Best Catfish For Scavenging

[Kyle383]

Hello, I am looking to buy a catfish mainly to clean up the bottom of the tank, and was wondering if anyone could let me know what catfish would be best? I have a 5"+ pleco but he is kind of lazy when it comes to cleaning lol.

Any pointers appreciated.

Kyle

[Northernguy]

For which tank?

[Kyle383]

Im looking for one for both tanks. I havent heard of any that can be possible tank mates for my RB's though. They Dont bother my Pleco although he is much larger than the RB's.

[VoidParadigm]

Catfish can't be used primarily as scavengers. There just aren't any that will keep it 100% clean.

Invest in a tank vacuum, and clean the substrate yourself! It'll be 80% cleaner!

[Kyle383]

Yeah i have a vacuum and clean it regularly. I was just hoping to get a catfish to clean up some of the left over food.

[VoidParadigm]

Armoured catfish such as plecos are your best bet, then, with those tankmates.

[Northernguy]

Get a big a*s crayfish! lol
They are great cleaners! My brother use to feed his RBPs crayfish all the time.They loved them! One of them got to live a long time and the piranhas would just leave it alone.This thing grew huge.It was the largest crayfish I ever saw!lol It lived in a cave and protected the entrance real well.This thing would wrestle with fish by holding it by the sides with both pincers. It eventually died and was torn apart but managed to get huge.
There is always a risk of the fish getting nipped or even cut from the crayfish too.
Shrimp clean well too but can get expensive.
Nothing touches a good vacuuming!lol

[AquaCat]

Many cats are bottom scavengers, however that doesn't mean they clean up waste. Definitely use a gravel vac for that. However if you're looking to only clean up left over food a group of 3 or 4 cory cats would do well, as would a pictus. Pictus do get larger and their high activity level can agitate other fish at night, but they are beautiful. They do better if not kept singly also.

[toddnbecka]

A raphael catfish may work, as long as it has a secure hiding place/cave. They're well armored and strictly nocturnal, so it wouldn't be active when the red bellies are most likely to see it.