I need help to clean tank

Question
Since I got rid of my large goldfish and pleco from my 10 gallon tank, I have a number of fry in the tank. I need to clean the bottom of the tank, and do not know how to do it with the suction cleaner I have. Can I get a loach or something to clean the bottom of the tank and not disturb the fry? I have a Cory Cat in there but he seems to be lifeless now that the goldfish and pleco are gone. What can I do to help him out to keep the tank clean. I will admit to having overfed the guppies, so now what do I do?  

Answer
Dear Jackie,
If the babies are indeed Guppy fry I have in fact siphoned aquariums with lots of babies and avoided harming them by hovering just above the gravel. Fortunately most guppy fry shy away from the siphon. If I see any baby getting siphoned up, I immediately kink the hose sharply to stop the flow and the fry swims out. I don't really recommend taking this risk but I've had good luck just being exceptionally careful.

But a much better alternative is taking very fine netting sometimes found in sewing departments and securing it around the end of the siphon tube with a rubberband. This avoids the risk of siphoning up any little fry and still enables you to siphon some debri. This is by far my safest method. You can always be careful without any protection on the siphon tube with a watchful eye and always keeping your hand ready to kink the hose in case you siphon a baby. This rarely happens with older fry. Young ones tend to hover more near the bottom and extra care should be made when doing siphoning near them.

Water changes are essential for all fish to remain healthy and thriving. Young fry need clean water even more. There is no substitute for water changes. 20% everyday will cause a growth spurt in your fry.

Well, I hope this helps and feel free to write with anymore concerns you may have.

Best of luck with your babies!
Best wishes also,
Karen~
ps: Actually, Cories are schooling fish that thrive in groups. Your cory will most certainly perk up after a good water change and preferably the addition of at least 2 more of his species.