Which Cleaner Fish Are the Prettiest?

1 Good-Looking Cleaner Fish

Cleaner fish keep tanks clean and ease pollution, so many owners add them — and want beauty too, favoring prettier species. Here are several good-looking ones.

Which cleaner fish are good-looking

1. Clown loach: a widely recognized pretty cleaner; orange body with three black vertical stripes and red fins — highly ornamental, but pricier.

Clown loaches are gentle, mix with most fish, and when hungry graze driftwood and bottom debris — some cleaning value. But they dislike low temperatures; ideal 25–28°C, neutral to slightly acidic water.

2. Gold sailfin (queen sailfin): essentially an albino pleco; similar shape to the dark pleco but far prettier — golden body, red eyes, an elegant air. It is the recognized strongest cleaner, eating algae well; pick a smaller one as they work harder. Like plecos, it is sensitive to medication — beware.

3. Corydoras: many color forms, all pretty. Two little whiskers by the mouth look like a mouse — hence the name. Varied patterns, ordered hard plates on the sides. Gentle, mixes well, omnivorous, cleans the tank nicely.

4. Kisser fish: also the kissing fish; the ‘kissing’ is actually fighting. Milky white or pink body, transparent fins — cute and pretty. Lively; when hungry it sucks green algae off glass, some cleaning, but algae is not its staple, it eats a lot and accepts any food, and waste grows later — consider carefully. Small and a weak fighter; avoid aggressive tankmates.

5. Golden algae eater: golden all over, transparent fins, slender and straight — very pretty. Small but omnivorous with a big appetite, eats moss and debris — a strong cleaner, and hardy. A good choice.

That is the rundown of good-looking cleaner fish; pick what you like.