# How large should the 'Cleaning Crew' be?



## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

I don't know about "should" but I have 6 pygmy cories, 3 otos, 3 amanos and however many zillions of RCS as clean-up crew in my 30g. 

I think it depends on how the tank looks too. Is there lots of gunk you have to syphon off the bottom? Algae growing faster than the Otos can eat it or does their food need to be supplemented as it is?


----------



## nytowl83 (Jan 15, 2006)

my 2 ottos handled my 20 gallon high admirably

when i added my dwarf shrimp, i realized.. the dwarf shrimps werent needed anymore  but added them anyway


----------



## thegospelgeek (Jun 25, 2009)

Got home tonight to discover one of my otos was dead. Noticed last night that one would eat and then swim to the top extremely fast, then retun to eating. Don't know if that's the one that died, but it seams likely. No erratic behavior or signs of stress from any of the others. Nitrates and Nitrites are barely measurable with my cheap test kit(dip and compare colors). I'll get a better one tomorrow.


----------



## niko (Mar 8, 2006)

You need to look at the cleaning crew as a dynamic number. A tank that has a lot of algae will require a lot of algae eating animals. A tank that has no algae - much less. 

The best algae eating animal there is so far is the Amano shrimp. They can handle virtually all types of algae (including Cladophora and BBA) IF the number of shrimp corresponds to the algae infestation.

Here's an example, from personal observation:
200 Amano shrimp in a 25 gallon tank will completely eat a Cladophora mat that is 2" thick in about 3-4 days.

Of course stuffing 200 Amanos in a 25 gallon tank is a pretty ugly sight. It's also crazy to put so many animals in such small volume. We import rare fish and shrimp so we take great care of the tanks. It takes a lot of effort to maintain so many animals in such a small volume. But my point is that it seems that no algae is safe if the number of algae eating animals is appropriate.

Otos and SAEs are "old school" algae eaters. They are not very effective. Look for the newly imported gobies, Red Lizards, Neritina snails, and Garras. Stiphodon and Syciopterus are the genuses of the gobies that will eat dust algae and BBA.

--Nikolay


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's normal for Otos (as with most other catfish) to rush to the surface for air on a regular basis. Helps them regulate their buoyancy in the water.


----------



## bradac56 (Feb 18, 2008)

niko said:


> Otos and SAEs are "old school" algae eaters. They are not very effective. Look for the newly imported gobies, Red Lizards, Neritina snails, and Garras. Stiphodon and Syciopterus are the genuses of the gobies that will eat dust algae and BBA.
> 
> --Nikolay



+1 on all of that, I'm not a fan of SAE's at all but love Nerite snails to death. I'll be setting up a breeding tank for them soon.

By 'Red Lizards' do you mean the Whiptail L-10A? I haven't seen that one yet I'll have to look around.

- Brad


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

bradac56 said:


> By 'Red Lizards' do you mean the Whiptail L-10A? I haven't seen that one yet I'll have to look around.
> 
> - Brad


Check out Invertz Factory. roud:


----------



## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

25 Amano's in my 100 gal does the trick.


----------



## oldweasel (Jan 13, 2007)

Somewhat of a necro, but does anyone have issues with Amano leaving the tank? Mine's open-top and the last time I got ghost shrimp we found em all over the floor.

Missus has forbidden shrimp of any type until i can prove they won't take the leap of glory...


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

oldweasel said:


> Somewhat of a necro, but does anyone have issues with Amano leaving the tank? Mine's open-top and the last time I got ghost shrimp we found em all over the floor.
> 
> Missus has forbidden shrimp of any type until i can prove they won't take the leap of glory...


Yup, IME Amanos are the worst about "going on walkabout" 

Cherry shrimp aren't as bad.


----------

