Is there truly a waste eater fish?

cichlid2006

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Feb 20, 2008
2,640
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Fife - Scotland
wow i didnt realise this question was still getting asked. i thought that even the horrible fish shops were not giving this bad advice to people now.

to answer the question, no there is no magical poo eating fish. you get fish that help with certain tasks such as bristlenose plecs assist with keeping algae to a minimum, but even with this little work horse in a tank you still need to wipe every now and again. geos turn over sand so it doesnt go anaerobic etc, but you still need to do it yourself every so often to ensure the whole sand bed gets stirred.

getting a fish just to do "chores" in your tank is a bad way to stock, you should get a fish because you like it not because it can get rid of some algae etc. most of them just create more waste than some of your other fish put together anyway, plecs for example.
 

Jeox

" I got monkeys in me! "
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2006
3,050
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Pankakes;2657228; said:
Will the Flagtail Cat be ok in my 20 gallon Convict tank?
Flagtails are not catfish, would most likely be killed in a 20 gal with conicts, and gets over 16''..
So no.
 

Lupin

Viviendo la vida loca!
MFK Member
It's so easy to redefine the term "scavenger" as another thing. Normally, these scavengers choose dead and decaying plant matter such as the Pomacea diffusa however there is no creature in the trade that will eat poo nor do they deserve to clean those up especially as they don't gain any nutrients out of it compared to the foods we provide for them. Snails are often overrated as scavengers when the truth is they should still be treated like we do with fish. Same can apply with other invertebrates and bottom dwelling fish. I still hear from time to time idiots telling me to get a "janitor fish" to clean up the poo. "Janitor fish" in reference are the popular common plecos.
 

DiXoN

English MFKer
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Sunderland, England
its a 20g fish tank, if you cant be bothered to clean a 20g fish tank and need a fish to do it for you i would maybe look at what fishkeeping is to you.
 

waytoodeep03

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2009
195
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florida
Over the years here is my list of poo eaters from various pet shops and friends. This is just for fun folks

1.Pictus Cats
2.Clown Loaches
3. Plecos
4. Brine Shrimp :irked:
5.Hermit Crabs :confused:
5.:Lobsters :ROFL:
 
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