Bottom feeder for aggressive tank

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

I have a 90g with CA cichlids and a Bichir. I like to feed very heavy in my tanks and let Ramshorn and MTS clean up afterwards, but my fish will suffer no snail to live in this tank. What would a good bottom feeder be for this set up? Not trying to replace tank maintenance or anything, just someone who will help clean up a little bit and will stand up to the aggression. I was thinking a striped Raphael or a red tail shark but don’t know if either are good bottom feeders.

[Scapexghost]

Red tail sharks are good algae eaters, I would also look into picking up some sort of earth eater.

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

On 10/10/2021 at 9:38 PM, Scapexghost said:

Red tail sharks are good algae eaters, I would also look into picking up some sort of earth eater.

I have a pleco in there for algae, this is mostly for eating food that gets to the bottom, and I’ve heard that eartheaters wouldn’t fair well with my cichlids 

[gardenman]

A bichir will get big enough (up to 30") to eat pretty much anything other than a big pleco or a larger catfish. The problem is a 90 gallon tank with a big bichir and some larger Central American cichlids is going to be pretty much at capacity before you add a big enough catfish to survive with the rest. A larger pleco is probably your best option. Plecos come in various forms with some more carnivorous than others. Since your other fish are meat eaters you might want to look into the larger carnivorous plecos as a cleanup option.

[Colu]

Any fish you get for the clean up would still need supplemental feeding  even with Messi Cichlids in the tank i think one of the larger pleco species would hold its own against CA cichlids

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

It’s a Senegal Bichir (max size 20”) but still yes it would need to be a bigger fish. I don’t plan on keeping all of those fish together full grown, as they get to big for the tank I’ll rehome them. 

On 10/11/2021 at 9:24 AM, Colu said:

Any fish you get for the clean up would still need supplemental feeding  even with Messi Cichlids in the tank i think one of the larger pleco species would hold its own against CA cichlids

Yes, right now I supplement my bristlenose with algae wafers and rapashy, he will eat a little bit of the food left behind but not much.

[Dwayne Brown]

I think you should go for one of the "Armored catfish" species. They are bottom feeders and will probably do fine with any aggressive fish out there. just make sure to get ones that are over 4 inches. 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

@Zenzo just put out a vid on fish that can stand up to African cichlids that might be of use based on their aggression.  One that I recall was various Synodontis species (though, I'll warn you he did capitalize the species epithet at one point 😛).  I think plecos were on the list too.  Not sure how African cichlids compare with the aggression of a bichir, but though it might be of use.

[Zenzo]

Synodontis eupterus is what I had mentioned. Did I get the caps correct @OnlyGenusCaps😄

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 10/12/2021 at 8:39 PM, Zenzo said:

Did I get the caps correct

💀💀💀 I'm dying!  That was so funny, my wife came in from the other room wanting to know what I was "watching" to make me laugh so hard.  Well played, sir!

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:17 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

@Zenzo just put out a vid on fish that can stand up to African cichlids that might be of use based on their aggression.  One that I recall was various Synodontis species (though, I'll warn you he did capitalize the species epithet at one point 😛).  I think plecos were on the list too.  Not sure how African cichlids compare with the aggression of a bichir, but though it might be of use.

The Bichir isn’t very aggressive at all, just hungry all the time. The CA cichlids on the other hand can be a little feisty 

[H.K.Luterman]

Synodontis eupterus (Featherfin catfish) are commonly kept in aggressive tanks, such as african cichlids, as they can very much hold their own. Depending on how aggressive your tank is, their beautiful feathery dorsal fin might get cropped short. Featherfins are territorial and need a cave to call their own. They seem to max out at 8 to 10 inches in home aquaria, with outliers reaching a foot.

Here's mine. She's my favorite fish.