Aggressive Bottom Feeders

[Black-Syth]

Hello, I'm Black-Syth. Consider this my introduction thread.

I have an understanding that forums are a great knowledge database, so to speak, and it is a good idea asking questions on them. So, to my question.

I have a 175 Gallon tank, everything is running fine, and has been for about 2 years. Inside this tank I have a 10" Jack Dempsey, a 9" Red Devil, a 5" Gold Labidochromis (sp?), a 6 1/2" Convict, and a 10" unknown breed of Catfish that I purchased for $1 as I was passing through a Walmart. I recently purchased an 18" P1eco and popped it in. My algae problem was over... for the moment. The next morning, I go to pop in some feeder fish, and I notice something black floating at the top of the aquarium. It was the head of a P1eco. No body, no other remnants, just a bony head. I now have an algea problem, once again. I have a lot of live plants in white sand, so I leave my lamps on for 4 hrs daily. I'd like to know what kind of fish to get that would A. Take care of an Algea problem. B. Be a good sand cleaner. and C. Can hold it's own against fish that ate an 18" P1eco. I can be flexible, and add more than 1 fish if needed. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Megatron]

Well with the fish you have in there right now I would think it was probable the either the red devil or the catfish that did that to the plec I have seen plecs kept with JD's tons of times with no problem. You should try to ID your catfish before adding anything else because there are alot of species that get really big and really aggresive. Plecs usually dont get touched in most tanks ( considering their armour and such) so if you have somthing that can kill an 18" plec and eat it overnight i would get it ID. Worst case scenario do more water changes and just scrub the tank yourself from time to time and that should take care of it.
Water changes will reduce the amount of nitrates in the water therefore limiting the amount of food the algae has.
Another thing to take into consideration is that for large plecs algae is not a good enough diet, they actually seem to prefer meat or at least lettuce as a supplement to the algae they will graze.

 

[XMAN]

It also is probable that the pleco died on it's own, and then was eaten. A fish that size would probably not be attacked by smaller fish.

As far as what you are looking for:

A. Take care of an Algea problem.

B. Be a good sand cleaner. and

C. Can hold it's own against fish that ate an 18" P1eco

You had the right idea. A large Hypostomus spp pleco will do both A and C. No fish will really be a sand or gravel cleaner. Fish don't clean up debris or fish waste. That's what vacuuming and water changes are for.

 

[Black-Syth]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/pictures/gulio3.jpg

My catfish is almost identical to this one. The color, however, is more that of a stereotypical Shovelnose. Gravel cleaner, in the way a Corydoras is a gravel cleaner. Do you think a new P1eco would be a good idea?

 

[StreetCypher]

Another option instead of adding fish are to eliminate the causes of the algae.
Decrease feedings, increase water changes and maybe shorten the length of time your lights are on for. Scrape algae off the glass along with your weekly water changes and you should be able to get an upper hand and eventually algae free tank.

 

[Black-Syth]

Specifically speaking, are there any fish I can get? I'm not negligent at all when it comes to my tank. I do regular water changes, and I've found a bare minimum of light when it comes to my wanted plants prosperity. I obviously scrape the algae if it's that big of a deal. Any tips on how to clean sand with a vacuum. I've had bad luck wiht vacuums and sand. The vacuums suck up my sand.

 

[XMAN]

Gravel cleaner, in the way a Corydoras is a gravel cleaner.

This is a misconception. Corydoras spp. don't clean gravel, except for eating leftover bits of food. Catfish don't clean up fish waste. In fact, they add to it.

I'm not negligent at all when it comes to my tank.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you were negligent. I just meant that for cleaning gravel or substrate, catfish (corys or others) don't cut it. You really can only do it by removing the waste/mulm via vacuuming.

As for vacuuming sand, the only way i can think of is to block some of the flow on the intake to decrease water flow, but that also decreases vacuuming suction.

 

[StreetCypher]

Any tips on how to clean sand with a vacuum. I've had bad luck wiht vacuums and sand. The vacuums suck up my sand.

I use a gravel vac with a narrow suction tube. That way the suctions weak enough to not suck up the sand super fast (gives you enough time to pinch the tube and let the sand fall) and strong enough to lift up particles. When i clean the sand i penetrate at least an inch, sometimes 2-3inches. You can see it cleaning the sand because the water in the tube is cloudy with dirtiness.