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Are shrimps the new catfish?

I wouldn't say shrimps are replacing catfish. Shrimps are popular because they're small and they are good cleaners, produce less waste than larger catfish, easy to breed and perhaps most importantly you can keep them in smaller tanks. The advantage of shrimps is really the size and the ease of breeding in my opinion compared to catfish so its easier to keep shrimps in tanks which have been neatly aquascaped.

That being said catfish does have its place in the hobby. Otto catfish for example is small and is able to eat algae at a faster rate than shrimps such as the Diatom algae. Plecos can also achieve this but their size puts people away as they could up root plants etc once they grow larger. Corydoras will be pleasing to the eye when kept in a large group, they will sift the sand for food while turning the sand which prevents pockets of gas building up, they will also clean the bottom of the tank of eaten food.

Michael.
 
Bristlenosed plec will eat mosses and some other plants anything bigger can destroy a planted tank. shrimp and ottos can clean small plant species without damaging them hence their popularity, but both shrimp and ottos will have a nibble on plants(i watched one of my armanos pluck hc from substrate and eat it)
 
Big clown said:
Bristlenosed plec will eat mosses and some other plants anything bigger can destroy a planted tank. shrimp and ottos can clean small plant species without damaging them hence their popularity, but both shrimp and ottos will have a nibble on plants(i watched one of my armanos pluck hc from substrate and eat it)
Click to expand...


Bristlenose I have kept/am keeping,,seldom bother healthy plant's unless they aren't getting proper diet (veggie's,fruit's).
They will attack leaves,plant's that are failing.
 
for me at the moment , the appeal of shrimp is that whilst ive always fancied having some , this is the 1st tank ive had where they wouldnt just be live food .
 
My bristle nose has never bothered the plants other than the occasional bump due to thrashing round like a lunatic.

Gets a primary diet of sinking wafers, gets in on any frozen food he can vacuum up, tubifex worms if he can get hold of the cube and the occasional seaweed treat. Never ate a plant in his life. :)


- Sent from my iPhone, please pardon any bizarre autocorrects or grammar failure due to Fat Finger Syndrome.
 
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