# Bottom Feeders and Gravel



## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Is there a list that I may have missed on this forum or does anyone have any information about bottom feeders who do NOT mix with gravel? 

Thanks in advance!


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Just cories really. The larger ones like bronze cories will do okay as long as it's smooth gravel. Loach do fine on smooth gravel but if you've seen how happy one looks buried in sand you'd probably want them in sand.
All bottom feeders (with rare exeptions like hillstream loaches, which live in fast flowing rivers of smooth rock) generally exist on sand beds in nature, but things like plecos and catfish (excluding cories) can adapt to smooth gravel.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

THanks for the great info!


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

How about snails?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

No problem!
You're getting a 20 gallon right? (Think I saw it in another thread). 
A bristlenose or clown pleco would be good. Both of those are pretty easy to find and will stay nice and small. Otherwise A nice school of 5-7 bronze cories would work too.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

They could go with gravel. They're usually on the sides of the tank, though.


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks again guys - the toughest part of getting a big (well 20gal) tank is figuring out what to stock it with aside from a Betta. Also wound up buying a 3 gallon as I fell in love with a pet store Betta and couldn't leave him there!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

it's SO fun to stock big tanks.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

djembekah said:


> it's SO fun to stock big tanks.


Tell me about it. ;-)


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i want a 75 really bad now Olympia xD im so jelly of your stocking plan!


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

would any of you 20gal plus owners care to share with me what you have stocked and how you came to decide on what pets you wound up stocking?

I am going to assume that you each have a Betta but maybe I am incorrect there?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

No betta in mine sorry. In my other tanks I have fish the betta would eat, and in the big tank there's gonna be fish that'd eat the betta. 

You could do an Asian tank... With rasbora and kuhli loaches. It'd be kind of like a biotope. :-D Well planted and sandy. My mind really only groups fish together by location, sorry. xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i have a sorority in my 29 gallon tank. it's got 6 female bettas, 5 bronze cories, 7 zebra danios, a bristlenose pleco, and a bunch of snails. i need 2890238320420 more plants though. the fish mostly keep to their own species


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## Unity (Mar 26, 2012)

Would love to hear some more suggestions on 20gal stocking if anyone out there cares to share! 

Headed down to the LPS and the chains today to take a look (however I believe I am going to buy the betta from a breeder).


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Currently my 36g has only Piou my betta inside. I might throw in 6 corries at some time.

In the past i had the following setups:

2 Mollies
2Sword tails
4 Guppies
3 Agnel fish
1 Pleco 
1 Cynodintis eypterus
1 Silver Shark (dont remember actual name)

When the mollies the guppies the pleco and the shark(darn thing only ate twice a month for some reason) took the road for the rainbow bridge, I switched to:

3Angels fish (same as before)
1 Cynodintis eypterus (same as before)
3 Oscar
1Yellow parrot fish
5-7(cant remember exactly) silver dollars.
1Rainbow tail (black red tailed?) shark.

Somewhere in between the two setups there was a loach (didnt knew they are schooling).

After awhile it was only the cyno the 2 oscar and the parrot. The rest died due to a crack in the tank and didnt survive the transit back and forth the petstore till i cycle a new one (during that transit i learn why cynodontis are called squeakers too). The dollars died before that, made a snack for the oscar. 

Thus the longest living fish in my aquarium were the oscar (10+ years) the parrot (6-7 years) and the cyno (28 years). He died 3 years ago to my dismay.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

My 46g has 3 female Bettas, soon to have 4, 2 Chinese Algae eaters (1 too many probably) & 2 Mystery snails. I love the Bettas with bottom feeders.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I love synodontis. However a lot of species grow huge.
Same with freshwater sharks, and a lot of the other species named I would not have with betta either.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Olympia said:


> I love synodontis. However a lot of species grow huge.
> Same with freshwater sharks, and a lot of the other species named I would not have with betta either.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I think it was clear perhaps not 

I didnt have a betta in those set ups. I got one now that the aquarium is vacant. My Cyno grew up around 15 cm (he was the largest growing species the eupteros, the rest grow smaller) and he didnt have problems with anything else except bottom feeders, they had a tendency to disappear.
Cynos f eel (and quite probably are) the kings of the bottom.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Pilot00 said:


> I think it was clear perhaps not
> 
> I didnt have a betta in those set ups. I got one now that the aquarium is vacant. My Cyno grew up around 15 cm (he was the largest growing species the eupteros, the rest grow smaller) and he didnt have problems with anything else except bottom feeders, they had a tendency to disappear.
> Cynos f eel (and quite probably are) the kings of the bottom.


Euptera are big, but not the only Synos that big. Synodontis, acanthomias, S. schotedeni, S. decora can all reach 12" (30cm) as well. S. angelica has been known to reach 23" (58cm) in the wild but tends to stay smaller (around 30cm) in tanks. It's all about how you care for the fish however, many fish never reach their potential size in aquariums.


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## Pilot00 (Jul 24, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Euptera are big, but not the only Synos that big. Synodontis, acanthomias, S. schotedeni, S. decora can all reach 12" (30cm) as well. S. angelica has been known to reach 23" (58cm) in the wild but tends to stay smaller (around 30cm) in tanks. It's all about how you care for the fish however, many fish never reach their potential size in aquariums.


Probably i had non of the other species thats why i said for eypterus specifically, i had mine for 28 years. Ive been told that they are the largest perhaps i have been misinformed sorry about that.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Pilot00 said:


> Probably i had non of the other species thats why i said for eypterus specifically, i had mine for 28 years. Ive been told that they are the largest perhaps i have been misinformed sorry about that.


They are huge for a common catfish. The ones I said are more uncommon and can be harder to locate. And yes they do live forever don't they? Looking into one of the big guys for my 90 gallon. :-D

Anyways this is getting off topic..


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