Just want to get the general "feel" out there regarding "cleaner" fish in Oscar tanks...plecs, certain catfish, etc. What do you peeps suggest, what do you think one should refrain from getting, etc.

I hate to blow your bubble but there is no such thing as a cleaner fish. However, there are fish that will feast on other fish's feces but they won't actually contribute to your tanks cleanliness because they themselves will create a bio load. In fact, plecs, which many people get because they eat algae create an an enormous amount of waste. so you will be defeating the object of getting one of these fish if you want less work to do on your aquarium

Hey boet...i know there aren't a thing such as cleaners which is why i titled this thread as "cleaners". Basically looking at fish which will keep algae in check (sort of), eat the scraps which the messy feeding oscars leave, etc.

More fish means more ammonia and nitrites, which your cycled filter should be able to deal with. And prolly should deal with the scraps left behind concerning oscars and their table manners...but having some other fishes to help daily with "cleaning" until you get to your weekly/bi-weekly water changes and gravel vacs, etc.

Most people have some sort of "cleaner"-type fish with their oscars...just curious as to what specimens they do have, and pros and cons for these. Example: Plecs...pros...keeps algae in check, cons...prolly craps more than an oscar. That type of thing...

if you like to look of a pleco but want something a bit smaller you could get a bristlenose catfish, the look ver much alike but stay pretty small, my female is about 10cm long. A male bight be a better option though cause they get a bit bigger and there is less chance they will end up as a snak for you O. Clown loaches are also pretty cool for bottom feeders but if you get clowns get a few cause they do better in groups.

To add to bigdot's post, plecos may eat algae, but most of my plecos are lazy.
I got one Hypostomus pleco that does all the cleaning, but it was the 7th pleco i got and he's allmost a foot long now..
Bristlenose is a good option for a smaller plec
I got some Silver Dollars and they help a bit in keeping an aesthetic look to my tank,by eating all the poo and scraps, even the fish my gar refuses, but also add quite a bit to the bioload.
Some synodontis catfish may be a good help too, in eating scraps.

Of the plecs that I have kept in the past bristlenose catfish were by far the best at keeping algae clear. I've had a few of the larger plecs in the past and they were absolutely useless.

very true, boss.
imagine me having 6 plecos and my tank looking like this:


until nr 7 showed up and made the rocks look like this within 2 days:



you gotta have luck with the pleco you buy...

My plec is ALWAYS eating something, the dude barley stops i swear....