"Harry Muscle" wrote in
:

What would you recommend for a clean up crew for a 55G planted tank?
So far I'm thinking of getting 6 Jullii cory cats to take care of any
extra food reaching the bottom.

If you have enough extra food reaching the bottom for 6 juliis in a 55, you
are feeding *way* too much.

However, I'm still undecided what to
get to take care of the algae. Is an Otto better than a SAE? Or do
they just eat different algae?

They eat different algae. Otocinclus will eat the smoother algaes (green
spot to some extent, green slime better, and they love diatoms IME) while
SAEs prefer filamentous algaes.

How many should I get of each?

Depending... I would get 4-5 otos and 1-2 SAEs, but I have a lot of wood in
my tank that needs some extra loving.

Does
it matter which species of Ottos?

otocinclus affinis is the only one commonly available, I believe.

Other otos can get spendy- buy them if the aesthetic value is enough for
you.

Any shrimp that you would recommend
(they would need to survive the company of swordtails, guppies, kribs,
siamese fighting fish, and some tetras)?

Kribs would probably eat algae eating shrimp, if I had to make a guess.

The only thing that I don't
want is a pleco, I just don't like the look of them.

Bristlenose plecos are pretty cool, and clown plecos are much less ugly
than the average pleco. Clowns are pretty shy too, they generally come out
at night.

~Empty
--
'You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it
kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other
till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains,
children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may
be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.'
Spike