cleaning fish for a tank?

Question

Is there a good fish to clean a fish tank with 7 goldfish, 5 cory cats, 8 white clouds and a betta. This is a 27 gallon (36*12*15) tank and those fish were gifts. I know how messy goldfish are so don't tell me many times that they are I KNOW. The probleme is mostly algae and cyanobacteria.

Answer 1

HI Shayne, I know my advice contradicts much of the above so please check it out with any other fish forums or websites. There are a lot of problems going on in your tank & I'm afraid algae is about the least of your problems just now.

The 3 main problems are compatibility, stocking level & tank size. 7 Goldfish alone would need a 100 gallon tank, also they are not compatible with any of your other fish. You will have territorial issues with them & the Betta, they may eat the White Clouds & the Corys will likely be snacking on everyones slime coats during the night which you will be unaware of until serious damage is done.

I seriously advise you to either get some more tanks or if this is not possible start advertising most of your stock on your local Craig's List or Freecycle group. Your fish will not survive long if you do not thin them out. You can wait a few days until you have several replies to make sure they go to loving homes. Your Betta will be fine in a filtered & lidded 10 gallon tank but you can only reasonably house 2 Goldfish in your 27 gallon. Otherwise check Cory & White Cloud websites for appropriate stocking levels for those types.

Another common misconception is bottom feeders/Catfish/Plecos/Algae eaters etc will do your cleaning work for you-they won't, you still have to clean just as much & adding them only adds to an already hard working filter & eco system.

Answer 2

The problem is that you have an extremely overstocked tank.

The betta and corys should not be in a cold water tank.

Adding any additional fish to your tank is only going to worsen your existing problems. With your current stocking level, your water quality is toxic and you have too many nitrates. If you have an algae problem, it's because your tank is getting too much light from a window, the tank lights are on too long or a combination of both. Your tank certainly has an abundance of nitrates to feed the algae. No cleaner fish in the world is going to fix your problem. Adding fish will only worsen your problem.

You need a 150 gallon filtered tank minimum for your goldfish. Your tropical fish will be fine left in the 27 gallon as long you use a heater to keep the temp at about 78 degrees.

Answer 3

First separate the cold-water fish from the tropicals,then learn to clean the tank. No matter what you put in there to eat your problems,it's still going to crap at some point. Bottom line,(and think about this), if you put it in the tank the only way to get it out is for you to remove it. Filters don't remove any thing from the water column,they only collect it so you can remove it.
Algae and cyanobacteria indicate that you are not doing your part to remove the "stuff".

Answer 4

I suggest a pleco too, but only get one! And do not get a common pleco unless you have plans to rehome him when he gets too big (they can get up to 24 inches). Rubber lip plecos stay fairly small, and Im fairly certain bristlenoses do too.

Just one pleco will be enough to clean that size tank, and if you get more than one, they will fight for food and one will either kill the other, or the weaker one will starve.

Also, you might want a snail, they are efficient cleaners, but they can reproduce quickly and turn in to a problem.

Also, any fish that cleans up a mess will leave their own mess, so there is no substitute for regular cleanings, but it seems that the algae is the problem (many people get plecos thinking they will clean all the poop and the human will never have to clean the tank) you are worried about. A pleco will take care of it:)

Answer 5

Please do not buy a fish to do the job you should be doing. Buy an algae scraper and clean the tank yourself. That tank is WAY overstocked already!! Goldfish should have 20gal PER FISH.

Answer 6

Algae? Definately get a plecostomus. He will clear your algae in a couple of days so I woulf get some algae disks, they dont cloud the water.

Answer 7

Clown Loaches are good and so are some of the catfish species (like the Glass Catfish). You will need more than one for a tank that size, but some will grow according to the space they have available. You still need a good filter system because they don't eat waste from other fish. Good luck and enjoy your beautiful fish. (you do know that goldfish will also grow as big as the space will allow too, don't you?)

Answer 8

asian algae eater the are like rats to algae..about 1 for five gallons

Answer 9

Pleco's will work but personally I think if you want it to get clean but still get style points from it 2 maybe even 3 Golden Algae eaters will work alot better. The other downside to pleco's is that they tend to hide.

Answer 10

Definitely Plecos.