bottom dwellers for beginner

hi all

my group of 9 tetras are happy and thriving
so i want to get a few bottom dwellers in there

my tank is the smallest juwel (the rekord 60 (54l)
and i am conscious of overstocking,

i was in the lfs the other day and was perusing
my options for the bottom of my newb tank with one of the staff,and came across the clown loaches, he said they are great, i said my tank is too small, he said take them small and return them they get too big, is this common practice?

anyway, i'd love clown loaches but am unsure!
so the corys are next, charming fellas!

can i mix the dwarfs? say 3 and 3
i've heard they mix okay

i find sucker types pretty boring
but wouldnt mind an algae hoover!

suggestions welcome!

rgds


4

Your right in thinking your tank is to small even for the smallest clown loach. They also like to be in a group so you are looking at maybe six of them. It just wouldn't work in this size tank.
The corys would be a much better choice. There are a few dwarf corys so i don't know which one's you mean.
You could get a couple of very small suckers called Otto's (otocinclus affinis)for algae control.

Pygmy corys would be the business, you don't see them around often but they are excellent little fish & stay really small.

Sounds like your tank is really coming together. I agree with Platty about the clown loaches,they like to be in groups and will get to big for the tank eventually,and trust me you will find it hard to let go of a fish once youve grown fond of them!!
So really you have options still as there are numerous bottom dwellers out there. You have looked into the Corys and I agree these fish are v impressive in my opinion. They have a character each of there own and are charming little guys that often give off the impression they are winking at you,there eyes twitch sometimes,very cute to see!
Many fishkeepers keep corys as there cleanup crew. These fish are very social and Im sure you will instantly take to them. Im not sure what dwarf corys you are interested in.
There are six species commonly known as dwarf corys. These fish get up to about an inch and a half in size. Three species are common - Corydoras habrosus, Corydoras hastatus (but tends to spend alot of time mid water and on plant leaves etc)and Corydoras pygmaeus. The others are harder to find - Corydoras cochui, Corydoras gracilis, Corydoras xinguensis (Very pretty spotted).

Dwarf corys are some of the more entertaining species. Given their small size, it's possible to keep them in fairly large groups, so you can observe their shoaling behaviour. All except Corydoras gracilis are considered relatively easy to breed.
When getting corys, try to keep groups of at least 3 to 4 minimum.

Another option for your tank would be to keep some shrimp,there are numerous types around,glass and amano perhaps the most popular. Amano will also help to keep algae under wraps,altho not complety as it is a small shrimp! Again best if you get more than one also.

So there are the options in my opinion I think you should check out bronze corys also,they dont get too big and are a wonderful addition.
As you can see I like my Corys!!
While you said you dont like Plecos,you can get small Plecos as well and they add another dimension to the tank,I purchased an unusal Hong Kong plec a few weeks back (which is actually a hillstream loach),rarely see him as he hides alot but nice all the same!
So youve plenty of options,if you are keeping corys,ensure the substrate isnt sharp, normal gravel will do fine but I think you may have sand?
Gavin

hi there. i got some corydoras julli the other week and their max size is 2.2\". theyre great, if not a little shy but maybe they still have to settle in. theyre always swimming in the bubbles. planetcatfish is a great site for info regarding size diet etc on well......catfish:silly: youll get great pics. i love the clown loach. had them before. they were great, but got too big.

Corydoras are really cool. There are a lot of them out there, it's down to personal preference.

Regular plecos get very very big and would outgrow your tank very quickly. Why don't you go towards the bristlenose option. They don't grow very big and are great and interesting characters.

Ottos are supposed to be very good with algae and stay quite small too.

I concur re. the clown loaches. They don't grow very fast, but they get big and like shoaling.

Enjoy choosing your fish ... It's one of the very enjoyable stages in fish-keeping !

Valerie