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Where are you living? That sounds like mothfly larvae. They breed in your tank/filter and feed of waste and larvae when you allow it to get dirty, I have been told. Step up your water changes and clean out your filter more often and they should go away on their own They are not harmful to your fish.
Love my little Kuhli loaches! They’re always moving around the tank, wiggling through all the plants. Once I drop some food in they go NUTS, snuffling all over the place! So fun to watch!
I have a pair of Kuhli Loach and they're the most shy fish I've ever kept in my 20 gallon I almost never see them. I'm curious how large a group you have if maybe they're out because you have a lot of them so they feel comfy if so I might have to get some more
Same, my honey gourami was more of a cleaner fish than my Pleco, When I moved the gourami there was a dramatic increase in leftover food. The pleco just stays in hiding all day. I forget that it's even in tank until i do a deep clean or move the driftwood.
I love that your channel brings the knowledge of many different species and the high production value as well. Hope to one day see you hit a million subs!
I am a huge fan of the Nerite snails and a Pleco per tank, but I also rely on various dwarf shrimp as well as Otocinclus... both of which add a lot of very interesting activity to the tank when they feel at home (and are kept in large social groups).
Hillstream loaches (butterfly loach) do WONDERS for algae. I have some in my tank and they do great at 80 degrees and below. Within a few days my algae problem was pretty much eliminated. On top of that they are fairly active fish and fun to watch when they're running around.
Love this channel , I think its the best on you tube . Thanks for all your hard work Cory , I learn so much from you and I wish you lots of success you deserve it !
In my 35 I have a pair of albino cories, julii cories, a clown pleco, a SAE, and a good colony of pond snails as a clean up crew. I also keep platies, a swordtail pair, and some guppies in there too! I've also got a ton of plants and have very little need to do extra cleaning, except for an occasional WC. I also think you should have mentioned that although these fish are for cleanup, you need to feed them just like any other fish in your tank, especially if those other fish catch most of the food like my gluttonous platies lol. They can't survive on scavenging alone :) Also, that white pleco at 9:30 looks like something from another planet XD
Absolutely love my true Siamese Algae Eater. Peaceful and gets along with everyone else and wow very dedicated in cleaning every inch of the tank. Was also surprised when it ate poop.
I have found these to be quite a pest in smaller tanks, in that they can chase other fish around, I have 4 & they do make me laugh when they find something tasty on a surface & they vibrate their barbels
I get cleaner fish to see different fish behavior in the tank. Sure it's nice to have a fish clean your tank but that's not the reason I buy cleaner fish.
Hi Cory, I am new to fish keeping. It all started when my 6 year old wanted to get fish. Now, I’m enjoying this way too much. Your channel is the only one I’ve ever actually subscribed to! Keep up the great work.
Nice list thx I have mollies, trumpet snails, and I'm picking up a pair of bristlenose to finish up the crew for my 40 gallon. I wanted something like platies but bigger so I chose the mollies. It's fun watching all the fry and juveniles top to bottom all over the tank. For plants I have frogbit and hornwort. The fry hide in there 2-3 weeks before exploring the tank.
I think my tank is all clean up crew. I have a little five gallon planted tank with 3RCS, 3panda corydoras and two snails (1nerite, 1golden Inca). Today it’s going to become a 10 gallon. I also love that you call fish “people. ”
Zebra Otocinclus + Yoyo Loach! I like this cleaner group. Great looking combo, well patterned. Can keep Amano shrimp with both if you have decent structure for shrimp & some plants. Peaceful & easy! A little cover of carpeting plant or Crypt Parva + few other easy plants + moss ball pitched in the corner. These little guys keep well together even with Amano Shrimp. Yoyo Loach do dig around the substrate and can uproot small root plants such as hairgrass... avoid hairgrass! Stick to moss & some strong stem plants. Read on if you care to know more about this combo... Really just use any plants with strong root base, because the yoyo loaches do forage deep which makes them efficient cleaners. These scavengers are very easy to keep & feed as long as your algae is fully developed into an established aquarium & your moss is strong. The only issue some starters experience when buying Otocinclus or yoyo loach is they add them too early and they eat algae so well that they actually eat ALL of the algae out of the tank and then need to be supplemented with algae wafers (divided into tiny 5ths) and some beginners fall into this trap. Also I said Amano Shrimp, i will add the adults are safe to keep, however keep your yoyos fed well or they may veiw dwarf shrimp as a snack. How I use them: Amanos & Otos ("Autos" are like auto-vacuums for algae) are my "go-to" cleanup crew in my nano tanks, and also larger tanks... using them in my 29 and even my bigger 75 gal. Otos are small suckers at 1.5" that combo up well with Amano shrimp which also get 1.5" & eat algae increadibly well. Amanos pick up the VERY small stuff that the others do not. Do not underestimate the power of small cleaners in a large tank. I avoid large pleco. Common pleco, spotted pleco are big & cool, beautiful species to keep, but in terms of cleaning effectiveness & less waste, go with 4 Otocinclus and 10+ Amano shrimp and just skip the pleco variety which will eat your moss. Otos alone will absolutely scour the tank barren of ALL types of algae but leave your moss & plants in pristine condition. Keep atleat 4 Otos, if going fewer in a tiny nano tank, then just be aware they do better & live longer w/ 4 or more of the same species. Some online will even say 6 or more but I find four (2 pairs) to be fine. So just be aware, there are several different kinds of Otos & different sizes. In my nano I only keep dwarf. In larger, I personally like the looks of Zebra Otocinclus w/ the Yoyo Loach (2 pairs) because of their cool looking patterns.
I have a Flagfish in with my Mbuna cichlids and she (Lady Liberty) runs the tank and loves hanging out with them and vice versa. Same with my Electric Blue Lobster as well (only when its feeding time).
I have a Veiltail Betta Male, 3 Neon Tetras & 2 Cory Catfish(Corydoras) which are my clean up crew in a 5.5 gallon!🥰 And they are all thriving and striving happily together!🤗
I have a gold themed 10 gallon tank with my blue and red Half Moon Betta standing out. I have two Marigold Platies, two Golden Mystery Snails, and a Ghost Shrimp. I have good filtration, lots of live plants, and of course tons of hiding places! My Betta has a good temperament so I don’t worry about him bullying my Platies, worst thing he has done is just flare his gills once when he got cocky. They’ve been together for a month now with absolutely no issues! Best community tank I’ve owned! All of my creatures clean up after each other and it works out perfectly!
I was thinking of getting platties and a betta, but I'm concerned if the platties would breed easily. I don't want to take care of babies or see them get eaten
I love keeping bettas with other community fish! (For anyone who might be reading this) Just make sure not to get any fish that might be nippy such as barbs. Also stray from any other fish that has long colorful fins like guppies, he might get a bit territorial with them. Other than that, they can make lovely community fish and have great personalities!
I think a great over looked clean up fish is the flag Tail prochalotus and also the kissing gourami both are great options for a large predator tank because of there large adult size also don't forget about the Siamese algae eater another great cleaner fish for a slightly smaller set up and I really like the reticulated Siamese algae eater color form I find they seem to do a better job too
Cory been following you and my fish are doing great I order from your store as well great products and service is really the Best thank you so much for the information
In my 5 gallon I have guppies(6) a fancy Betta, and 2 mystery snails(because i love them!) and a dwarf clown pleco. The only maintenance i do is flip the rocks and decorations over so the algae dies on one side and a vacuum once every 4 months or so. Easy Peasy! This tank has been going for about 3 years!
I have two peppered corrydoras in my ten gallon tank. (They are growing out for my 55 gallon to go with the rest of the school) and they spend their days eating the stuff that settles in my gravel. They are super cute!
I have turtles in my goldfish tank (55g) and the goldfish absolutely do a great job at cleaning up after the turtles. I just switched from a HOB filter to a canister on that tank a few weeks ago, and since then the water has been absolutely crystal clear, I can look through the side (as in not the wide viewing panel.) of the tank and see my bookshelf a few feet from the other side.
I've noticed Mystery/Apple snails do not clean as well as others, but they do help. Would recommend for most tanks, just keep in mind they are air breathers and could die in too big of a tank.
I keep betta's in my one of my ten gallons. My cleaning crew is yes the infamous bladder snail, and ghost shrimp. In my 40 breeder, I have platy's and 2 Molly's. They Molly's do a good job, I also keep ghost shrimps, nitrate snails, mystery/ spiked top apple snail, and yes bladder snails, and a albino pleco, which is a bristlenose. The Molly's and platy's do a good job at keeping the bladder snails in check and my tank is pretty much algae free
In my 36 gallon Aquarium I have a clown pleco, 2 peppered Corydoras, 17 Zebra danios and 3 honey gourami. When I feed the danios they are very messy eaters so all the extra food goes to the bottom of the tank. When it is feeding time my Corydoras and gourmi wait at the bottom for the extra food. They are great cleaners! My pleco eats algae and cleans the tank fantastically! I couldn’t ask for a better tank.
55 gal Mbuna tank. I am a big fan of invertebrates. Crayfish are awesome. The small ones, not the freshwater lobster they cook. Also a handful of ghost shrimp once a month or so is good to get into all the stinky places.
Great video, Cory. My go-to clean-up fish is the true Siamese Algae Eater. Peaceful, attractive, hardy, lot's of personality, excellent at consuming algae, and quite good at finding uneaten food in the tank. The one I currently have I named "Mop" because he's so good at cleaning up.
Heaps of great selections Cory thanks. Corydoras are my favorite mainly because i just love keeping them, cleaning the tank is just a bonus. Have a great day mate. :)
Random one but Gold Barbs eat very well and will spend a lot of time going around the bottom of the tank looking for left over food after you’ve fed them. Had them for 3 plus years and very impressed how tidy they are.
I always end up with too many bottom dwellers - they are just so much fun to watch. My new favorite pleco are the Chaetosoma species - they much on algae as good as or better than an ancistrus!
Shrimp! I know there's lots of different critters that help but in my aquariums, if I can keep shrimp in the tank with the fish, those have always been my best running tanks. And cory cats! I have a pair that have been ready and willing to work on any tank their in.
My 2 blue platies do it a degree, but my 2 yellow mollies are the shop vacs in my 29 gal. They nibble stuff off the air lines, decorations, glass, and gravel.
I love cleaners. My ''display tank'' has Kuhli Loaches, Bronze Cories, Bristlenoses, Cherry Shrimp, Amano Shrimp and Assassin Snails. The only actual water colums fish I have in there is a school of Amanda Tetras and a single Platy. Both of those were rescues.
My Chinese Algae Eater is AMAZING - got a 150L with 6 cichlids and a rainbow shark, and before I got the CAE, I'd have to clean algae off things on my tank every few days. Now, wirh a CAE, it's once every 2 or more weeks, and even then, my heaters are SPARKING, and it's minimal algae anywhere. I can DEFINITELY recommend a CAE!!!
I'm still on my first tank, so I'm not an expert (yet), but I find that my dwarf gourami is a great scavenger. I used to overfeed flakes months ago when I first got fish in there, and every time he'd spend well over an hour pecking at all the cracks and crevices of the gravel, sucking up leftover flakes.
I keep ramshorn snails in all my tanks. I actually ended up with them by accident in one tank, lol, but personally I think they’ve been a big help. I love my snail crew.
I use corydoras mainly for stirring up anything that settles in the "dead spots". They make a mess every once in a while doing it but my filter makes short work of it. A few mins and tank is clear again. It make it so I dont have to clean the sand as much as I would normally have to.
Great ideas! 👌 In my different community tanks I've got a rainboy shark, cherryshrimp, dwarf corys, a gabon shrimp, ancistrus and a lot of different snails; spixi, mystery, trumpets and rabbits ❤
I absolutely love my Flagfish. I’m from Florida so they’re native here, but I normally buy mine at local shops. To me, the females look like mini bass fish since they lack the “flag” coloration of the males. Like livebearers, I’d recommend keeping one male for every two or three females and in my experience I haven’t had more than two males survive my 20 gallon high (I currently have two males and six females). These fish do clean algae, but they will also pick at exposed roots and more delicate plants, and they will dig slightly. They’re also a bit unpredictable with temperament; my current batch ignores the mollies, glass shrimp, and snails in my tank (the mollies even shoal with the flagfish sometimes), but I’ve had some fish devour inverts and chase fish as well. I’ve noticed that if the fish are well fed (they love algae wafers as a treat) and in slightly bigger groups, they tend to ignore inverts and other fish. I really hope these fish become a bit more popular, they’re super fun fish to keep and super easy fish to take care of once you know a few tricks.
I have a ten gallon with 2 Nerite snails and a juvinile Raphael catfish as support to a Juvinile Wolf cichlid of course I feed the catfish aswell but he always cleans up the food the cichlid misses and the Nerites handle algea and waste and all my clean up crew are properly armored to survive with the aggressive wolf at first the Raph got bullied a bit but the cichlid learned he couldn't do anything to it and now they live pretty much peacefully besides the boop the wolf gives him from time to time to protect his food from the raph but theres never outright aggression and they have been doing great for about 4 months and it's getting close to up the tank size. Of course the Raph will be moved to a community tank eventually as the wolf will outgrow it and will have its adult teeth
I have 30gal tank with community fishes: Cardinal Tettra, Swordstail, Cherry Barb, and rummey nose tetra. My cleaning crews: Corydoras, Amano Shrimps, Nitrite Snails, Filter shrimps (Singapore Shrimps). After watching this video, I might bring in couple of Kuhli loaches or get one small bristle nose pleco.
Typically in a 20 gal or less I combo oto cats and cory cats. The Cory's get the bottom and substrate and the otos take care of glass and plant leaves which keeps your plants happy and looking nice
I’ve got pond snails and 5 amano shrimp in my 10 gal for cleaners. And then pond snails in my 29 gal, with two honey gourami that pick food off the decor and off the sponge filters as well as eating the tiny snails.
I like my cory catfish that clean up leftover food and amano shrimp that eat black algae off my slower growing anubias. Even the honey gourami picks at food crumbs that get stuck in the filter intake sponge. :)
I have 3 honey gourami. They eat the leftover food in the tank . At feeding time the are always at the bottom waiting for the extra food my zebra danios don’t eat
Crazy set up, 8 adult guppies with a Male betta, clawed toed frog, and a ghost shrimp. The frog is small and will be removed when he starts eating the larger fish, but no issues otherwise. Planted tank with crystal clear water. Gravel substrate
I keep 2 dwarf guarmis, 2 black skirts, and 2 white skirts, with 3 little neon tetras in a 10 gallon along with a very juvenile rubber lip pleco. One of my black skirt tetras is at least 7 years old already.
I have a 40 gallon (i dont own a 10 gallon) planted. I have amano shrimp. Blue velvet dream shrimp. Sparkling gouramis. And some norman lampeyes. The killis dont help clean. But everything else does. I might add in a couple ottos or a small pleco to help with the stuff on my glass and plants. Think it will work.
Great video, lets not forget about Dwarf suckers (Otocinclus) they are great community fish and due to their size, they can get into many places to eat algae.
@@AquariumCoop I wouldn't combine these. Goldfish require cold water to be at their best while Discus require really warm water. Also, goldfish eat so much that they are depriving the Discus. Also, Goldfish tend to get sick at higher temperatures which could be fatal for them then your Discus as they get infected. If it works for you, go for it, but be aware of the risks.
Nice post,I have cories ,tons of mystery snails roaming around, a very very busy hill stream loach who took a twenty an made all the algae disapear, an many more love them all. Keep on trucking, it was nice for me an my wife to meet you at aquashella. We hung up the RUclips poster that you an everyone else that we follow above our prize guppy tank.🐢😀
Love my Cory Paleatus clean up crew. Anytime they detect food, all 6 are out in a school vacuuming. I just wish they were more active during the day. They seem to only come out when the lights are off.
Your videos are so helpful and I love your shop! I have been searching your page for glass catfish but I don't see anything. Hopefully they'll make the list one of these days!
I personally am a killifish JUNKY I have striped killis, least killis, bluefins and the flagfish I my tank. There is such a variety you can get, the flag fish are more Molly shaped and then the striped which are very long bodied. My personal favorite is the least killifish, they only get an inch and remind me of pufferfish in regards to the personality. I recommend killifish to every fish keeper for any size tank
My main cleaners are farlowela as they leave the peaceful fish alone and I've found plecos can suck on slow moving fish, firemouths for cleaning fine sand, Leporinus clean plants and decor well, hoplo cats for spare food, camaroon shrimps to keep the water clean, and weather loaches
I setup my 37 gal tank with plants including Anubias. Not long after I started accumulating black/brown algae. I added 3 Siamese Algae eaters with little to no impact observer. My knee jerk reaction was 6 Black Racer Nerite snails. Wow within 4 days the plants and most of the aquarium was clean. 6 snails was an overkill and I will be sending 3 of them over to my sons aquarium to bring his 30 gal tank under control. These snails just work overtime in cleaning up algae problems.
You left out shrimp they're a great cleaner that go hand and hand with snails. In a lot of your smaller micro tanks, betta tanks, and peaceful bigger tanks. They will become food for any fish that they can fit inside there mouths. I've got them in my 5 gal betta tank my larger African chilid tank no bueno I use them as treats for them
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Is it ok to keep 2 Plecos in same tank? I have a 60gl breeder with a 6" common... Was wondering if I put a 4" common in they would be ok?
Where are you living? That sounds like mothfly larvae. They breed in your tank/filter and feed of waste and larvae when you allow it to get dirty, I have been told. Step up your water changes and clean out your filter more often and they should go away on their own They are not harmful to your fish.
Ok thanks we have been trying
The best of luck! Not judging at all. I know better than anyone how things can get on top of you and be hard to get under control again.
Don't forget the African earth eaters like mylochromis or callochromis
Love my little Kuhli loaches! They’re always moving around the tank, wiggling through all the plants. Once I drop some food in they go NUTS, snuffling all over the place! So fun to watch!
I have a pair of Kuhli Loach and they're the most shy fish I've ever kept in my 20 gallon I almost never see them. I'm curious how large a group you have if maybe they're out because you have a lot of them so they feel comfy if so I might have to get some more
my honey gourami watches my prefilter sponge like a TV
Same, my honey gourami was more of a cleaner fish than my Pleco, When I moved the gourami there was a dramatic increase in leftover food. The pleco just stays in hiding all day. I forget that it's even in tank until i do a deep clean or move the driftwood.
mine just digs up my micro swords
I have 3 female guppies that watch me like a TV while I'm on the computer...
Ahhh Hazel!! Awesome seeing you here!! 😃
@@seashell8913 my gourami sometimes do the same
My 10 gallon has about 40 red cherry shrimp, 7 endlers and a Betta, my favorite tank right now so much going on and low maintenance
Just set up my 10 gallon. My betta is living with 3 ghost shrimp. This gives me hope I can add cherry shrimps as well
freshwater shrimp, do a video on freshwater shrimp, and what fish won't bother them and which ones will
yes
I love that your channel brings the knowledge of many different species and the high production value as well. Hope to one day see you hit a million subs!
I am a huge fan of the Nerite snails and a Pleco per tank, but I also rely on various dwarf shrimp as well as Otocinclus... both of which add a lot of very interesting activity to the tank when they feel at home (and are kept in large social groups).
Never again will I look at a cory & not think "Roomba Fish". LOL
🤘👽
hahahaha, I know! XD
Im naming mine roomba now lol i just been basic and calling him cory
Almost 200k! Keep it up Cory and great info as usual :)
Hillstream loaches (butterfly loach) do WONDERS for algae. I have some in my tank and they do great at 80 degrees and below. Within a few days my algae problem was pretty much eliminated. On top of that they are fairly active fish and fun to watch when they're running around.
Hey cory, just a big thanks to all the work you've put into your channel and aquarium co op, keep up all the amazing fish content!!!!!
As always Cory, brilliant. Thanks so much I spend all my time watching your channel. Better than TV for me.
You're one of the coolest informative aquarium guys on here..
I need to get some of your easy green fertilizer
Thanks for the kind words.
He who smoked behind the rows, Cory's easy green fertilizer is like miracle grow for aquariums. It works great
I was wondering about clean up crew the last week. This answered alot of questions. Very informative. Thanks Cory
Love this channel , I think its the best on you tube . Thanks for all your hard work Cory , I learn so much from you and I wish you lots of success you deserve it !
1)Rainbow shark
2)Cichlid earth eater
3) Flagfish
4)Corydoras whisker crustacean eater
5) Platy Livebearer
6) Snails, Ramshorn , MTS, Nerite
7) Loaches (eat snails) Scavenger
8) Goldfish w/ good tank mate.
9) Bristlenose Pleco , super red, gold, rarer forms. Great w/ all fish.
In my 35 I have a pair of albino cories, julii cories, a clown pleco, a SAE, and a good colony of pond snails as a clean up crew. I also keep platies, a swordtail pair, and some guppies in there too! I've also got a ton of plants and have very little need to do extra cleaning, except for an occasional WC. I also think you should have mentioned that although these fish are for cleanup, you need to feed them just like any other fish in your tank, especially if those other fish catch most of the food like my gluttonous platies lol. They can't survive on scavenging alone :)
Also, that white pleco at 9:30 looks like something from another planet XD
Absolutely love my true Siamese Algae Eater. Peaceful and gets along with everyone else and wow very dedicated in cleaning every inch of the tank. Was also surprised when it ate poop.
I have found these to be quite a pest in smaller tanks, in that they can chase other fish around, I have 4 & they do make me laugh when they find something tasty on a surface & they vibrate their barbels
I absolutely love that you call fish "People"
Hammer sameee!!
Lol i noticed when Aquarius be talking they call fish ppl on accident its funny
I get cleaner fish to see different fish behavior in the tank. Sure it's nice to have a fish clean your tank but that's not the reason I buy cleaner fish.
I really agree, don’t get cleaner fish to be cleaner fish, think of them as a regular fish
FintasticFish I got cleaner fish because they were cute.They were wiping down the tanks and at the time when I got them.I thought they were dancing 😂
Alex Wongalong I have true Siamese algae eaters super cute
Again...learning a lot from you!!! Absolutely love all of your videos. If I was limited to only watching one person's vids, they would be yours!!!
Hi Cory,
I am new to fish keeping. It all started when my 6 year old wanted to get fish. Now, I’m enjoying this way too much. Your channel is the only one I’ve ever actually subscribed to! Keep up the great work.
Ha, Thats me now. I’m with ya.. Just two years late.
Spent the weekend building my first garage fish room! Totally inspired by you and Joel and jimmy. Thanks for all the advice
Nice list thx I have mollies, trumpet snails, and I'm picking up a pair of bristlenose to finish up the crew for my 40 gallon. I wanted something like platies but bigger so I chose the mollies. It's fun watching all the fry and juveniles top to bottom all over the tank. For plants I have frogbit and hornwort. The fry hide in there 2-3 weeks before exploring the tank.
*Do yourself a favor and subscribe so you get more videos like this from us.* bit.ly/2Yez7yl
Hi mate am having a problem with lowering my nitrate level and was wondering if a cleaner fish would help reduce this
emerald green cories are my absolute favorite!
Currently working on a corydoras and pleco tank! I love "the bottom feeders"
I think my tank is all clean up crew. I have a little five gallon planted tank with 3RCS, 3panda corydoras and two snails (1nerite, 1golden Inca). Today it’s going to become a
10 gallon.
I also love that you call fish “people. ”
Zebra Otocinclus + Yoyo Loach!
I like this cleaner group. Great looking combo, well patterned. Can keep Amano shrimp with both if you have decent structure for shrimp & some plants. Peaceful & easy!
A little cover of carpeting plant or Crypt Parva + few other easy plants + moss ball pitched in the corner. These little guys keep well together even with Amano Shrimp. Yoyo Loach do dig around the substrate and can uproot small root plants such as hairgrass... avoid hairgrass! Stick to moss & some strong stem plants. Read on if you care to know more about this combo... Really just use any plants with strong root base, because the yoyo loaches do forage deep which makes them efficient cleaners. These scavengers are very easy to keep & feed as long as your algae is fully developed into an established aquarium & your moss is strong. The only issue some starters experience when buying Otocinclus or yoyo loach is they add them too early and they eat algae so well that they actually eat ALL of the algae out of the tank and then need to be supplemented with algae wafers (divided into tiny 5ths) and some beginners fall into this trap. Also I said Amano Shrimp, i will add the adults are safe to keep, however keep your yoyos fed well or they may veiw dwarf shrimp as a snack.
How I use them: Amanos & Otos ("Autos" are like auto-vacuums for algae) are my "go-to" cleanup crew in my nano tanks, and also larger tanks... using them in my 29 and even my bigger 75 gal. Otos are small suckers at 1.5" that combo up well with Amano shrimp which also get 1.5" & eat algae increadibly well. Amanos pick up the VERY small stuff that the others do not. Do not underestimate the power of small cleaners in a large tank. I avoid large pleco. Common pleco, spotted pleco are big & cool, beautiful species to keep, but in terms of cleaning effectiveness & less waste, go with 4 Otocinclus and 10+ Amano shrimp and just skip the pleco variety which will eat your moss. Otos alone will absolutely scour the tank barren of ALL types of algae but leave your moss & plants in pristine condition. Keep atleat 4 Otos, if going fewer in a tiny nano tank, then just be aware they do better & live longer w/ 4 or more of the same species. Some online will even say 6 or more but I find four (2 pairs) to be fine. So just be aware, there are several different kinds of Otos & different sizes. In my nano I only keep dwarf. In larger, I personally like the looks of Zebra Otocinclus w/ the Yoyo Loach (2 pairs) because of their cool looking patterns.
I have a Flagfish in with my Mbuna cichlids and she (Lady Liberty) runs the tank and loves hanging out with them and vice versa. Same with my Electric Blue Lobster as well (only when its feeding time).
I have a Veiltail Betta Male, 3 Neon Tetras & 2 Cory Catfish(Corydoras) which are my clean up crew in a 5.5 gallon!🥰 And they are all thriving and striving happily together!🤗
I have a gold themed 10 gallon tank with my blue and red Half Moon Betta standing out. I have two Marigold Platies, two Golden Mystery Snails, and a Ghost Shrimp. I have good filtration, lots of live plants, and of course tons of hiding places! My Betta has a good temperament so I don’t worry about him bullying my Platies, worst thing he has done is just flare his gills once when he got cocky. They’ve been together for a month now with absolutely no issues! Best community tank I’ve owned! All of my creatures clean up after each other and it works out perfectly!
I was thinking of getting platties and a betta, but I'm concerned if the platties would breed easily. I don't want to take care of babies or see them get eaten
I love keeping bettas with other community fish! (For anyone who might be reading this) Just make sure not to get any fish that might be nippy such as barbs. Also stray from any other fish that has long colorful fins like guppies, he might get a bit territorial with them. Other than that, they can make lovely community fish and have great personalities!
Harbor seals will keep larger tanks pretty clean and school together well, too!
Amazing video I have all of those you said in all of my 14 tanks 👍
My 10 gallon has a Koi Betta and 2 African Dwarf Frogs
When you look like Andy from the office
I use loaches to sift through my gravel and I use mystery snails for the glass. It’s a simple set up but it’s also got two guppies and a ghost catfish
I think a great over looked clean up fish is the flag Tail prochalotus and also the kissing gourami both are great options for a large predator tank because of there large adult size also don't forget about the Siamese algae eater another great cleaner fish for a slightly smaller set up and I really like the reticulated Siamese algae eater color form I find they seem to do a better job too
Cory been following you and my fish are doing great I order from your store as well great products and service is really the Best thank you so much for the information
Amano shrimp are one of my favorite shrimp when it comes to cleaners!
my 13 gal has 5 guppies, 3 peppered cories, and a betta. dont worry, they've been together for over 3 months, and no one's been killed.
Otos are awesome too! I have a small group in my guppy tank...
In my 5 gallon I have guppies(6) a fancy Betta, and 2 mystery snails(because i love them!) and a dwarf clown pleco. The only maintenance i do is flip the rocks and decorations over so the algae dies on one side and a vacuum once every 4 months or so. Easy Peasy! This tank has been going for about 3 years!
I have two peppered corrydoras in my ten gallon tank. (They are growing out for my 55 gallon to go with the rest of the school) and they spend their days eating the stuff that settles in my gravel. They are super cute!
Good info. Thanx
I have turtles in my goldfish tank (55g) and the goldfish absolutely do a great job at cleaning up after the turtles. I just switched from a HOB filter to a canister on that tank a few weeks ago, and since then the water has been absolutely crystal clear, I can look through the side (as in not the wide viewing panel.) of the tank and see my bookshelf a few feet from the other side.
Another awsome video sir thanks. Happy fishkeeping
If you fish can live with shrimp I recommend it, they do a good job going for uneaten food. Just make sure you feed them extra now and then!
I've noticed Mystery/Apple snails do not clean as well as others, but they do help. Would recommend for most tanks, just keep in mind they are air breathers and could die in too big of a tank.
I keep betta's in my one of my ten gallons. My cleaning crew is yes the infamous bladder snail, and ghost shrimp. In my 40 breeder, I have platy's and 2 Molly's. They Molly's do a good job, I also keep ghost shrimps, nitrate snails, mystery/ spiked top apple snail, and yes bladder snails, and a albino pleco, which is a bristlenose. The Molly's and platy's do a good job at keeping the bladder snails in check and my tank is pretty much algae free
In my 36 gallon Aquarium I have a clown pleco, 2 peppered Corydoras, 17 Zebra danios and 3 honey gourami. When I feed the danios they are very messy eaters so all the extra food goes to the bottom of the tank. When it is feeding time my Corydoras and gourmi wait at the bottom for the extra food. They are great cleaners! My pleco eats algae and cleans the tank fantastically! I couldn’t ask for a better tank.
When I did freshwater, I had a trio of horseface loaches and they were excellent at filtering out everything in my sand bed.
55 gal Mbuna tank. I am a big fan of invertebrates. Crayfish are awesome. The small ones, not the freshwater lobster they cook. Also a handful of ghost shrimp once a month or so is good to get into all the stinky places.
Great video, Cory. My go-to clean-up fish is the true Siamese Algae Eater. Peaceful, attractive, hardy, lot's of personality, excellent at consuming algae, and quite good at finding uneaten food in the tank. The one I currently have I named "Mop" because he's so good at cleaning up.
With the help of these little ones it is even more easy to maintain the tank clean!
- Isabel
Heaps of great selections Cory thanks. Corydoras are my favorite mainly because i just love keeping them, cleaning the tank is just a bonus. Have a great day mate. :)
Random one but Gold Barbs eat very well and will spend a lot of time going around the bottom of the tank looking for left over food after you’ve fed them. Had them for 3 plus years and very impressed how tidy they are.
You touched on all my favorites.
Of course I’m partial to super red plecos.
I always end up with too many bottom dwellers - they are just so much fun to watch.
My new favorite pleco are the Chaetosoma species - they much on algae as good as or better than an ancistrus!
Shrimp! I know there's lots of different critters that help but in my aquariums, if I can keep shrimp in the tank with the fish, those have always been my best running tanks. And cory cats! I have a pair that have been ready and willing to work on any tank their in.
My 2 blue platies do it a degree, but my 2 yellow mollies are the shop vacs in my 29 gal. They nibble stuff off the air lines, decorations, glass, and gravel.
Great informative short video!! Thanks Cory
I love cleaners. My ''display tank'' has Kuhli Loaches, Bronze Cories, Bristlenoses, Cherry Shrimp, Amano Shrimp and Assassin Snails.
The only actual water colums fish I have in there is a school of Amanda Tetras and a single Platy. Both of those were rescues.
I would like to hear more about your tank mate
I set up a really cool ecosystem planted 10 gallon.
-Guppies (2)
-dwarf frog (as the predator)
- ghost shrimp (5)
- dwarf corydoras (3)
Heavily planted
Learned so much lol my tank is always fairly clean which makes sense now bc I have some corydoras, some platies and a dwarf gourami!
My Chinese Algae Eater is AMAZING - got a 150L with 6 cichlids and a rainbow shark, and before I got the CAE, I'd have to clean algae off things on my tank every few days. Now, wirh a CAE, it's once every 2 or more weeks, and even then, my heaters are SPARKING, and it's minimal algae anywhere. I can DEFINITELY recommend a CAE!!!
I'm still on my first tank, so I'm not an expert (yet), but I find that my dwarf gourami is a great scavenger. I used to overfeed flakes months ago when I first got fish in there, and every time he'd spend well over an hour pecking at all the cracks and crevices of the gravel, sucking up leftover flakes.
I have a combination of kuhli loaches and bristlenose plecos (red) in almost all of my tanks. They make the maintenance very easy.
I keep ramshorn snails in all my tanks. I actually ended up with them by accident in one tank, lol, but personally I think they’ve been a big help. I love my snail crew.
I use corydoras mainly for stirring up anything that settles in the "dead spots". They make a mess every once in a while doing it but my filter makes short work of it. A few mins and tank is clear again. It make it so I dont have to clean the sand as much as I would normally have to.
Great ideas! 👌 In my different community tanks I've got a rainboy shark, cherryshrimp, dwarf corys, a gabon shrimp, ancistrus and a lot of different snails; spixi, mystery, trumpets and rabbits ❤
I absolutely love my Flagfish. I’m from Florida so they’re native here, but I normally buy mine at local shops. To me, the females look like mini bass fish since they lack the “flag” coloration of the males. Like livebearers, I’d recommend keeping one male for every two or three females and in my experience I haven’t had more than two males survive my 20 gallon high (I currently have two males and six females).
These fish do clean algae, but they will also pick at exposed roots and more delicate plants, and they will dig slightly. They’re also a bit unpredictable with temperament; my current batch ignores the mollies, glass shrimp, and snails in my tank (the mollies even shoal with the flagfish sometimes), but I’ve had some fish devour inverts and chase fish as well. I’ve noticed that if the fish are well fed (they love algae wafers as a treat) and in slightly bigger groups, they tend to ignore inverts and other fish.
I really hope these fish become a bit more popular, they’re super fun fish to keep and super easy fish to take care of once you know a few tricks.
I have a ten gallon with 2 Nerite snails and a juvinile Raphael catfish as support to a Juvinile Wolf cichlid of course I feed the catfish aswell but he always cleans up the food the cichlid misses and the Nerites handle algea and waste and all my clean up crew are properly armored to survive with the aggressive wolf at first the Raph got bullied a bit but the cichlid learned he couldn't do anything to it and now they live pretty much peacefully besides the boop the wolf gives him from time to time to protect his food from the raph but theres never outright aggression and they have been doing great for about 4 months and it's getting close to up the tank size. Of course the Raph will be moved to a community tank eventually as the wolf will outgrow it and will have its adult teeth
snails can be a pain as they can breed like wild fire so if you keep snails i would recommend an assassin snail which can keep them in check.
I have 30gal tank with community fishes: Cardinal Tettra, Swordstail, Cherry Barb, and rummey nose tetra. My cleaning crews: Corydoras, Amano Shrimps, Nitrite Snails, Filter shrimps (Singapore Shrimps). After watching this video, I might bring in couple of Kuhli loaches or get one small bristle nose pleco.
I have limpets in my tank. They hitchhiked from some live plants but man do they do an amazing job of cleaning algae.
Appreciate what you do and you knowledge. THANKS
Typically in a 20 gal or less I combo oto cats and cory cats. The Cory's get the bottom and substrate and the otos take care of glass and plant leaves which keeps your plants happy and looking nice
I’ve got pond snails and 5 amano shrimp in my 10 gal for cleaners. And then pond snails in my 29 gal, with two honey gourami that pick food off the decor and off the sponge filters as well as eating the tiny snails.
I like my cory catfish that clean up leftover food and amano shrimp that eat black algae off my slower growing anubias. Even the honey gourami picks at food crumbs that get stuck in the filter intake sponge. :)
I have 3 honey gourami. They eat the leftover food in the tank . At feeding time the are always at the bottom waiting for the extra food my zebra danios don’t eat
Yeah! I never considered honey gourami as "cleanup crew" material, but they're really good at scavenging. 👍
I have a 55 gallon tank with a major algae problem. I thank you for your suggestions
Crazy set up, 8 adult guppies with a Male betta, clawed toed frog, and a ghost shrimp. The frog is small and will be removed when he starts eating the larger fish, but no issues otherwise. Planted tank with crystal clear water. Gravel substrate
We had a “stick catfish” that was the best algae eater I’ve ever seen!
Just wanted to mention amano shrimp because they are amazing little cleaners.
I keep 2 dwarf guarmis, 2 black skirts, and 2 white skirts, with 3 little neon tetras in a 10 gallon along with a very juvenile rubber lip pleco. One of my black skirt tetras is at least 7 years old already.
I have a 40 gallon (i dont own a 10 gallon) planted. I have amano shrimp. Blue velvet dream shrimp. Sparkling gouramis. And some norman lampeyes. The killis dont help clean. But everything else does. I might add in a couple ottos or a small pleco to help with the stuff on my glass and plants. Think it will work.
Great video, lets not forget about Dwarf suckers (Otocinclus) they are great community fish and due to their size, they can get into many places to eat algae.
Hi Cory.. Been using goldfish with my discus . They are great for keeping the tank clean. Keep up the good work ! Thanks.
Interesting, not a common combination you see
@@AquariumCoop I wouldn't combine these. Goldfish require cold water to be at their best while Discus require really warm water. Also, goldfish eat so much that they are depriving the Discus. Also, Goldfish tend to get sick at higher temperatures which could be fatal for them then your Discus as they get infected. If it works for you, go for it, but be aware of the risks.
10 gallon comunity idea: 10 chilli rasboras, sunset honey graumi, otos or any shrimp. Looks best when heavily planted.
I love your channel and all of the info you have to share man. Thank you so much.
Nice post,I have cories ,tons of mystery snails roaming around, a very very busy hill stream loach who took a twenty an made all the algae disapear, an many more love them all. Keep on trucking, it was nice for me an my wife to meet you at aquashella. We hung up the RUclips poster that you an everyone else that we follow above our prize guppy tank.🐢😀
Freshwater barracuda
In my 10 gal, i have 4 three line corys. 2 Ghost shrimp, and a nerite snail. They do well with my betta
Love my Cory Paleatus clean up crew. Anytime they detect food, all 6 are out in a school vacuuming. I just wish they were more active during the day. They seem to only come out when the lights are off.
Corys are one of my favorite fish! I have a panda, 2 albinos and a blue one in my 29 gal, 2 albino in my 10 g
I use goldfish in my horse’s and goat’s water troughs (50-500 gallons) and it keeps the water nice and clean and keeps the mosquito populations down.
Your videos are so helpful and I love your shop! I have been searching your page for glass catfish but I don't see anything. Hopefully they'll make the list one of these days!
I personally am a killifish JUNKY I have striped killis, least killis, bluefins and the flagfish I my tank. There is such a variety you can get, the flag fish are more Molly shaped and then the striped which are very long bodied. My personal favorite is the least killifish, they only get an inch and remind me of pufferfish in regards to the personality. I recommend killifish to every fish keeper for any size tank
My main cleaners are farlowela as they leave the peaceful fish alone and I've found plecos can suck on slow moving fish, firemouths for cleaning fine sand, Leporinus clean plants and decor well, hoplo cats for spare food, camaroon shrimps to keep the water clean, and weather loaches
I setup my 37 gal tank with plants including Anubias. Not long after I started accumulating black/brown algae. I added 3 Siamese Algae eaters with little to no impact observer. My knee jerk reaction was 6 Black Racer Nerite snails. Wow within 4 days the plants and most of the aquarium was clean. 6 snails was an overkill and I will be sending 3 of them over to my sons aquarium to bring his 30 gal tank under control. These snails just work overtime in cleaning up algae problems.
You left out shrimp they're a great cleaner that go hand and hand with snails. In a lot of your smaller micro tanks, betta tanks, and peaceful bigger tanks. They will become food for any fish that they can fit inside there mouths. I've got them in my 5 gal betta tank my larger African chilid tank no bueno I use them as treats for them