Help with a cleaner fish?

aemaki09

So My nieces have a 20 gallon tank that Is a little over stocked, and they definitely over feed in it. Is there any bottom feeder that doesn't put out much waste but would help clean up the excess food pretty well? Any ideas would be appreciated. I myself have just recently got back into fish keeping so I am a little out of the loop on what to get for them
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fish monger

Adding another fish probably isn't the answer. I know that it's easier said than done; however, teaching your nieces how to feed properly would be best. Not knowing the girls' ages or amount of adult involvement, suggesting water changes and vacuuming may or may not be helpful.

jeaninel

Explain to them they only need to feed lightly once a day and that its healthier for the fish this way. Also regular water changes including vacuuming the substrate are needed. Shrimp or snails are some suggestions if tankmates won't eat them.
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aemaki09

I have explained this to them but they are only 5 years old, so they dont really know how much is too much food. Apparently their mom got 2 peppered cory's today to help with it before I got the chance to tell her what the replies on here said...hopefully that will help a little with this.
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aemaki09

I do have another question though...they have a 20 gallon tank running with 2 10-20 gallon filters but the water is still very murky would an under gravel filter work better?
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Andarial

In my opinion under gravel filters are more trouble then they are worth, just because of the fact that you have to lift them out and clean underneath them a lot. I would suggest a weekly cleaning and possibly twice a week cleaning until you get the murkiness under control. Also are they cleaning the filter and filter pads on a regular basis? This might help with the murkiness. But a filter will not get all of the debri and ammonia could build up if you aren't cleaning it weekly.

Byron

I too am no longer a fan of UG filters, after using nothing else many years ago.

The cloudiness is likely either a bacterial bloom (if whitish), possibly an algae bloom (if greenish), or just the new tank still settling (dire fro the substrate plus the bacterial issue). From your words I gather this 20g is a fairly new tank, can you tell us how long it has been running? What is the substrate? Are water changes being done every week?

A quick coment on the initial issue in the 10g, adding two fish is going to need some attention, as corys do not appreciate unstable water.

Byron.

aemaki09

Water changes are being done 2x a week right now and the tank has been running for about a month and substrate is gravel...It is a greenish brown murkiness
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Byron

That would likely be green water, which is an algae bloom. It is caused by excess nutrients plus light, when the natural balance between these is upset. Live plants help stabilize the balance as they use the nutrients and light. Without plants, there is nothing so algae has a field day, and if the nutrients are higher than normal and there is overhead ight, some type of algae will occur. Usually this will be something like brush algae, which while a bane to those with planted tanks, it is fine in plantless tanks. But green water is a sign of significant imbalance.

I will assume this tank may be getting too much food too, perhaps? How many fish and which? (Wondering about over-stocking here.) And is a water change including vacuuming of the gravel being done every week, removing 1/3 to 1/2 the volume? How long is the tank light on?

Byron.

aemaki09

Ok I asked this morning. It's actually a 26 gallon tank. They have 6 mollies, 4 rosy barbs, and 2 corys. It's definitely getting too much food as the 5 year old nieces feed that one too. And Im pretty sure its overstocked. The lights aren't on for more than like 4 hours a day. Water changes are 2x a week including gravel vacuum I think it's about 25-30%.
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