I have a 65 gallon angled front freshwater tank, with 4 tinfoil barbs,a green severum, 2 snake skin gouramies, a bala shark, a banded leporanis, common pleco, and one boriealie cichlid. I know i am overstocked but I really wanted to know does a tank NEED a catfish/bottom feeder , or is it ok just by it self?
Doese a tank need a catfish?
- Thread starter Ravenfish
- Start date
Ravenfish;3743257; said:
The point of having a bottom feeder is to prevent uneaten food from reaching the bottom and dirtying the tank. In your case, I don't know. If adding a catfish will push the water over the edge, it could easily be doing more harm than good.
If your filter can handle it and you have a lot of uneaten waste, I'd get the catfish. Otherwise, no.
If you feed the right amount, you won't have uneaten food at the bottom of the tank. Overfeeding causes problems with water quality, and adding fish will add to the bioload, as well.
No one needs a pleco/catfish/bottom feeder -- in fact, these fish must be fed separately from the others to ensure they get plenty to eat! So, I'd say that unless you actually want one, stick with what you've got.
No one needs a pleco/catfish/bottom feeder -- in fact, these fish must be fed separately from the others to ensure they get plenty to eat! So, I'd say that unless you actually want one, stick with what you've got.
Every tank needs a gravel vac, not a catfish. Getting a catfish because you think it will keep your tank clean, or survive on poop, is misguided. You should get one because you actually like them and you want one, assuming you have the room for it of course.
In my 75, my banded leporinus acts as my bottom feeder. My jaguar cichlid eats all the floating pellets, so I give him some sinking ones and he takes care of any food on the bottom. Between him and the breeding pair of convicts in the tank there are no problems with uneaten food.
Ravenfish;3743257; said:
Your pleco is actually a catfsh, and it will eat some of the food it can reach on the bottom. But I agree with everyone here. If you really want another catfish, I say rearrange your stock. Make sure you get a suitable sized fish too. Your common pleco gets really huge and that 65 gallon is actually too small for it in the long term.
well the reason i really ask is because I have always had a catfish in with my tanks. I just recently moved a catfish out of that ank to another that didn;t have one, and i moved an irredescent shark into the 65gallon (no worries on the size issue, getting a 150gal in 3 months.....i dream of that tank every night lol) and well I turned my back on the tank to make dinner and well poor fish had no eyes when i got bak....I think the leporannis is the culprit. Was just trying to find out if it was a tank requirement, to have some sort of bottom feeder. That and if so would the leporanis and Bala Shark be enough?
I think everyone, including me, pretty much answered whether or not you "need" to have a catfish. (No.)
I say if you're going to get one, go all out. (You know y'all never get tired of this pic.)
I say if you're going to get one, go all out. (You know y'all never get tired of this pic.)
I use floating pellets so they never make it to the bottom to dirty the tank - my Midas makes sure of that!
I have a marble sailfin pleco which I really dont need in my tank as clean up. In fact I feed him algae wafers at night. If push came to shove and I needed the tank space, he would be the first to go. But I have him in my upcoming tank plans where he will share my new 120g with the Midas.
I have a marble sailfin pleco which I really dont need in my tank as clean up. In fact I feed him algae wafers at night. If push came to shove and I needed the tank space, he would be the first to go. But I have him in my upcoming tank plans where he will share my new 120g with the Midas.
justonemoretank;3743550; said:I think everyone, including me, pretty much answered whether or not you "need" to have a catfish. (No.)
I say if you're going to get one, go all out. (You know y'all never get tired of this pic.)
Great picture.