Ideas for Bottom Feeders Tank

[Bev C]

Hi I  need some advice please I am doing research and still a little confused I  have a  freshwater 55 gallon planted tank .. with canister filter and with a large and medium sponge filter and I have small community tank with small variety of mix  tetra and cory and one male bristolnoce pelco    with mystery and netrite snails ..

i have had the same kind of fish for years since I started  ,, my tank fish are very old and I only have 10 -11 fish total left ..  i am not trying to. not buy more fish till i know for sure  what to do and want to keep the fish i have till the end ,But I am wanting to change a bit of the new fish i get     I really love my cories  and my bristolnose pelco and my snails .. want to keep them 

I was thinking of a friendly bottom dwellers tank kinda think catfish are very neat looking ..  but want something that gets along with bristolnose pelco and cories  and my snails I was told it is best to only have one pelco in tank   wished i could have another bristolnose   mine is my favorite he is only fish named 

what catfish is small  for a 55 gallon that is friendly  and what other bottom dwellers  would work  & how many for 55 gallon 

i like the look of the Otocinclus catfish & the Dwarf Peticola Snodontis Catfish  

For the mid level fish not sure if i want any yet if i get any what will work with bottom feeders  I want one school and kind  small and friendly with snails  very colorful. I like the shape and color of tiger barb but heard they are not friendly at times 

Any advice is appreciated thank you 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Bev C

[Fish Folk]

Hi @Bev C !! In both of my 55 gallon aquariums, I have more than one Bristlenose Pleco. I also have multiples in my 40-gallon, and in my 33-gallon long. As long as you’ve got loads of hiding places and foraging space for them, they’ll enjoy life. It is helpful to get a pair — male + female. Males can tend to be a bit territorial. But I’ve not personally seen them fight to the death.

If you really love Corydoras, you might enjoy some of the medium-large species. They enjoy flow, and can be coaxed up through the water column if your conditions are just right. Emerald Corys can get 2-3x larger than Bronze Corys (Aeneus). They’re a funny fish to watch!

Edited March 30, 2022 by Fish Folk

[lefty o]

i dont think more than 1 bristlenose is an issue. in my 120, i cant even count all of em. really no aggression, other than sometimes they push each other out of the way for food. my only caution with multiple bristlenose is if you get a male, and female and dont want fry. in that case you want to make sure they dont have any place that resembles a cave they can breed in.

 pandagarra are fun bottom type fish too.

Edited March 30, 2022 by lefty o

[Bev C]

thank you @Fish Folk and @lefty ofor the info  i have a male bristolnose and he is very territorial over his food  with the cories and snails  specially with fresh vegetables have to double them up  one for him and one for the others when i got him i was advice to only have one in tank i was told they could be aggressive if there was 2 males  and if there is a female and male together they mate easy .. i try to control the population  in my tank .. i only have room for one main tank and a small quarantine tank in my house .. but if i had more room i would definitely have more tanks and try to breed cories and maybe bristolnose 

@Fish FolkAbout the cories  i have six cories … and they are 3  julia and 3 panda  love them ,, i have been looking at the larger size ones 

i was thinking of a couple catfish  i was told for a 55 gallon 1 of the dwarf  peticola snodontis catfish was best for that size tank 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Bev C

[Ken Burke]

On 3/30/2022 at 12:38 PM, Bev C said:

thank you @Fish Folk and @lefty ofor the info  i have a male bristolnose and he is very territorial over his food  with the cories and snails  specially with fresh vegetables have to double them up  one for him and one for the others when i got him i was advice to only have one in tank i was told they could be aggressive if there was 2 males  and if there is a female and male together they mate easy .. i try to control the population  in my tank .. i only have room for one main tank and a small quarantine tine  in my house .. but if i had more room i would definitely have more tanks and try to breed cories and maybe bristolnose 

@Fish FolkAbout the cories  i have six cories … and they are 3  julia and 3 panda  love them ,, i have been looking at the larger size ones 

i was thinking of a couple catfish  i was told for a 55 gallon 1 of the dwarf  peticola snodontis catfish was best for that size tank 

I don’t think they are much bigger but have u thought about red sailfin Corys?  When they are in full color, absolutely stunning! They are also called Corydoras aeneus “venezuela“. 

U can also try bumblebee catfish.  I’ve not kept them, but at 3” they are a manageable size, and have neat coloring 

[Guppysnail]

If it were me I would add to the Julli and panda Cory population. I have 11 panda in a 20L were in a 29. In larger groups panda go crazy using every inch and level of both those tanks.  This takes care of mid level fish as well.  
For some other ideas I also keep Pygmy cory and celestial pearl danio with them. 
here is them in action in a larger group in a 20L. 
 

 

 

[H.K.Luterman]

Typically you want to keep dwarf petricola cats in little groups of 3 or more, since they like company. Keeping a single one might cause it to hide all the time. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/30/2022 at 6:57 AM, Bev C said:

I was thinking of a friendly bottom dwellers tank kinda think catfish are very neat looking ..  but want something that gets along with bristolnose pelco and cories  and my snails I was told it is best to only have one pelco in tank   wished i could have another bristolnose   mine is my favorite he is only fish named 

You can add a clown type pleco if you wish.  It's a pretty beautiful fish and is something that would not eat the same types of food as your bristlenose. My clowns like their caves, they have different hours, they definitely want some wood in the tank and that will absolutely lead to some mulm being added to the tank.

I don't know if that's "active enough" for what you're trying to do.  Plecos, and especially one per tank, are generally stated because of the amount of waste they produce compared to other species. Yours will definitely help with algae on the glass, but other varieties would add to that waste and I don't know if you want to have that added mess.

another one to check out might be a panda garra

On 3/30/2022 at 10:38 AM, Bev C said:

About the cories  i have six cories … and they are 3  julia and 3 panda  love them ,, i have been looking at the larger size ones 

I started with 3. I have about 20+.  Don't worry, you'll get some more just having them in the tank and being happy.

 

 

On 3/30/2022 at 6:57 AM, Bev C said:

i like the look of the Otocinclus catfish & the Dwarf Peticola Snodontis Catfish  

For the mid level fish not sure if i want any yet if i get any what will work with bottom feeders  I want one school and kind  small and friendly with snails  very colorful. I like the shape and color of tiger barb but heard they are not friendly at times 

I don't think the oto will thrive. They are absolutely a beautiful fish, but with the snails and pleco it's likely to be out competed. 

Tigerbarbs are pretty fun and amazing and a 55G is a great tank size to have.  Here is a video to check out to see them in all their glory.
 

That being said they will kind of "bully" other fish depending there is in their swimming space. they will generally occupy the mid or top of the tank depending on the scape and layout of the tank.  What kind of tetras do you have? What is it your specifically trying to achieve by adding more fish to the tank?

On 3/31/2022 at 7:11 AM, Guppysnail said:

For some other ideas I also keep Pygmy cory and celestial pearl danio with them. 

This is kind of what I was thinking too. Great choice with the pygmy cory.  If it's a generally peaceful tank, something like white clouds or fish with that type of a personality would do really well and add some life to the tank.

[Bev C]

@H.K.Luterman thank you  for the info i think they are beautiful cats ,, but someone on my state FB aquarium page said they will eat snails is that true  ? i want my snails safe,, 

@nabokovfan87 thank you i think i have seen that video before matter fact i think  Cory ‘s video and another youtube video  made like the tiger barbs that I want them

 Thank you for the barbs and bulling info I am really on the fence about getting the barbs because I heard they bully cories  ,, I will not get the barbs till all my tetra are gone ,, only have a hand full of tetra left and most are very old 

but if i get a little bigger quarantine tank or bigger house  for more tanks so i can get tiger barbs tank    like Cory’s    😆🤪 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Bev C

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/31/2022 at 2:29 PM, Bev C said:

But I am really on the fence about getting the barbs for one reason i heard they bully cories  i do not want any of my snails or cories get bullied. ,,, but if i get a little bigger quarantine tank or bigger house  for more tanks i am for sure getting a tank just so i can get tiger barbs  But  If i hear something different that they do get along with Cories and snails I am getting them

When I had mentioned earlier I had 3 cories and ended up with 20+ that tank was a 55G with about 20+ green tiger barbs and panda Corys. The Corys are bottom dwellers and absolutely don't get bossed or harassed by the tiger barbs. Tiger barbs are generally calm except when food is involved. They swim around, very active, and are at a different level of the tank. I wouldn't he concerned in any way stocking Corys with Tigers.

The only concern with the tiger barbs is going to be the tetras. Either the TB could eat small/thin tetra or the tetra has a similar body shape as the TB and that might cause some feistyness. Having salt on hand and having some bacterial meds would be helpful if that does happen.

[Bev C]

@Ken Burke thank you those Venezuela cories are beautiful they would look beautiful on my black sand  love the orange on them  .. i will check if my Local fish shop has them or can get them 

@Guppysnail  thank you  i do have 3 juli and 3 panda. cories i love  the panda they are pretty i will be adding more cories  i want bigger schools of each my fish shop usually carrie’s the juli and panda on a regular bases

Edited March 31, 2022 by Bev C

[H.K.Luterman]

On 3/31/2022 at 4:29 PM, Bev C said:

@H.K.Luterman thank you  for the info i think they are beautiful cats ,, but someone on my state FB aquarium page said they will eat snails is that true  ? i want my snails safe,, 

I haven't actually kept any myself, I just know about them from reading; I was planning on getting some at one point but then decided not to. I have never heard of them eating snails, but being catfish I suspect they're opportunistic enough to try. I see my featherfin (much larger catfish than dwarf petricolas) pick up and play with the snails in her tank sometimes. But then again, she's a completely different species. 

[Bev C]

On 3/31/2022 at 5:34 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

When I had mentioned earlier I had 3 cories and ended up with 20+ that tank was a 55G with about 20+ green tiger barbs and panda Corys. The Corys are bottom dwellers and absolutely don't get bossed or harassed by the tiger barbs. Tiger barbs are generally calm except when food is involved. They swim around, very active, and are at a different level of the tank. I wouldn't he concerned in any way stocking Corys with Tigers.

The only concern with the tiger barbs is going to be the tetras. Either the TB could eat small/thin tetra or the tetra has a similar body shape as the TB and that might cause some feistyness. Having salt on hand and having some bacterial meds would be helpful if that does happen.

@nabokovfan87  sorry i got confused thank you for the info ,glad they get along with cories  , i appreciate it   I really like the look of them allot  ,,

 i will wait till my tetras are gone  before adding the tiger  barbs all my fish are very old except for my snails only have 4 or 5 tetra left  my black skirts is 5-6 years old now 

[nabokovfan87]

Sounds like a perfect plan. Best of luck with it!

[Ken Burke]

On 3/31/2022 at 4:35 PM, Bev C said:

@Ken Burke thank you those Venezuela cories are beautiful they would look beautiful on my black sand  love the orange on them  .. i will check if my Local fish shop has them or can get them 

@Guppysnail  thank you  i do have 3 juli and 3 panda. cories i love  the panda they are pretty i will be adding more cories  i want bigger schools of each my fish shop usually carrie’s the juli and panda on a regular bases

Sailfins can be tricky to get.  I had to order online.