(03-30-2017, 12:05 PM)Thor Wrote: Some dwarf shrimp like red cherry shrimp, yellow shrimp, crystal red shrimp, will help with algae too. Larger fish will eat them for snack though. Anything longer than 3" will be a threat to even the adult sized shrimp. The smaller ones will just be food all the time, unless you have a big chunk of java moss in there for them to hide.
Some aquatic snails like to eat algae as well. Zebra Nerite is one of them, and they do not reproduce in freshwater.
Otto catfish do best when you have a school of 6+. The last time after I lost one of them, they went "under". They get shy when their number is low.
Yeah, my tank is burgeoning on "predatory". The Ghost knife that we set this tank up for is in there now, though he's not big yet, ~4-5". There are also two African leaf fish/spotted bush fish in there too. Cherry shrimp probably wouldn't last long. I'm buying small rasboras as "feeder" fish, that I wouldn't mind if they didn't get eaten. Thinking of getting some pygmy gourami for the same purpose. I currently have one, very smart, emerald eyed rasbora, that's been in there over a month now. He sleeps in the water that collects in the lily pads from the banana plant and tiger lotus leaves near the surface. I've considered buying 10-15 cherry shrimp, and just seeing what happens. I've got a virtual jungle. I don't see things for weeks, then, there they are. if enough of them can hide, they might breed, get a colony going, feeds the fish, cleans the algae, etc etc. Or they'll all be devoured in a few minutes, lol. The only shrimp in there now are the two vampire shrimp. Well, I know one is there, I know where he hides. I'm iffy on the other. The ottos are doing well so far. I think I still have four. Can't do snails. I have three assassins in there now.
