Otocinclus, Oto cat, Dwarf Suckermouth- Species Spotlight
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ค. 2016
- Probably one of the most popular algae eaters, Otocinclus are not at all appropriate for small tanks but are well worth the space they need.
Otocinclus- Dwarf Suckermouth
pH 6-7.5
Temp 72-82
Adult size 1.5"
Diet: algae
![BOWKYLION - เจ้านายคะ (work-life imbalance) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6bFj8G2pOi4/mqdefault.jpg)
![เกิดใหม่ทั้งทีก็เป็นสไลม์ไปซะแล้ว ซีซั่น 3 - ตอนที่ 64 [ซับไทย]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pmsta0byEpk/mqdefault.jpg)
Loads of easily understandable, relevant and new (for me) information in just six minutes. Great video!
I have discovered something about these fish and why their survival rates might be low. I had gotten three new fish. I have an established 14g hospital tank that has a nice build up of various algae's so that new fish can graze between meals while waiting for their new forever home introduction into the 75g display tank with the school I have already established there. One of these had a nice round tummy (not too round), but looked relatively healthy, though obviously hungry. The second one was noticeably thinner, but also not super unhealthy. While the third had a caved in stomach, rapid breathing and bright redness under the chin and near the gills. I immediately thought "
uh oh" like anyone else would at the sight of the redness. I don't like to stress this type of fish out, especially when sick, so I decided on an in-tank treatment with water changes. I looked online and found a lot of people who have otos with these symptoms, but no one was listing a cure and as I followed each thread, my heart sank as each fish died from this and then others would follow the same pattern and they eventually would lose all of their otos. Heart breaking (I feel about my fish, the way others feel about cats and dogs). I watched for a couple of days and noted that the redness and rapid breathing got worse and two of my otos now had the symptoms. The third did not. My best guess was that it behaved like a type of bacterial infection. Almost like some kind of fishy pneumonia. So I started treating with betadine. I have been able to save lost cause cases of anemones, frags and freshwater fish with fin damage in saltwater and decided to give it a go before trying antibiotics (which for me is a last ditch effort). I used 0.5ml of betadine and 2.5ml of water in a 3ml syringe (the type used to spot feed) and squirted the solution all around the affected fish. I left the non-affected fish alone. This syringe amount covered all days of treatment and then some. Each fish got only one tiny squirt of less than 0.02ml of solution. Hoping that the introduction of betadine to the water column was sufficient. I did this twice a day after 15 minutes I did my very small water change (5%) at the end of the day. After 24 hours, I felt there might be a slight difference in the amount of red I could see. By day four all the redness was gone and the breathing was normal. I treated one extra day to be sure it wouldn't come back. On week four all of their tummies were the right size, they were all eating well (and not that fast panicky eating they do when they first show up... poor things) and they have no negative symptoms. It is now month four and I feel confident in saying that they are thriving and healthy. The fish that hadn't show any signs of redness remained perfectly healthy throughout, so this might be due to the betadine in the water, or it may simply be that a healthier fish have a harder time contracting it. I wanted to share this experience in case anyone else had the same problem and also to ask if you have heard of this illness and if you know of any other treatments or cures. To be clear, t isn't just the gills that are red. Complete symptom list: the entire area under the chin to the heart and gill area is red on the underside, rapid breathing/rapid heart rate, lethargy, trying to eat and seeming to struggle with it, sunk in tummies (which may be from not eating or not being able to... not sure which because I know they are not fed during shipping).
tri morey could you please message me a link to the meds you are referring to. Just in case i need any in the future.
I'd just take the ones that survive and breed those and let the others all die until you get a line of otos that are disease resistant. I only had one fish I cared about that I had for almost 2 decades and it recently died because I had someone else taking care of it while I was doing painting in the house. Other than that I don't get emotionally attached to my fish.
Jesus.
I know it’s like 4 y later haha but I am also super interested in what exact medication you have used. And how can you not get attached to these little sucker’s. They are soo cute and super interesting to watch! Thank you for sharing this successe treatment.
Is there a special kind of betadine that needs to be used ? Or any that is also used for human?
I just bought 5 for my 40g. I wish I could have gotten more, but 5 was all the store had. Will be sure to buy more as soon as I can! They are cute little suckers ;)
I absolutely love your videos, species spotlights especially. you always hit every point and really inform people on how to make the fish comfortable and happy. I’ve been keeping fish for a few years and your videos really really help
Thank you for such informative and well made videos Rachel. I'm new to the hobby (just over a year) and came across this video a bit too late I'm afraid. I have a 30Lt tank and have 9 cardinal tetras and 3 ottos. You are quite right , these 3 do act shy and i thought that was their way until i saw them on your film. Darn... I take it the only way to make them happier is to set up a new bigger tank and then in time swap them and add more . I will now start to watch lots more of your information clips. Lovely finding you and thanks again... all the way from England :)
Just got myself 5 of these for my 120 litre. Already my favourite fish. They're so interesting to watch! I'll see how they get on in my algae farm. I'd love to get more. Always great to use your videos as a reference for new fish. Many thanks Rachel.
I come back to this often. Thank you for making this
So simple looking yet so beautiful. They are at the top of my favourite fishes list. They are the most adorable.
I am glad you posted this. Long overdue and should be pinned for all fish keeping sites. thank you.
Gregg
VERY interesting. One of my favourite fish species. I have often discouraged people from buying them for newly set up tanks or very small ones, but that is because I have come to think that much of the trouble they appear to have in staying alive is due to lack of appropriate food. Being more or less obligate algae grazers, I did not think they would adapt especially well to very many alternate food sources, even if they were willing to eat them.
I knew they naturally congregate in large numbers and I'm always in favour of keeping the largest possible groups of social fish species. But what you say about shyness makes excellent sense too.
My experience with them is vastly less than yours, clearly :-). For myself, I find that so long as they're eating well, they seem to do well in my planted tank but I've always encouraged surface algae to grow in the tank all the time. I have even grown it on rocks as a culture for them, rather than try to get them to eat manmade food or even veggies. It's always interesting to see which snails come to clean up those rocks; MTS snails appear to love the stuff, even more than Nerites do.
I knew they naturally congregate in large numbers and I'm always in favour of keeping the largest possible groups of social fish species. But what you say about shyness makes excellent sense.
My theory about why they so often appear to be fragile for the first couple of months is diet/immunity related. There's a lag between the time they are caught and the time they are shipped. During that time I would doubt that they get very much to eat. I suppose it would depend on who caught them and the care they get afterward. So far as I know, fish are usually fasted before shipping to reduce water fouling in any case. So by the time they reach retailers, they may have starved for some period of time. They sure look thin when I see new shipments in stores. While most healthy creatures can handle some period of fasting, there are exceptions and I think Otos may be an exception.
Since they normally spend a vast amount of their time eating, just one week without food could cause a significant die back in their gut biome. That sort of die back may be toxic in itself, but we're learning more all the time about the critical role bacteria play, not only in digestion but particularly in the functioning of the immune system.
I think herbivorous and omnivorous fish are more similar to humans in this way than they are different. For one thing, algae, in particular, is a very difficult food to digest, thanks to its tough cell walls (cellulose), which require bacteria to break them down. Very superficially, like a cow's rumen, though of course, the fish are NOT ruminants. With a diminished gut biome, they'd likely have some trouble utilizing food they eat, and also be potentially much more vulnerable to immune challenges until the biome is restored. That can take weeks. I have been trying to learn if there are any effective probiotics or prebiotics specifically for fish. (I feed probiotics to my ancient cat with good results). I've noted one or two fish foods that now incorporate something they're calling probiotics but haven't been able to find much information on this topic so far.
Forgive the pun, but there's a lot of food for thought in what you've said about keeping Otos happy. Stress can also be a serious threat to the immune system. Lack of social interaction can be a major stressor especially for such social creatures, so having sufficient numbers of their own kind around them must be even more important than I'd thought up to now.
Yassss thank you so much this is the most on point video I have seen on you tube when it comes to the otocinclus I've been telling people for years I recommend a minimum of 55 and a minimum of 10 to 15 otos in a tank
how many would you suggest for a 10 gallon?
Thank you for posting this video. Great info. I am lucky enough to find these, sometimes, at my LFS. I’m definitely going to add more to the current population of 10.
I have 8 in a 80L tank... after seeing this video I'm going to stock them up to at least 15. thanks for the good info and good examples :)
Excellent info as always Rachel 🤗🤗
Thanks for this video! I was misinformed about this species and now I am now ready to put them in a larger tank and larger school!
Great info thank you x I’d be glad to hear anything else about them, especially breeding behaviour, and care of young fry.
You are amazing. I went down the worm hole of giving my betta some mates, and added ottos. I did not have life and a celebration until I had over ten of them in my 50 gallon. Now I can breath. They are alive. They are eating and I think happy. Ottos need to be in very large numbers.
Wow, 15 different kinds. Thanks for the video!
Totally agree, otos should be kept in larger numbers, and they can even be the highlight of a tank. Thanks for putting up this informative video!
Im a bit confused on which source to trust as aquarium co op says that in a 75 gallon tank only 3 ottos can be housed and here there is Rachel...
Im more on the side of Rachel O'leary thought
Thanks for this video. I was considering getting some for my 10 gallon tank to help clean up some algae. But I think I will just try to take care of it my self since keeping them in such a small tank wouldn't be very kind. Great info. :) subscribed :)
Welcome cherryle!
Fantastic video Racheal. I love that you give a lot of scientific info in your videos. Can you please make one for the real Siamese algae eaters and put to rest ways to identify the real C. langei ?
Love these guys in my 15 gallon (have 4 in there). The zebra version is just gorgeous, but darn hard to find iif not impossible in my area. They love fresh veggies (boiled for about 10 minutes just to soften them up, then allowed to cool) like zucchini, cukes, and sweet potatoes a couple times a week. Also, plenty of Cholla wood in the tank.
Rachel, thank you for talking me out of getting an oto. I'll get a larger shoal of chili rasboras instead and I think everyone will be happier.
My lord I wish more people understood how easy these can be to keep. I hear so much on how they need cool water, they are very delicate and have to have a well established planted tank. Clean water and lots of them is all you need. Great little fish. Hopefully the truth about these awesome little fish can hit all the misinformed on too many forum out there.
I have 8 of these in my 200ltr tank and i love them,plan on getting more.
thank you so much once again
Thank you so much for the great otto info! I have 5 in my 65 gallon tank, as I was worried that they wouldn't have enough food from my heavily planted tank. I had no idea that they needed a school and am feeling terrible that I've not been keeping them correctly. How many would you suggest instead for that size tank? I also have a dozen cardinals, one angel, four honey guorami, and three cory cats.
Very good Rachel, I found this video to be informative and totally agree with what you say about these little gems, I've kept these fish many times and always enjoy watching them - oh bye the way I will like you on Facebook sometime later, keep up the good work babe...
Can you make a video on how to successfully breed them? That will be awesome. Your videos are soo informative!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I'm glad I got 10 of em for my tank... In that number they seem quite active.
They cleaned up the algae on my wood, and my tank in general, but don't seem to be able to clean off the thicker algae off my glass.. at least not yet.
I've turned up the light to try and grow more algae for em, but just gave me green water LOL. So started tossing in an algae wafer every now and again.
I was so scared to buy them after hearing others talk about how sensitive they were. Then I watched a few of your videos on them. Got them a month ago after letting my quarantine tank grow some algae for them. Bought 7. All 7 are doing great a month later and honestly I haven't done anything extraordinary. I throw in some sinking algae pellets and some zucchini from time to time. I did use some prazipro for something else I had going on in the tank. But they have had nice round bellies from day one and have thrived without any more care than I give any of my other fish. Thanks for giving me the confidence to try them out! I love them so much and they will be moving to my main tank very soon......which I have also been intentionally growing algae in so they can have a nice big meal after their move.
I was considering getting one of these for my shrimp tank, as I've read they are quite docile. But now, I will refrain thanks to your video. Thank you for the information.
How many would you suggest for a 25 Gallon that was put together specifically for otos? The only inhabitants would be otos, shrimps, and Brachydanio tinwini.
So helpful thank you :)
thanks! for info. I didn't know more the merrier
One of my favorite species. I've wanted to do a large species tank with them.
Thank you soooo much your the best lady.
I have a bit of a brown algae in my planted 20 long. It's been up now for 2 months. I have 7 cardinal tetras and 4 glow fish tetras. What's a good number of these guys to get? Thank you rachel! I just got a school of 8 of them over the weekend and they are doing a tremendous job on cleaning my plants and algae. Also dropped in some Zucchini that they are loving. Such cool fish
I have about 55 otos of various species in my 90 (along with a dozen pygmaeus corys and 10 brochis splendens), but the otos are still very shy. I've never seen a planted tank where they COULD hide, but weren't. I'd love to add some dithers to draw them out, but they'd have to be fry safe. Any suggestions? Blackwater/very softwater tank.
Hey Rachel, ive been watching your videos for a while now. Since you have this much success with that food, what food is it exactly that you're feeding them?
My fave fish! Thank you.
I did not know that!! WoW Thanks!!
I know this post is old but, I have never kept Ottos till today and I trust Rachael's advice
What are the floating pellets you typically would use for these guys?
That is hillarious. I just got home with 6 of them for my 40 gallon planted tank.
I picked up 3 today (will definitely pick up some more) and they went straight to my 9 corydora when i added them :)
Thank you!
I keep 2 in my 40 breeder, & they are doing just fine.
Hi Rachel, I'm looking to expand the diet for my otos, what kind of pellets are you feeding here? I normally feed them zucchini but they seem to prefer the algae in my tank.
Great talk Rachel, very informative! :)
Thank you Rachel! Another great episode. I was considering buying a couple of those for my 5 gallon nano tank, but I'm convinced otherwise now.
How about snails? What are your thoughts on them?
+Ricardo Junqueira snails are great, one of these days I will do a spotlight on them as well. Nerites should be stocked at 1 per 5g of tank space
AWESOME! I can't wait!
I'm learning so much from you and Joey. I'm very gratefull for both of you sharing your knowledg, experience and passion with the rest of the world.
My pleasure! It's fun reaching people I would otherwise never encounter!
Rachel O'leary do you know how to breed nerite snails? can I get the eggs of the wood and pkants and put them in a brackisch tank? do they then do the rest themsekds or do they need other extra care in that brackish tank before or after they hatch?
i have two mystery snails, two guppies, and a adf in my 4 gallon they do well but use alot of filtration
So happy to see this spotlight! Actually I was about to ask you about them...I had three in my 10 gallon (the first female was always busy & visible but I thought she needed friends), & perhaps two weeks after introducing my other two--male & another female--spawning everywhere!! i didn't think the wild-caught fish (petsmart sold them as affinus, so who knows...) would readily spawn, especially with an amateur keeper. This is currently a species tank & gah, I've considered tying the male up in a condom so my tank doesn't spill over with fry! I keep them well-fed, fat bellies & little poop trails everywhere, although the zucchini drives me nuts by fogging up my crystal-clear water...everybody's happy & busy...but I really feel like there's too many (& I just spotted new eggs this morning!) for this small tank & wanted to know your opinion on approaching a (non-petsmart!) lfs about selling some very zesty 'home-grown' ottos. Does that offset the potential negative feelings a shopkeeper might get from being approached by a private seller? I'm a little bit at my wit's end, especially because I don't know when these cute little guys hit sexual maturity! 😓
+grey roses I imagine you would have a laundry list of folks eager for home grown otos!
+Rachel O'leary Oh, I hope so! They really are marvelous little fish & so fun to watch in a species tank. Also, I've never had to clean any surface in the tank. :) I'm so glad to see that my ottos' behavior is on point...I've never seen any other reference like yours here. I was a bit worried about how jolly they seem--I was wondering if was a sign of anxiety!
+grey roses Mind my asking what your water parameters are like, and what you're feeding? Are they o.vittatus?
+grey roses a sign of health and happiness!
Stop by my facebook: facebook.com/msjinkzd/
Visit my website: msjinkzd.com/
Support my efforts: msjinkzd.com/about_msjinkzd/support-our-site/
i didn't know I should have more than one but mine seems to be doing ok
I have a 20 gallon long with 10 fish and 1 oto.
I do a 2 gallon water change every day/can i get 4 more otos/don't want to over crowd.I have 6 ballon mollies 2 bettas and 2 plattys.
I think you could fit a few more in there
OK I will get 4 more then.
Can I keep otto's in a non-planted tank? It's a 29 gallon and I REALLY want some!!! They are sooooo cute!!
+Hailey Crayon yes as long as it's very mature
Good info, thanks! Unfortunately I got bad advice from my LFS and got two for my ten gallon..one of which died.
Hi, in this video you talked about getting corydoras in the same tank as the oto's to make them more at ease. In my tank I have several Otocinclus vittatus. My tank contains 250 liter water. Which kind of corydoras would you recommend?
Thank for the info
I'm a beginner yet to dip his toes in the water. Was looking to get some tetras and shrimp in a planted 10 gallon tank. Any suggestions which pair of glass lickers would suit?
Ever thought of keeping orange spotted sunfish? They are amazing in color, but they are pretty hard to get to eat sometimes. I have 2 and i lucked out and they readily ate my bloodworms
I have a 20g planted tank (medium to heavily planted) and 4 otos. Having trouble trying to get them to eat...algae wafers or zucchini...other than having more numbers, any recommendations to try and get them to eat? They don't look very skinny but they don't have rounded bellies.
Thanks for the info, you just stopped me buying them for my betta tanks. I would have bought them today. Since the tanks are 5.5 gallons, that’s not enough room.
Hello Rachel, do ottos eat other fishes eggs? and do you think they go well in hard water? thanks
I have a 11 gallon tank with 4 betta fish. it is a very very well planted tank, how many otocinclus would you recomend for that?
Great video...very helpful. I wish I could find an otto video that mentions approximate cost, at least a range of cost.
Around here they are $2-3 each
@@RachelOLeary Thanks ....I paid $2.39 tonight at Petsmart in Salem, NH.
Mine has been living for a long time now, it let's me get up close and touch it before darting away.
hi ya! love the great info provided in your vids. Was just wondering what brand of floating pellet are you feeding. I've had a lot of trouble with ottos in the past eating sinking pellets. Would like to try the floaters. Thanks in advance!
Could you share what issue you had with them and sinking pellets? Would a feeding bowl be useful you think?
I am considering getting some ottos soon...
Hey sorry I didn’t respond sooner... I had issues with sinking pellets fouling my substrate. They never seemed to be eaten and would eventually grow his white stringy film. I stopped using them and started keeping live plants. The ottos constantly graze on he plants and seem to be happy but I am still looking for supplemental nutrition for them.
Yours look very healthy. Mine were a bit off after buying from the local chain fish store. I've had them a month and they have improved much but think they are out of algae. I tried some pleco food and they get on it so I assume they do eat at least a bit of it.
They are soooooo cute.
With a 55 gallon and 12 Amono Shrimp how many do you recommend in my tank.
Thanks Rachel for sharing. Will they eat shrimplets? I have a shrimp only tank and I am actually planning to introduce some Otos... what do you recon?
+Vijay Sivasankaren they do not eat shrimplets
Every time I try to buy them they don’t survive the shipping or live for just a few days. I’ve only been able to keep 3 alive, they will not be happy in that small a group. Where can I buy them from a reputable source?
I have a 90 gallon planted tank with tons of different algaes growing in it. I am researching different fish species that eat algae so that they can keep the plants clean of algae that grows on their leaves... I just want to try out a whole bunch of different random algae eating fish and see if they can help at least keep the plants from being completely covered in algae.
Mine has run off. Doing fine and POOF! He (perhaps) was attacking the others and I segregated him. For a week he seemed well, not bothering but just hanging out with the guppies. Are they escape artists? Do they jump? Keep in mind he was my favorite...
Tks for the great info. So for 20g, you reckon 6 otto & 10 lamb chop rasbora will do well together? I got a filtration, eheim 2117 on that tank :D
Absolutely
can you do a spotlight on Jack Dempsey's?
Can I put a group into a 24g tank that has Serpae Tetras and two Paradise Gourami? Will they leave the little Ottos alone?
otocinclus tapirape at 2.4 cm max would be much more well suited for nano tanks because they could be kept properly in smaller tanks. I think we should get them into the hobby and it is too bad they are virtually completely unknown. if anyone is going on a collecting trip near the upper and middle Araguaia River in Brazil you should go find some. I think they would be excellent for the fishkeeping hobby.
I had a few of them (Otocinclus affinis? They don't have the black dot at the tail, the black line just keeps going), but unfortunately all but 1 died. The one that is left is doing surprisingly well alone, surviving for more than a year now. I'm on the lookout for some more, but the stores around me tend to only have bigger variants in stock, that are double it's size. I had more in the past, but they do seem to die quickly. The ones that make it seem to be very tough. I'd love to have 15+ in my tank. I love these fish.
Badass fish keeper. Nice. 🤜🤛👌👌🤘🤘
how can I hide the food for the oto so they can get to taste it and maybe start to eat it? I have a few in the aquarium and they eat the algae but cucumbers and pellet's and other stuff they don't get to them before the other fishes like cory get to them.
Hello, with which dwarf corry they can have a mimetic relationship?
I have about 10 -13 oto fry from parents in community tank. Fry are in 10 gal window tank with fire red shrimp cycled with a fair amount of green algae. Fry have survived about a week. Worried about feeding them. Giving zucchini, algae wafers, live brine shrimp& rottifers using a pipette. I want them to survive what else should I be doing. Need help I am losing some.
I just bought 11 in USA for $50 shipped overnight. It's the most I've purchased yet, hopefully they do better. Fragile little guys by themselves. In a perfect world they would be sold in prepackaged schools, not chased around by a net individually in a big LFS tank. I prefer to order wild caught fish online when I can, or there is an aquabid seller that I found literally four blocks from my house with a small building full of holding tanks. I got 30 rummy nose from him cheap.
I have a ten gallon with a betta and two nerites and I’m trying to find something that will clean off the white fungus on my new wood and I was thinking of getting these little dudes but I think I’ll pass maybe I’ll get some Amanos do you recommend anything else?
my Oto hates when i put the tank light on for night feeding, are they naturally nocturnal, or am I just "spooking" the fish with the bright light?
I've found mine to hang in the back during the day but I've come up at night and see them all over the glass and moving around. So I think they might be a little more active at night
Great video! I kinda wish I knew more about this breed before I bought 2 for a 10g tank with 4 black skirt tetras for my classroom. Do you have any suggestions for me to keep a healthy and happy ecosystem for them? I have 3 Echinodorus 'Bleherae' plants in the tank which they seem to like going on. Thank you!
Get a few more :) they will be a il happier in a larger group .
I`ve had my group for 3 days now. They all seemed very healthy and active and were grazing a lot! I of course fed them extra, got algae tabs, cucumber, some oak leaves. Now this morning one of them was lying on their back. I panicked did a small water change (although the water parameters were fine) and got in extra oxygen. Unfortunately the little guy didn't make it.
But I am a bit freaked now as this happened with no prior warning. No visible signs either. All the Other fish in the tank (3 Black Mollys and 2 Rineloricaria fallax) and the remaining ottos are perfectly fine. I keep them in my 120 liter tank (31Gallons? I think)
Honestly, it happens. Some are weaker than others and don't take to change well. I also realized that when netting, the healthier ones are going to have an easier time escaping the net, whereas the weaker are more likely to get caught. An established tank with proper food, proper acclimation and proper quarantine gives them the best chance. I've had dozens die when I didn't know better and I felt SO bad about it, but over time, the ones that have survived I've had for almost 2+ years.
Hi, i look up to you in the hobby. I got 2 common ottos as i cant get any other varieties in Australia. My 2 ottos are very active always on the front glass of tank eating algea going in all directions on glass- even upside down. or they're on soil substrate near front glass. Or on plants, they're thriving even though i only have 2. they have full round tummy.
Awesome!
I wish LFS had these. Ugh I want some of them!
I’ve discovered, the hard way, to remove the top tubing (which are mostly clear/fogged) on sponge filters. They get too tempted to enter this tubing, get stuck, and subsequently die.
Same with young ancistrus
I ordered 8 but 5 were DOA. The 3 left, 1 is fat and happy and the other 2 are flat and sunken bellies. I have no idea why. I feed repashy soilent green, zucchini and algae wafers but it's like they aren't finding it. Help?? It's been 2 months
do you feel twenty gallons would be good and how many will thrive? I am thinking a species tank can't do more than twenty gallons though. I love these fish! I bought six last year in my ten gallon with my beta and they are now one year old! I love them Love them Love them. I want as many as possible.
Is it ok to have two of them in a 12 gallon guppy tank . I got them to eat algae on glass
Hey Rachel?
I had a question on otos and other catfish, particularly the Corydoras habrosus (of which I have 2). I recently bought 4 of the otos to put in my 5 gal that is absolutely COVERED in algae! Sometimes I can't even see in there. Anyways, I was wanting to get them anyways and figured the more algae the better, so I let it grow out. Is it ok that they're in there? I also have 2 ghost shrimp, the 2 corydoras habrosus I talked about, and one green betta named Kogami.
I also have a 30 gallon tank with a cloud of guppies, but as of yet, the lighting situation is not up to par, and there is little algae and only moss, a dwarf happy java fern, and one stalk of cabomba. I was planning to move them there if I needed to.
Anyways, thanks for you're thoughts!
Dakota14breyer
P.S. the corydoras habrosus seem to love hanging out with the otos, it's like seeing two cousins at a family reunion! lol.
+Dakota14breyer it isn't ideal but give it a try
cool thanks!
How can I distinguish Otocinclus mariae,hoppei and macrospilus?
I have always been told you needed to have three or more, kind of like Cory cats, I’ve had two before and they did fine, I was unable to find more at the time where I lived. They seem to hang out with Cory cats all the time, they’ve seemed very happy in groups of four or five with a few Cory cats as well. I was planning on getting five of these and five or six pygmy Cory cats in a 29 gallon tank, I’d also like to put a couple of guppies in there and about a dozen green neon tetra’s and a couple dozen chili rasboras and some neocaradina shrimp and some snakes. I’m just not sure if that’s going to be too much? I’d love some Amber Tetris in there too but I don’t want to overstock. I’m also planning on keeping the tank at about 71-72° in winter and creep up to about 76° in summer, with easy plants and mosses in the tank and sand with almond leaves and some driftwood and chola wood. not sure that’s going to be compatible with everything yet. I am thinking that all through and studying up on all of them, I’m going to let the new tank cycle for a couple of months before I start adding to it. Advice?
Definitely adding some Otos to my 120 gallon. Just need to figure out how many. I'm thinking somewhere in the 12-24 region?
+Kjell Verhegge awesome
Hi Rachel I have a question what eats hair algae? it's like the stuff you have all over in your big tank the one with all your monster fish, great video by the way 👍
Florida flag fish love hair algae. A pair can clean a 10 gallon in days.
+Sharon Wyly thank you
amano shrimp are great
How many should be in a 40 gallon tank. I have 3 already
Rachel in your experience with oto catfish, do they eat brown algae, that's what I have mostly in my tank.
yes
My otos are now 2 inches long. I don't know how old they really are but I had them for about +3 years now.