Good "Bottom Cleaner" and an "elegant" catfish

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M

ManuelP

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2014
15
8
33
Austria
Hi guys,
I wanted to ask, if anybody knows a fish (absolutely doesn´t have to be a catfish), that eats leftover food scraps (Shrimp, Fish and Mussle and similar foods) from the bottom of the tank? should be at least 30cm (almost a foot?) long I guess.
The gar shred pards of the thawed shrimp and fish i give them, these scraps sink to the bottom and are blown around the tank.
I usually siphon the food scraps after feeding, but I don´t get all of them, so I thought, a "vacuum cleander" might help.
I thought about a striped raphael, but I think it is not big enough.

I use Sand as substrate, if that makes a difference.

The tank is about 6' 7" by 2' 8" by 1' 9" (i don´t know if I converted it right, it´s 2m by 80cm by 60cm)

Currently, there are only my two "Spotted" gar in there, but I´m planning on getting a Potamotrygon scobina pair too, so the fish should get along with these guys.


I´m also looking for some relatively "elegant" catfish.. like Platystomatichthys sturio, Pimelodus pictus, black lancer or something like that.
It shouldn´t be too shy and clumsy, but also not too active and it should be big enough to not get eaten by the gar (or later on by the rays, but the gar are the main threat I think)

Thank you in advance
 
I'm going to say any catfish 8-12" long should work just fine as a scrap cleaner.
 
How about an ornate pim?
 
albino hemibagrus nemurus would look cool, don't listen to planet catfish on them they always max out about 12 inch I think thebiggerthebetter thebiggerthebetter
another option for the bottom might be a fire eel or tyre track, might have to buy it fairly large to keep the gar at bay tho, could also consider a birchir ornatpinnis maybe?
 
I agree on the Hemibagrus nemurus. I think Pimelodus blochii aka 4-line pim catfish can be tried too. Pimelodus pictus is too small, will fall prey. Rhamdia quelen is another good choice, IMHO.

Gars are usually biters. They tend to bite even some tank mates they cannot consider a prey, most usually the shy, timid ones, e.g., IDS catfish. With boisterous, somewhat aggressive tank mates, the chance of peaceful balance of power is good.
 
Thank you for your help!

Great suggestions, they all fit the bill

Hemibargus nemurus looks pretty neat, I think I might need to look around for quite some time for this one, never seen one for sale around here.

The ornate pimelodus also seems like a good choice, do I need a group of these, or are they fine alone? Just asking, because I found different infos about their behavior towards their own kind.

Thank you also for the info on tankmate behavior! So I need to get a boisterous catfish, because the shy ones tend to get bitten more often? Really interesting, and quite helpful too!

I would be able to get a Platysilurus mucosus, but they are aparently pretty shy, so I guess they wouldn´t be a good choice?
Also, I think they are too small? (have found different infos on max size)


Also, a fire eel might be a good idea too.

As for bottom cleaners.
What about raphael catfish?
Striped are too small and irwinis too big i guess? Is there any species in between (lengthwise)?

Sorry for my many ( and sometimes dumb) questions..
 
Ornate pims are fine as a solo cat or in groups. But if solo then not as active but will be out and about in groups. Rapps gets them in usually on his stock list.
 
Nemurus are pretty obtainable in the uk, just need to find all your countries vendors that mail fish. Irwini would be ok imo, ime they grow super slow, very shy and hide all day when smaller tho... nemurus would be a talking piece.
 
Sorry Manuel. Didn't realize ur in Austria.
 
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