Bottom Feeder For A Tang Setup

[shecky71]

I hope this is in the right forum.


I am setting up a 20 gallon Tang tank. I plan on putting some Briccardi in there and maybe a Compressiceps or even a Lemon. My question is do you use a bottom feeder or catfish of any kind in a setup like this? I like Ottos and I think the size is good but I am open to suggestions as well.

Thanks for any help!

Shecky

 

[Deathcurl]

Maybe some form of syno?

 

[Jason_S]

if you go with brichardi I don't think I'd keep anything with them. I have several pulcher (very similar to brichardi) in a 55 growout with some fronts and syno cats and at 2.5" or less the pulcher are rather aggressive. I can only imagine how much more aggressive they'd be in a smaller tank. you might, and emphasize might, be able to do a single pair of brichardi in a 20 gallon but not any more than that. you could probably do a breeding pair of comps but I don't know about the lemons. I have very limited experience with Tangs so I'll let some of the experts fill you in but from my experience with pulcher I can say that I wouldn't mix anything else with them unless you can manage a much larger tank.

 

[dpool]

Do not put brichardi with compressicep, it's just asking for trouble... brichardi are wusses and get beaten up by everything and Lamp. compressiceps are the most agressive of all africans. lol not a good combination. but for bottom feeders you can do any type of synodontis catfish or try out different plecos, I have a green phantom with my africans and he does fine... actually beats them up lol, but my bristlenose gets it's ass beaten

 

[Redtail_Watcher]

how about a small royal pleco? or large coradoras species?

 

[shecky71]

Do not put brichardi with compressicep, it's just asking for trouble... brichardi are wusses and get beaten up by everything and Lamp. compressiceps are the most agressive of all africans. lol not a good combination. but for bottom feeders you can do any type of synodontis catfish or try out different plecos, I have a green phantom with my africans and he does fine... actually beats them up lol, but my bristlenose gets it's ass beaten

Thanks for the Help! I like the Synodontis idea. It seems like some stay fairly small.

What do you think about different types of Julidochromis instead of Brichardi?

It sounds like Brichardi are a lot trouble. I really like the way they look.

 

[gomezladdams]

imo comps ,brichardi and synos get too big for a 20g one of the smaller julie species would be a much better choice,If you want a bottom feeder for them get a bristle nose pleco

 

[straitjacketstar]

A single pair of most Neolamprologus or Julidochromis sp. from the 3-5" range or a small group of shelldwellwers from the 1.5-3" range will be enough for a 20 gallon tank.
Any "bottomdweller" or "cleaner" type fish only adds to the bioload and is more than likely not going to be accepted by spawning fish.
I wouldn't add one.

 

[shecky71]

Any "bottomdweller" or "cleaner" type fish only adds to the bioload and is more than likely not going to be accepted by spawning fish.
I wouldn't add one.

Don't you think it is useful to have a "cleaner" in the tank to help? I guess I just thought you should have one regardless.

 

[straitjacketstar]

It depends on the situation.

If you get some kind of sucker fish to keep your rocks and glass clean it will eventually run out of the miniscule amounts of algae it's been recruited to clean up and will need plenty of it's own food and make plenty of it's own poop to sit on the substrate and for you to clean up. The same time you're spending sucking out the extra amounts of waste the little "cleaner" puts out could be spent equally and as easily with just a couple scrubs here and there with a toothbrush and fine-edged card or razor blade.

If I'm having gnarly algae issues and need a real good algae eater I'll go for a bushynose, some otos, siamese algae eater, florida flag fish, mollies or whatever the compatibility issues call for. But I have to make sure I can dedicate that fish a permanent home and make sure I'm aware of the fish's permanent needs and can supply them.
I don't overfeed so I have no use for keeping a fish that will "take care of leftovers".
I clean the substrate regularly so there's no need to have something shuffling around down there.

If I want something for aesthetic reasons I'll get them. I have cories, loaches and plecs. They're not "cleaner fish". They require their own diets and add to the bioload accordingly. They make more of a mess than they'll ever help clean up.
And while I don't agree with the logic of "cleaner fish" I can very much agree that it's hard to have a tank without a bunch of cories, loaches or plecs to make it feel complete.