Clean up crew

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MHcblues119

MHcblues119

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Mar 28, 2007
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Essex, New Jersey
I was wondering what the absolute best clean up crew for a 25g planted tank is?

I was thinking:

10-15 otos??
1-2 bushynose plecos (could be moved to 55 gallon when they get to big)
15-20 ghost shrimp(cheap)
then 2-3 of the big cherry shrimp???

Does this sound good???

And i was also wondering is clown loaches will live peacfully with plants??
And also will crayfish(regular pond crays) eat/ rip up plants????
 
depends on what the rest of your crew is.

You should more worry about crayfish ripping up your other fish. I have tried to make these guys work in communities but it always ends in trajedies.

And personally I would just wait until you could get all cherries or some other kind of nice shrimp (have you looked into the amanos?), but that's just because I loathe ghost shrimp.

Just some thoughts from what I read, some others will be along to see whats goin on.
 
Don't get crayfish, terrible community fish (trust me). I'd suggest maybe 4 or 5 cories. Clown Loaches will outgrow that tank easily, and they do better in community tanks with at least 4 or 5 of 'em.
 
I read somewhere that Ghost Shrimp dont really clean. If I were you, I'd get the amano shrimps. They are pricer, but IMO they do a much better job at cleaning.
 
If you mean algae cleanup amano shrimp would be your best bet, cherries do okay but nowhere near what amanos do. Otos are okay if you can keep them alive once they are acclimated they do pretty good. Go to aquatic plant central or the planted tank. Both are planted tank forums there are always shrimp for sale there, in fact I sell there my self. Great bunch of guys on both sites.


Most generally you can find amanos on there for about two bucks a peice, get a dozen or so for that size tank if you can swing it.
 
I've had more success with the cherries cleaning algae then I have with the amanos. Of course I also have far more cherries than I did amanos. Definitely ditch the clowns, and the crays. The crayfish can, and sometimes will, clip your plants for you, unfortunately they can't reach up high, nor do they have any artistic ability (they just mow it to a uniform 2 mm). Corydoras are a great cleaner for small tanks, otos and bns are also quite good.
 
I have 2 Otos and 4 BN Plecos in my 29g and they keep the tank really clean and algae free. Your other best line of defense are the plants themselves. Keep them healthy and they will out compete the algae and prevent them from appearing.
 
MTS are great for planted tanks for cleanup. I've got thousands. Amanos are Caridina multidentata.
 
WyldFya;1730769; said:
MTS are great for planted tanks for cleanup. I've got thousands. Amanos are Caridina multidentata.
Click to expand...

I thought the shrimp known as amanos were caridina japonica?
 
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