clean up crew

[britdog]

I have just set up my first planted and have fully carpeted with a mixture of grasses and hc. Iam thinking of some ottos and pygmy corries and a few shrimp as a clean up crew what do you guys with carpet plants
cheers steve

 

[Fran]

Hi, I highly recommend Amano shrimp. They are veracious algae eaters. They generally won't uproot grasses, at least in my experience. If you don't have algae problems, throw in the odd algae wafer to keep them happy and away from your plants. I also highly recommend a school of Siamese Algae eaters. These are a beautiful fish in their own right and school together really well. The only drawback being they are prolific jumpers so this may be a problem if you have an open top tank. Cheers.

 

[Lindy]

Amano shrimp are great and I find my corydoras hasbrosus very entertaining. I wouldn't get SAE as they get to 15cm so a group need a big tank.

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[Lindy]

If you go for ottos please get a group of at least 4-6. They are great to watch swimming together and are quite active.

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[britdog]

Thanks lindy ive located some ottos in my area ive bought 4 and put them in a mature tank for now. Having trouble getting hold of shrimp at the moment

 

[alto]

Tiger shrimp, long nose shrimp (often misc species) tend to be great clean up crew
Cherry shrimp are decent too
Almost any shrimp will comb through carpet plants - just start with a good sized group of a dozen (or more) so they feel secure

Lots of mail order shops do a great job with shipping shrimp - check the sponsor section for a few suppliers