Looking for scavenger fish recommendations for angelfish tank

[FishObsessed]

I started over on my 38 gallon. I have a great LFS that let me re-home my fish and sold me 3 juvenile angelfish. That's all I have in there right now. It's my first time keeping angels and I'm noticing that they let a lot of food land in the gravel that they don't go back and eat.  Any recommendations as to what I can add that will eat the food from the gravel? I just had tiger barbs and even though they're not listed as "bottom feeders", they did a good job scavenging the gravel. So I was thinking what fish are out there like that? I know of the obvious bristlenose pleco, corys, etc. But I was looking for fish that maybe aren't known as "bottom feeders" but will consistently pick through the gravel.  Not necessarily looking for schooling fish either though I can do that if need be.

A few key points: I don't have live plants, my tank has just 3 plastic plants so any fish that needs a ton of cover or live plants to munch on isn't what I'm going for.  I have soft, acidic water and so I'd need fish that can do ok in that. Lastly, the tank is 36 long, 12 wide, and 20 tall. 

Thank you so much for any suggestions! 

Edited September 28, 2020 by FishObsessed
Added info

[Paul]

Smaller Botia/loaches or snails should do the job for you if you don’t want to do Cory’s.  

[RovingGinger]

Guppies definitely pick through gravel and anything else in your tank for leftovers. Your angels would prevent much population growth. If you are in soft water they may not do as well.  

Edited September 28, 2020 by RovingGinger

[FishObsessed]

@RovingGinger i love the look of male guppies.  I'm on the opposite end of the water spectrum tho....the most I'd want to do is add crushed coral to my hob. Not sure if that would be enough hardness for them.

 

[FishObsessed]

@RovingGinger I keep thinking about guppies....I think I might try that before going with corys. Do you think just adding Wonder Shell is enough for virtually zero hardness? Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't had guppies since I was a kid but I love how they look.

[funkelt]

No, wonder shells dont affect pH to that level

[gcalberto]

I wouldn't do guppies. As the angels grow they might pick on the guppies and kill them. They will definitely eat the fry. 

You could do a single geophagus. Your tank might be bigh enough for one of the smaller species. They spend all day sifting through the substrate and really help with that, as long as you have a fine substrate 

[ange]

Corys are great tankmates for angels. I've also kept Bolivian rams with them, and have just started that combo again in my new tank. Mollies are also a decent pick, some breeders use them as a dither fish and they tend to peck at everything in the tank.

[Epona01]

What about Otocinclus? Will the angels mess with them?

[ange]

In most cases I think they'd be fine with angels but otos don't really scavenge that much. They mainly eat diatom algae in my experience and I've struggled with keeping their bellies full. I've only had success feeding them long-term by painting Repashy onto a slate or other piece of decor. Depending on the setup, algae wafers could also work but I had other fish in the same tank that consumed the algae wafers before the otos even had a chance.