# Help finding the right fish



## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Alright here's the deal, I have a 40g but I want some fish that swim around the bottom of my tank and help clean my sand, but noy mess it up. The fish I am looking for should be peaceful around rasboras and not get to big (<2"). Any suggestions other than loaches and corys? Or are they the only ones?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

The first fish that came to my mind were cories. A pack of pygmy cories like the Cory habrosus are very small (1 inch max) and will keep the tank clean and not be as conspicuous.









Cory habrosus picture from this site.

-John N.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Thanks John the mini cories came to mind too. I also want to add that I don't really want these fish to be so flashy that they take away from my main fish(red line rasboras).


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

John,
I have 10 Cory. pygmaeus and they are a great little fish, too. If you work it right, Cassie may be up for a group buy with you and others.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Yup, I was going to suggest Cory's too, or Oto's would be another option.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Any reason why you did not want corys?


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

How about a pair of West African Dwarf cichlids?

I have Spotted Kribs (Pelvicachromis suboccelatus) and some Nanochromis sabinae in my tanks and they constantly chew over the substrate. You also get all the fun of little babies being paraded round the tank when the breed!

In my experience West Africans do this a lot more than Apistogrammas. In a 40g tank you could even have a pair of Chromidotilapia / Benitochromis that are biparental mouthbreeders! The pair swap eggs and fry over so they take turns! They were great when i had them!


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I don't like the look of cory's, I only like the mini cory look. Ottos I have already, the ottos I want are the expensive zebra or the hard to find niger ottos. So I am left almost choiceless.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

If you're choosy, you'll pretty much have to pay the price John.


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## Overfloater (Apr 2, 2004)

TH: If you decide to go with pygmy cories, be aware that in IME they spent most of their time swimming in the mid level of the tank and were rarely on the bottom like a traditional cory.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Yeah, too many variables!


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I absolutely love my oto ******, but they also spend much of their time in the mid-levels, attached to the glass, wood, or plants.

Try Dave at anubiasdesign.com. He has an enormous selection of corries and also carries a variety of otos. Surely there is one that will fit the bill. I got a dozen Corydoras loxozonus from him. They're not too common, are pretty inconspicuous, and have a bit of a different look for a corry. They also get no bigger than about 2".

If you want something besides a loach or corry, there are a few Loricarids that might be ok too. There are a few other fish that hang out at the bottom, but I can't think of any that will act to keep thigns clean.

Have you considered shrimp? Amano's would fit the bill nicely. They're entertaining too.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I've had my share and fun with shrimps already. haha.


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