Cory catfish are bottom dwellers fish that feed from scavenging on the bottom of the tank. They are peaceful fish and are among the favorite bottom dwellers that aquarists and beginners prefer to add to their community tank.
With such eating behavior, beginners ask whether cory catfish is good in keeping the tank clean. So, Do cory catfish clean the tank? Let us find out.
Cory catfish clean the tank by feeding on leftovers and other waste. They are bottom dwellers and spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom of the tank, feeding on fish leftovers, decayed plants, and small passed-away fish. However, they will not eat any algae present in your tank.
This article will discuss whether cory catfish clean the tank. Also, we will discuss how they help keep our tank clean and which are the best cleaning tankmates for the cory catfish tank. So, let us get into it.
Contents
Do cory catfish help clean the tank?
Cory catfish help clean the tank by feeding on leftovers and other waste.
They are bottom dwellers fish that spend most of their time searching for food at the bottom of the tank.
They feed on leftovers and other waste like dead and decaying plants and small fish.
They are scavengers and scavenge on the bottom of the tank all the time, searching for food.
They will require at least a 2-inch substrate for digging and searching for food.
Consider adding soft gravel or sand to your cory catfish tank as a substrate, as any hard material like sharp rock or pebbles will harm their whiskers.
Also read: Are Cory Catfish Bottom Feeders?
How does cory catfish keep the tank clean?
Cory catfish are bottom dwellers that spend most of the time scavenging on the bottom in search of food.
They use whiskers to navigate the food on the substrate and their mouth to dig into the substrate and suck the food.
They feed on leftovers and other waste like uneaten food, decaying plant matter, and small dead fish.
Cory catfish will help you keep the bottom clean by feeding on leftovers and other waste.
They will require at least a 2-inch substrate to dig into and search for food.
However, corydoras will not clean the aquarium glass as they are bottom dwellers and will only keep your substrate clean.
You have to do proper monthly maintenance to keep your tank clean.
Will cory catfish feed on algae?
Cory catfish are omnivore fish and require meat and plant matter food in their daily diet to ensure ideal nutritional needs.
They will not feed on algae to fulfill their plant-based nutritional needs.
However, it is possible that sometimes they will nibble on algae and feed on some of them, but it is very occasional.
They do feed on decaying plant matter from the bottom of the tank.
So, make sure not to rely on cory catfish to keep the tank clean from any types of algae.
Instead, consider adding algae eaters like Amano shrimp to keep the water clean from algae.
Also read: Do Cory Catfish Eat Algae?
Do cory catfish eat poop?
Cory catfish don’t eat poop. No fish will feed on poop.
Sometimes you will see that your cory catfish are eating poop, but they will be grazing the poop by thinking of them as food.
Once they find out that it is not food, they will leave it.
So, don’t get dependable on cory catfish or any other fish to eat the poop from your aquarium.
Consider adding a good filtration system and perform a regular water change to keep the water clean.
Other best tank cleaning tankmates of cory catfish.
These are some other best tank cleaning mates you can consider adding to your corydoras tank:
- Amano shrimp
- Nerite snail
- Assassin snail
- Rabbit snail
- Ghost shrimp
Amano shrimp
Amano shrimp is the most common and best cleaning mate for your corydoras.
They feed on algae from all over the tank and keep your tank clean.
However, Amano shrimp are not good at eating algae from glass.
They will feed on algae from the bottom of the tank and the plants and decorations.
Also, they will feed on hair algae, which is the most common issue aquarists face when adding live aquatic plants to their tank.
Cory catfish and Amano shrimp are good tankmates as both will not harm each other and leave peacefully.
Nerite snails
Nerite snails are also good algae eaters that eat algae from the bottom and your tank’s aquarium glass.
They are less than 1 inch in size and will leave peacefully with your corydoras.
They will help in keeping your tank clean from excessive algae.
Assassin snail
This carnivore creature will feed on small snails and will keep your tank safe from the excessive production of snails.
They will feed on snails that fits their mouth.
Assassin snail will get inside the substrate and wait to eat something.
They will not harm your corydoras and will leave peacefully with them.
Rabbit snail
Rabbit snails are also excellent scavengers and help your cory catfish keep the tank clean.
Also, they will feed on soft algae that grow on hard surfaces.
They will feed on leftovers, and rotten plants matter from the bottom of the tank and keep the tank clean.
However, they are not as good algae eaters as Amano shrimp and nerite snails but will keep the tank clean from the leftovers and other waste.
Ghost shrimps
Ghost shrimps are also among the best tankmates of your corydoras.
They can be as long as 2 inches in size.
They will feed on algae, plant debris, and other waste from the bottom of the tank and help your cory catfish keep the tank clean.
You can keep ghost shrimps in your corydoras tank as they will not harm each other and live peacefully.
Conclusion:
Cory catfish are good cleaners, and they spend most of their time scavenging on the bottom of the tank, feeding on leftovers and other waste.
They are peaceful and hardy creatures and will thrive in a community tank living with other social and non-aggressive fish.
However, they will not feed on algae and poop.
No fish eat poop, so as cory catfish.
Consider adding algae eaters like Amano shrimp, nerite snails, and ghost shrimp to keep your tank clean from algae.
Reference: Wikipedia