Clean up Crew

[QuotationRaven]

I have a Betta Fish and 6 Neon Tetras in a 35 litre Tank and I was thinking of getting some for of either fish or other animal to clean the tank. Does anyone have any good ideas of animals that would be a good edition to the tank whilst still been a good cleaner and interesting.

[Xaltd1]

Shrimp seem to be the best option. In searching for detritus/algae eaters, the red cherry shrimp seem to come out on top b/c they can eat algae, but not the entire plant, and they have little bioload (so I've read by people selling the shrimp).
The 1 problem: bettas think they are FOOD, which they are. I put 12 1/2" shrimp in with my 29-gallon sorority.... maybe they're still there, but I haven't seen one in 3 weeks:0( I tried ghost shrimp- they disappeared even faster.
My solution is to start a RCS farm. I've got a 5 gallon tank, a sponge filter, 12 shrimp, and I'm setting it up now. My goal is to let any babies grow to a point where they won't be eaten, then tranfer them to my larger tanks (w/o being eaten, I hope). I wonder if this will work?
In the mean time, I'm experimenting w/ the oto catfish. I have 3 in with 1 male. They are tiny and can hide/swim fast; when Butch goes to check them out, they disappear! They are adorable and I want to get more. They do not acclimate well; I had to buy 5 to get 3 that are still alive. :0(

[QuotationRaven]

That sounds interesting I was thinking of getting like one big shrimp I know you can get some that can grow to like 3 inch long.

[Xaltd1]

Yes; but I haven't seen one for less than $40. That's too much for me to risk!!! RCS are cheap, and oto cats go for about $2. I spend the big bucks on the bettas :0)

[Bombalurina]

You are already overstocked. I wouldn't add anything else. Remember that "cleaner" fish may remove algae or food that has fallen to the bottom, but they have their own bioload, so adding things will mean more water changes.

Large shrimp may snack on fish, if they can catch them.

[QuotationRaven]

True. I wouldn't say I was over stocked they have plenty of room to move and hide. I think I might try a catfish they did look quite interesting at the store.

[Xaltd1]

What size is a 35 liter in American gallons? Sorry, I'm non-metric savvy.

Or are you saying I'm overloaded?

I'm trying to find an explanation as to why shrimp supposedly have no bioload.

And whoops- Live Aquaria has a giant blue shrimp for $35.99 :0) The description says they are not complete algea eaters.

[QuotationRaven]

The conversion thingy says 35litre's is about 7.7 Gallons.

[Bombalurina]

A 35 litre is just shy of ten gallons (38.5 litres). It's about bioload, too, QuotationRaven, not just room. A catfish is definitely not recommended as they all either have a large bioload (e.g. BN plecos, which get to 6 inches long) or need schools of 6 (e.g. corydoras).

Shrimp may be ok as they do have a very small bioload due to their miniscule size.

[QuotationRaven]

hmm good point Bombalurina I didn't think of that. I'm just trying to find some form of creature that can help keep the alge away and not cause any harm to my fish.