# Best cichlid scavengers?



## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Hi everyone. I've been keeping cichlids for years now, and I almost always try to keep "scavenger" fish in with the cichlids (unless I want to breed them & raise the fry) to help with keeping the tank clean. Just wondering what you guys/gals keep to help with cleanup. Here's what I keep, ranked best to worst:

1) Synodontus Catfish---The larger ones do a great job and can handle all but the worst tempered cichlids. They work well with Africans and Central/South Americans. Though a little expensive, I've had them live well over 20 years old.

2) Botia Loaches---These include Clown Loaches, though I usually keep Botia Modesta (Red Finned Loach) instead. They are almost as good as Synodontus in compatibility and do a great job getting into tight places.

3) Plecos---They can be messy, but certain species help with algae control (which I actually encourage). My personal favorites are Bristlenose, "Rhino" Plecos, Common Plecos, and for dwarf cichlids: "Clown Plecos."

4) Doradid Catfish---These secretive well armoured catfish do a fair job living on scraps, and can handle most any cichlid that's not more than twice their size. I put a juvenile one in an African tank once, then didn't see it again for several years until I moved the aquarium. I was stunned to see a quite large, rather fat catfish. Oddly I'd taken all of the rocks out before during tank cleanings, and never saw him. The big drawback to these obviously, is that you may rarely see them.

***I only feed my scavengers directly about 2-3 times per week to encourage them not to be lazy. Since they are all somewhat nocturnal, I determine whether I need to adjust their feeding by how often I see them out searching for food. If I didn't just feed them or the cichlids shortly before, I really shouldn't see them out a lot when the tank lights are all on.

So, what do you keep with your cichlids?


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

I had, until recently, a pictus who did a good job of getting pellet debris. To the point of swimming right under the firemouth - actually banging into him to get the particles as they left the gills!

I'm actually looking for suggestions for a smaller, calmer fish to perform this same duty and will watch this thread with anticipation!


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## alanvickiuk (Jun 14, 2009)

i also am looking for something to clean my 50g aquarium with my cichlids any ideas on something not too big fully grown


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## alaskan_aquaristJW (Oct 14, 2007)

In my 140 gallon I keep a 9" synspilum, a salvini, a small female convict, and multiple small community fish...for my cleaners and for added entertainment, I have 2 Yo-Yo Loaches, 2 Skunk Botias, A Green Tiger Botia, and a Clown Pleco. They do such a great job, that there is never any sign of debris on the bottom. And best of all there is no aggression. The skunk botias are always chasing each other everywhere and are very entertaining.


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## alanvickiuk (Jun 14, 2009)

by any chance would a school of tiger barbs go in with my jewel 2 cons 2 firemouths 2 spilotum cichlids a golden nugget plec and 2 small cats unknown name silver and black please help as i would like some tigers in with them


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

Synos, clown loaches and plecos is what I have in my tanks.


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

alanvickiuk said:


> by any chance would a school of tiger barbs go in with my jewel 2 cons 2 firemouths 2 spilotum cichlids a golden nugget plec and 2 small cats unknown name silver and black please help as i would like some tigers in with them


no offense, but this is off topic and should go in a different thread. Also, as a general rule it's difficult to say without your tank size and how many barbs you want to add, etc.


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## Morcs (Jun 1, 2009)

I have a red tailed shark over any catfishes.

Benefits - 
Lovely looking fish, jet black, nice shape, bright tail.
Aggressive, not toward cichlids, but tough and even if chased around, doesnt really hide in a corner.
Not nocturnal, so youll actually see him
Always patrolling.
Doesnt grow too big, but big enough and chunky enough to hold its own - around 5''


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I've found that the "freshwater sharks" are hit or miss.

Most species do a fair job scavenging, and they are interesting....but because they aren't nocturnal, they are at more risk for injury (you can't keep them in schools like other dither/target fish). If I were going to get a shark for a smaller cichlid tank, I would go for the "rainbow shark." It has all red fins, and an even more shark like body. You can get an albino variety too.

As far as for scavenging capability, in my experience, both the "Black Shark" and "Flying Fox" shark do the best job. Unfortanately, the Flying Fox isn't as readily available or durable as the other species. And the Black Shark has the potential of reaching about a foot and a half; and it needs some swimming room.


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## salukicichlids (Apr 16, 2009)

It seems most fish stores I visit refer to the red tailed shark and rainbow shark as the same thing. Black body Red fins. They are pretty fish that get darker over time, but mine is almost never around when the lights are on.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

red tail sharks should only have a red tail, all other fins are black, rainbow sharks should have all red fins.

i would go with a pictus to be honest, i have had them with flowerhorns in the past no problem, i have a 4-line pictus right now with my flowerhorn, they get 9" though, so likely a little big, so the pictus at 6" would be my choice.


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## alaskan_aquaristJW (Oct 14, 2007)

ahh flying fox, i forgot to mention him, he does a good job himself...i picked up another tiger botia today as well as 3 serpae tetras and an awesome lookin green severum.


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## Chrispy (Apr 8, 2006)

I love small schools of coryandus (sp?). They are super entertaining and do a great job. Its so funny to watch them swimming along the bottom and get a whiff of something and then shove their whole head into the sand with their tails up high.

They work well with my sevs, and there are a few larger ones that are slightly armored if you have more aggressive cichlids and they are super fast.


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