to hoping they get them back in stock!
I love your green neon tetras. I want a school of them
those barred pencil fish are looking great! Thx for the Video, you`re doing great with joey`s challenge so far ;)
Thanks I was just getting stressed worried about what particular cleaning fish I would add to my 29 gallon I didn't want to pile a lot of fish unnecessarily in there cuz I have other species that I'm interested in so thanks keep up the good work you help me out 👍
I absolutely love my bn plecos i think they are so cute when just .. Mostly existing or interacting with each other. Though they help keep my tsnk clean its just a happy side effect
I just love fish that suck on the glass so cute, I once had otto's and an apple snail so cute when the ottos would sit on the snails shell
I love my bristlenose pleco, never bought him for cleaning purposes I just find him really fun to watch. It’s even more interesting watching him smack the other fish away from the algae wafers.
Always a thumbs up!
I LOVE THIS SCAPE
I have amanos and tangerine tigers and I love them. They turn most of my algae into fertilizer while also being extremely fun to watch. My favorite is seeing all the shrimp run out to grab the food that hits the sand during feedings.
Love love love that tank footage. I've loved that tank since you set it up. It's so active. The otos look so fat and happy.
My favourite cleaner fish are the siamese algae eaters. Been having them for a year and they've grown huge. Got 4 of them and they are incredibly fun to watch. I love them.
I love my common plec, Sirius Almost Black. I bought him thinking he'd keep my algae in check not knowing that he would grow to be a lean mean pooping machine! He also likes cucumber more than algae. He has a slight cucumber problem and is totally spoilt! 😍
love it!
Cute little Otos, awww (also, wow, that giant Oto!). They deserve to be loved as more than aquatic vacuum cleaners. The happy cricking noise they make at night has elevated them to Favorite Fish status, it's so charming.
Many thanks again for the tip about the Repashy food to keep my Otos fat & happy. 〰💙 For sure they keep the glass & surfaces clean, but it's a species tank & even I don't know how many are in there! It would turn into Thunderdome in there without the extra algae Jello. O__x
It's funny I don't even really think of most of the fish you mentioned as cleaner fish. I think of them as cool fish I want to own for their behavior or visual. But, it's definitely nice to have someone come behind the fish that god forbid the food got too close to the ground...
I do not have any cleaners...but have brown algae problems and was thinking about a nitrate snail...which I always thought them more as part of my community tank...but did not buy any as yet...still gathering information. Your are accurate on buying these cleaners fish....love the music at the end of your video.
Yeah,Totally agree. Get it primarily because you want it in your tank. Not because you want it to do your work for you.
I didn’t get my corys as a clean up crew I just loved the fish and they were just fascinating to watch! When I first got into them I didn’t even know till I did research that they were cleaners ! It was a bonus tho😁 I’m getting a 50 gallon and gonna get a bunch of them in there! I can’t waittt!
I feel the same. I had a snail problem with I first started, obviously because I was overfeeding. I got some loaches and they were a huge hassle. It's better to just clean the tank yourself.
The music as the end was terrifying lol
Totally agree, just got a used tank that came with their old fish, 2 and only 2 clown loaches, and a foot long plecostomus, and they were feeding a small amount of flake for both, while i plan on rehoming the clown loaches, as 5 foot long loaches won't fit even in a 60 gallon, still the first thing I did was run out and get algae wafers for them
I was always planning on adding otos to the tank. Didn't matter how much algae there was. They've always been super cute and fascinating fish, algae cleaning is just a bonus. I think that's how 'cleaner' fish should be treated. Cleaning is a bonus
I just added some cherry shrimp yesterday. I see them more as buddies who help me, slightly, with the cleaning than anything else. (besides obviously enjoying their behavior and appearance)
I love my ottos. They live in a 45g planted community tank. I can be lazy about algea. But I dont mind doing a gravel vac and water change regularly. So they are perfect for me. They keep the algea at bay and I keep the tank clean otherwise. But I would never have added them if I was not prepared for the added work or their care.....or if I didn't just like them to begin with. I think too many pet stores tell people that a certain fish is going to make their tanks maintenance free and we all know that isnt true.