# What is a good catfish or algae eater for a 5 gallon tank?



## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

What would be a good catfish for a 5 gallon?My teacher has a 5 gallon tank and we are wondering what would be okay for this tank.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Snails or maybe a couple otoclinus


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

Could we do emerald corys?Everyone in my class likes them.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Maybe dwarf cories, but that tank is pretty small.

Cories are not good for cleaning algae off the glass though. They are bottom feeders, not cleaners.


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## FrichKazzone (Nov 10, 2011)

Everyone in my class likes them.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Cories are schooling animals. You need several and a five gallon tank is not a lot of space. That leads to the question what else are you keeping in the tank?


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

Guppies,dojo loach


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Aren't dojo loaches a "Goldfish Community" fish? They prefer the colder water that goldfish prefer.


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

I meant goldfish,not guppies.I told my teacher how big goldfish get,but she won't listen.


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## nagonokami (Oct 13, 2011)

Please also tell your teacher that dojo loaches get too big for a tank that size. They can grow to 12 inches and are also best kept in ponds...


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

Yeah that tank is way overstocked. Nothing else should go in there.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

platies pwn said:


> What would be a good catfish for a 5 gallon?My teacher has a 5 gallon tank and we are wondering what would be okay for this tank.


A Mag-Float algae scraper.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

+1 Ghost Knife. :lol:


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

She has one of those


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

ghost knife said:


> a mag-float algae scraper.


+1


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Otocinclus catfish

They will keep plants clean too, without punching hole in them.

This is depending what you have in there, its a small tank so you must be careful of what goes in there. You might just have to get an algae scraper or a magfloat.


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## Kipsie (Nov 12, 2011)

I know a betta isn't a catfish, but why isn't a betta an option?


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

Kipsie said:


> I know a betta isn't a catfish, but why isn't a betta an option?


You're kidding,right?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Kipsie said:


> I know a betta isn't a catfish, but why isn't a betta an option?


I don't think bettas are very good at clean algae. I'm pretty sure they are more carnivorous than herbivorous, but I'm not positive.

I would say a trio of otos would be best or a snail would be good in a 5 gal. I'm not sure how well shrimp do at cleaning algae, but I think they would do well in a 5 gal.

As for what would go well with the current stocking of that tank, I would have to go with Ghost Knife on this; that tank is overstocked as it is, so adding another fish wouldn't be a great idea IMO.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

What? Ghost Knifes need at least a 30 something gallon tank. To even put a baby in there (unless its like a new born) is horrendous.


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

AquariumTech said:


> What? Ghost Knifes need at least a 30 something gallon tank. To even put a baby in there (unless its like a new born) is horrendous.


he is talking about the user ghost knife.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

AquariumTech said:


> What? Ghost Knifes need at least a 30 something gallon tank. To even put a baby in there (unless its like a new born) is horrendous.


He is referring to this person. http://www.fishforums.com/forum/members/9078-ghost-knife.html

He was not suggesting a ghost knife fish as a good fish to add to that aquarium.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

O sorry, my bad, right, shows you how bad I am at the interwebs.


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