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Which are more efficent at cleaning algae, uneaten foods, and poop? Would any snails survive in a Cichlid Tank?

Chris

i believe there is no fish that eats otehr fishes poop, while i believe that some african tilpia will eat rhino poop.

plecos will not do that.

snails would be ok, but it depends on the cichlid.

and in your 30, your tank can not hold a pleco.

african knives are not small, and parrots are not small, severums are not small, etc... you can see where i am going with this.

all of those fish have a great potiental size, and a 125 gallon tank is probably the minium.

I agree with Betta. Your tanks tend to be overstocked and wouldnt be able to handle the bioload a pleco would put on the tank (They poop alot) and snails may get eaten in a chichlid tank, which isnt good for the chichlid or the snail.

Inky

They both have their advantages but when it comes down to it neither will eat poo and both of them eat food and produce poo so either way youre not going to solve the problem.

Just clean your tank weekly and stop trying to figure a way out of it!

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

Well i am going to get rid of both catfish and put in either a snail or pleco. If anyone knows a type of either that can go in there that will not get eaten, that would be greatly appreciated. I just have some really tricky spots to clean and they can help a lot.

Chris

They won't help clean any fish poop in your tank. Both snails and plecos produce large amounts of waste compared to other fish or inverts. It usually means you have to clean the tank more often to get the piles of waste out. My royal plec can clog the intake to the filter in a matter of minutes if he sits in front of it. If you have a spot that's hard to get to for cleaning it's going to be even worse after you add more waste producers to your tank.

If your thinking of getting them for algae most are not worth it. Snails are actually more carnivorous. The ones that eat algae either get absolutely huge and add to the bioload just as much as a school of tetras or multiply out of control. The best algae eating snails are the fancy ramshorns which come in brown, blue, and bright red coloration. These will multiply in your tank. All snails will get picked on or killed by pretty much all cichlids. The ramshorns are the only algae eating snails that might multiply fast enough to stay ahead of the number the cichlids eat. Applesnails will starve to death on only algae and are a big target for cichlids. Even herbivorous applesnails require some extra vegetation added to their diet such as lettuce leaves, spirulina pellets, and seaweed sheets. There are some good algae eating plecos but they add even more to the bioload than snails and should also be fed some other vegetation frequently.

Plecos and snails should be added to a tank first because you like them and after making sure they will get along with their tankmates. Then second for their ability to eat algae or leftover food. Most won't actually do as much as you want them to.

Anything that eats, poops, and in an amount that relates to the volume of the diet.

Poop requires a gravel washer, there is no practical substitute.I know thats not what you want to hear, but its the truth.

hi, shrimps do but i dont think they would survive cichlids

Shrimp do not eat fish poop. A few species like ghost shrimp may pick through it for bits of undigested food but they won't actually eat much of it.

since fish waste is biodegradable with the final product of nitrates, so i conclude that having large culture of nitrifying bacteria (in gravel, where all the waste finally rests) and plants (to consume the nitrates) would be the only way to clean the mess out. Please correct me if im missing something. of course, manual cleaning is the option always available.

regards,

It helps to have plants but you need a huge plant load versus fish load to use up all the fish waste and nitrates. Usually co2 injection and very bright lights are needed. A few of my tanks work that way. I have eco complete substrate and trumpet snails. The fish waste is picked through and dug into the substrate by the snails where it makes the best plant fertilizer you could find. My tanks are also stocked lightly and everything balances pretty well. The nitrates only raise about 5ppm every 3-4weeks. Problem is even if you setup a tank like this it still requires tons of maintenance. Trimming, replanting, and maintaining all the plants and equipment is not any easier or faster than just doing a gravel vac.

Nothing is going to beat just doing a gravel vac every 1-2 weeks depending on fish load. Plants are only going to have a fairly small impact on the level of waste unless you go all out.