Cleaner for 125 gallon

[Kelli]

I have a 125 gallon tank that I am in the process of setting up. I will have frontosas and other various tangs in the tank and I would like to have something in there to help me keep the tank clean. Preferably not your average common pleco. Any ideas on good choices? Catfish? Or pleco? Or both? Will plecos do well with the hard water that fronts need?

[jeb102385]

Plecos will do fine... I would suggest a synodontis of some sort and some plecos I have always liked the petrocolas myself. But anyone will do really. As far as plecos go, you can get any better than a bristle nose. They aren't pretty or rare, but they will clean the glass better than any pleco out there.

[Totenkampf]

if you are looking for something fo algae, bristlenose catfish (ancistrus sp.) are hard to beat as jacob notes above. i also like synodontis and raphael cats for picking up leftover food. they can hold their own against many cichlids.

[SunnyHouTX]

Kelli, I have a Synodontis Petricola and have had them on and off over time, and they will be well suited for your Fronts. Not a fan of the Bristly Nose Pleco personally because they are just buttugly to me.

There are other options for CUC (clean up crew):

*Loaches - clown, marble (also called angelicus), yo-yo, zebra, etc. (I personally have clowns, yo-yos and marbles)
*Small (no more than 5" - 6" fully grown) fancy plecos - columbian zebras, butterfly, mega clowns, etc. (check on planetcatfish.com for species info)
*Dwarf giraffe catfish

If you have fin nippers, it's best to go with catfish (syno. petricola, dwarf giraffes) and leave the plecos for a tank where their fins won't be nipped.

[Kelli]

Thank you all for your comments. Agreed that the BN plecos are ugly! I want my tank to be a show tank so I'm not looking for cheap and ugly. I didn't realize that loaches were clean up fish! I've always liked them. I will have to research them some more.

I'm not sure if the fish I plan to get are fin nippers. I am planning on fronts, blue dolphins, comps, Calvus, julies, etc and a clean up crew. I wanted a giraffe cat and I saw that they got huge! How big do the dwarf giraffe cats get?

Do you know of anyone that breeds any of these species privately? Other than the fronts. I've got that covered.

[Totenkampf]

lol, i think ancistrus are cool looking myself because of their markings...i dont like the albinos at all though. for GSA on the glass they cant be beat though. nerite snails do a good job too if you dont mind the fact that they lay eggs on the glass and decor. otocinclus catfish would just be scared out of their little minds in your tank.

[SunnyHouTX]

... in our tank.

Awwwww.... Cute

[mnemenoi]

Thank you all for your comments. Agreed that the BN plecos are ugly! I want my tank to be a show tank so I'm not looking for cheap and ugly. I didn't realize that loaches were clean up fish! I've always liked them. I will have to research them some more.

I'm not sure if the fish I plan to get are fin nippers. I am planning on fronts, blue dolphins, comps, Calvus, julies, etc and a clean up crew. I wanted a giraffe cat and I saw that they got huge! How big do the dwarf giraffe cats get?

Do you know of anyone that breeds any of these species privately? Other than the fronts. I've got that covered.

Ultimate fish usually has Petricolas and multipunctus and if I remember correctly actually had dwarf giraffe cats last time I was there. They are all quite appropriate as they all come from the exact lake your fronts and others do. Lake Tanganyika has quite a collection of various synodontis species and some of the rarer ones show up occasionally. Check out Daves rare fish online and he stocks many show quality african catfish and shipping is reasonable and fast (he is in San Antonio). I have seen many use Ancistrus for algae control, but tangs don't usually need high light and working with your light cycle should alleviate that. I would even recommend some snails like nerites or mystery snails (not really from the lake, but there are tons of snails in Tanganyika as evidenced by the shelldwelling cichlids)

[SunnyHouTX]

Thank you all for your comments. Agreed that the BN plecos are ugly! I want my tank to be a show tank so I'm not looking for cheap and ugly. I didn't realize that loaches were clean up fish! I've always liked them. I will have to research them some more.

I'm not sure if the fish I plan to get are fin nippers. I am planning on fronts, blue dolphins, comps, Calvus, julies, etc and a clean up crew. I wanted a giraffe cat and I saw that they got huge! How big do the dwarf giraffe cats get?

Do you know of anyone that breeds any of these species privately? Other than the fronts. I've got that covered.

I don't think any if what you listed can be considered fin nippers so you could have anything you want for CUC. I know there's a couple of guys who breed Petricolas on here and on the Dallas Fish Box. And there was a guy in Dallas breeding done nice fancy plecos and gee listed them here a couple of months ago. You could look around for that and contact him directly. I don't think a dwarf giraffe cat would get any bigger than 6" or so.

[Kelli]

Do you think the dwarf giraffe cat would do as good of a job as the regular size ones? I don't want to get something ugly unless it does the kind of job you can't beat.

Are the snail eggs nasty looking? Do they produce a lot of baby snails in your tank? I have never read anything on snails. Sounds interesting though!

I will definitely check out Dave's rare fish! Do you have any idea how much the shipping costs? I have a friend that owns a fish store in Dallas and shipping costs $45 to overnight. Has anyone else had any experiences with this site?

I completely agree on the albinos being über ugly! I will never get anything albino for sure!

I know that I want an eye catcher catfish. I like the pictus cats. Does anyone have experiences with those?

Thanks for all your help guys!

[Kelli]

Can you put more than one kind of catfish together?

[SunnyHouTX]

I believe you could, depending on the variants

[mnemenoi]

I'd recommend sticking with one species of synodontis species (either petricolas or multipunctus or another 'show' species) as there is always a chance of hybridization and with a tank that size there is a good chance with a small colony they might breed. I'd recommend a colony of 4-6 of the petricolas (smaller) or 3-4 of the multipunctus (bit larger). A nice show specimen of Synodontis Granulosa would be awesome and I know there is one up at Ultimate Fish, but I think its in a display tank. I bet Dave could get one in. I would reduce the numbers if you were to mix in a dwarf giraffe cat as well, though I see no issue with that.

I know Giraffe's can be messy eaters and anything on this list should be regarded as fish to be fed just as anything else. Most of the stuff on this thread are sizable catfish and will certainly generate some waste, though they do a great job of uncovering any tidbit of food that is lodged in out of the way spots. We have 2 petricolas in a 29 gallon tang tank and to be honest, we seem one once every month or so. They are quite adept at hiding and only come out at feeding if even then.

Depending on the species of snail you choose, some do or don't lay eggs. Mystery snails lay them at the surface, but with a lid they will just never lay them. MTS & Tylomelania do well and are livebearing snails and both have done wonderfully in our tang tank. The MTS can run wild in poulation so I'd recommend the Tylomelania as they are worth money and breed far slower. Assassins are decent and I rarely see eggs, but they eat no algae. Nerites are another choice, but I have only limited experiance with them and I'm sure others know far more. They are brackish and can't breed in FW, but as to laying eggs I'm not certain...

Pictus (and all the Pimelods) are South American and with your tank being Tanganyikan I would stick with it being a biotope, but I imagine they would do alright. Many pimelods get very large, so be certain and research beforehand. Pictus are not bad, but RTC can get 5 feet and weigh a ton...

[jeb102385]

Nerite snails don't reproduce in freshwater, and Any syno will do as good of a job as a garaffe cat will

[CRUSHER]

a Feather fin catfish would do good for cleaning up left overs... mine does it so much i had to put him on a diet... he looked like an eight ball with fins and a tail there for a while lol and the big fish do not mess with him after he shows them he has weapons!