Essential Cleanup Crew Fish For Aquariums

Aquarium maintenance is a must do. No matter how much you may dread doing water changes and siphoning or scraping the inside of your tank, it's a necessity. There are fish and other livestock that are considered 'essential" in any tank as they play a role in keeping the appearance clean and free of algae.

We've all been there and are annoyed with that eyesore string algae destroying the aesthetics of your aquatic plants or that gorgeous stone you've just set in the perfect place is not covered in a layer of green or brown scum. Luckily, there are aquatic "janitors" that'll assist you in keeping the tank's surface

Here are some of our top picks for what every aquascaper and fish hobbyist consider as essential cleaning crew livestocks:

1. Otocinclus Catfish (Oto Cat)

The Otocinclus Catfish, commonly known as Otos or Oto Cat. These little Loricariidae cats are one of the smallest you can find in the hobby and does a fantastic job cleaning algae in an aquarium. Even aquascaping experts love the cleaning ability of the Oto as they are safe for planted aquariums.



2. Siamese Algae Eater

The Siamese Algae Eater is a very prolific when it comes to keep the tank and live plants clean, as they go a great job grazing algae.

This peaceful fish does well in community aquariums! Great for planted tanks.



3. Amano Shrimp aka "Japanese Algae Eater" Shrimp

This shrimp is popular among many aquatic plant hobbyists as they are known for their amazing cleaning abilities. Also known as the "Japanese Algae Eater," the Amano Shrimp was named after Takashi Amano after he introduced this amazing invert to the aquaria hobby!

This beautiful shrimp does a great job feeding off the surfaces of the tank and eating matter off plants. They particularly love hanging around the foam cover of the filters, catching and eating the debris that gets caught around that area.



4. Horned Nerite Snail

There are many Nerite species but we choose the Horned Nerite species as they don't lay those stubborn eyesore eggs in comparison to their Zebra or Tiger Nerite brethren.

These snails are some of the most popular ones in the aquarium hobbyist world, especially with planted tanks!

They eat algae proliferously and do well in many tanks. Low maintenance and gorgeous!

Also known as the Thorn Nerite Snail.