# Farlowella and cichlids



## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

I just got a Farlowella in the last month and he/she is great at getting rid of algae. I have had him in with my kribs when they don't have babies with no problems. I also had success with him in with my Obliqs, yellow labs, orange zebras.

I'm wondering if he/she/whatever will be okay in my larger tank with combined ramphs and socolofi ? There is rockwork, but more like blockwork that serves to house the larger fish and not so much something he can blend in with. It can be a pretty rough tank (mostly due to the socolofi!). I worry also that the ramphs could decide to just snatch him up and eat him if he looks like food.

He's the best tank cleaner I've ever had so I don't want to lose him. My tanks look like new when he's done and he gets everything, tank corners, heaters, rocks, even gravel it seems.

Also, would he be safe in a nursery tank with that may contain mosquito size fry? He has an algae eater type mouth and seems to be constantly adhered to something and very mellow. I can pick him up and move him from tank to tank without a net.


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## Boomr99 (Dec 19, 2007)

I looked it up and that's a real interesting catfish! Never heard of it before.
Hopefully someone on here can help you out but you may want to try a catfish / pleco. forum as well. There are a few of them out there.

Best of luck.


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

Yeah, he looks and acts like a stick and you can just pick him up and move him. He is the most docile fish I've ever had. And he cleans the silicone seals, the rocks, everything. My tanks are crystal clear when he's in them. At first I kept thinking he was dead, but I guess it's a camoflage thing. I want to get another, he is small and was only four dollars and is small at about two-three inches and thinner than a pencil with a long thin pipefish type snout. I can't get my tanks and heaters and everything that clean. I have brown algae and he eats that too. What a weird fish!


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I just looked it up too. It is an interesting fish. Great find :thumb: It says they like to have driftwood and plant roots to "rasp?" on...this aids in their digestion of food. I guess from what I was reading that they can keep a tank so clean they eventually will starve to death if you don't feed them. Says they like zuchinni and algea wafers. They get 7'' long.
Sorry I can't help with your questions. I don't know anything about ramphs. What I read didn't say anything about them eating fry.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

I've had these cats before... very nice fish. I'm amazed that the mbuna leave it alone


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

Thanks all. I think I will try to pick up a couple more. I feed spirolina flake and have wood in my 3 krib tanks so I guess I can just cycle them through the krib tanks to get wood. Maybe some pleco tabs might have some cellulose in them to aid digestion. Do you know? I don't really want to put wood in with my mbuna, vics and tanganyikans. I decided to try him in the Ramph tank and so far they are leaving him alone, but he is cleaning under the rocks. He is really cool, cheap and doesn't seem like he has the kind of mouth to eat fry, but then I've had algae eaters eat fry and really pester my more timid cichlids and the same with some catfishes. I can attest that he can clean both brown and green algae from every corner of a ten gallon near a window in 24 hours, heater, gravel and all. Now if I can find a good food to feed him that will give him the wood fiber. I'm thinking he may be the solution to my nursery tank, which I cant really clean gravel in because of the fry. If I can trust him, it could be the ideal situation. Maybe I'll try with just a few tiny babies in there first. Any suggestions on food would be great or on the wood situation.


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## css virginia (Jan 29, 2007)

I bought one today-it is appx. 4 inches long. I have it in my 29 gallon with juvie cichlids which are around 2-3 inches. I will have to keep an "eye" on it. Interesting creature-will see how well it cleans the algae.


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## gacichlids (Sep 19, 2007)

Cool, let me know how it does. Do you know if pleco tabs contain some wood fiber so I don't have to worry about getting my farlowella to some wood?


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