Ottos

[mr.waffles1842]

How many ottos should i keep in my 20 gallon tank? also how big do they get?

 

[Rosenweiss]

They stay under 1.5 inches. The real question is, is your tank established, cycled, and has it been going for a few months with good, green algae growth?

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Ive had my tank for 8 months, and the fish seem happy. My algae population is relatively small. I am planning on increasing the algae population, but i simply asked how many because once i want my algae controlled, how many?

 

[Copachick]

Make sure there is enough algae for them to eat. Id get 3 if there is plenty. They stay pretty small. I have a 29 gallon and two are working out perfectly and keeping our previous brown algae attack under control

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Ok then. Thanks.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Agreed, wait until you see algae growth. =] Otos can be finicky eaters, and don't always eat the veggies or wafers you may lay for them.

However, they do need to be in groups of 3 or more as they're social fish. I'd say 3-4 is a good number for you.

 

[Copachick]

Yeah we had 3, but one didnt last long. We think maybe he just wasnt as well fed in the store as the other two. And the two we have play together all the time. Its funny.
We didnt even know about Otos until I read stuff on here about the brown algae and what algae eater is best for that.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Yeah. =] Our 3 otos in our 29 eat green hair algae and any green spot that grows on the walls.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

Ok thanks. Any tips on increasing algae growth?

 

[Rosenweiss]

Keep your lights on longer, it's foolproof. =D

 

[mr.waffles1842]

What im doing right now is removing the sunblock cover so sun can get in.

 

[mr.waffles1842]

ok, thanks

 

[Copachick]

Yep. We think thats what caused our algae growth. We were doing our lights 12 hours on, 12 off. Since then we have been cutting it down to about 5 ours. As long as we had some light coming thru, they dont care if their tank light is on.. expecially when we are not home all day to see them. So we turn them on when we feed them dinner, then they stay on until we go to bed.

 

[Copachick]

then we turn them off when we go to bed*