Bristle Nose Pleco or Oto cat?

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Musket

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
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What would be better in a 5g tank?

Other inhabitants are 1 dwarf frog, 1 ghost shrimp, (undecided) 1 male or 2 small female betta.

Since adding the CF bulb, I have spots of green algae building up on one wall.
Thanks in advance.
 
Oto's will fit better as I think BN's will get to big. The problem is you'll need to keep the oto's in a school which will make then not fit in there. Plus, they're hard to keep.
 
A 5g is a little too small for either. Ottos prefer groups, of atleast 2. They are very sensitive to water quality and its hard to maintain a stable tank the smaller they are.

BN's are very messy. They make alot of waste and get about 5 inches...which would be very cramped in a 5g tank.

I would stick to a snail. They do a pretty good job cleaning the algae off the glass.
 
hulkamaniac said:
Oto's will fit better as I think BN's will get to big. The problem is you'll need to keep the oto's in a school which will make then not fit in there. Plus, they're hard to keep.

I agree with otos. As small as they stay, you shouldn't have a problem having 2 in a 5G. A BN would work as well, IMO. I've seen them kept in 2.5G with no problems. And yes, they are a poo factory, so you'll need to be on top of maintenanve if you get a BN. My recommendation is either snails or 2 otos, or both..
 
What about an LDA-08 (Gold Marble Bristlenose)?

I believe they max out at about 3" and don't need to be kept in groups...
 
Sorry I meant a dwarf bristlenose.

Well I looked into the gold marble - very cute, but not a common fish around here.

I went to the store I got my other dwarf bristle at but just wasn't sure so I left empty handed. I went to another store and found some oto's for 1.79 so I got 2 with really dark tails . The black goes the entire length and thru the tail. Then the tail has some black spots.

I will do a water change before I add them and remove the goldfish who still fits but are getting to big, so I figure I might as well move em before they are cramped.

My snail is Not doing a good job on the algae, or most likely the algae is growing too fast. I also picked up some algae eating shrimp for 2.99 each.
 
fwiw, I have 2 otos in a 5.5 gallon and they seem pretty happy in there. They keep the algae in check very well, and I give them algae wafers also. I have 3 in my 55 as well. I would definitely say a BN pleco is too big for a 5 gal, unless it was a baby and you were going to move it very soon.
 
I would say the BN just becaus EI can never keep otos nor SAE alive for very long. They are messy creatures but alage doesn't stand a chance. As for plants, I would stay with elodea or another floating stem plant. I had it in my 2.5 gallon fry tank and it thrived. I would suggest you go with a bare bottom tank also, much easier to keep clean.

If you think you can keep otos alive then they sound like a much better choice and won't mistakenly make a meal out of your shrimp.
 
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