Please tell me something about Otos

[blang]

Yesterday, I purchased my first 2 otos for my 10 gallon tank. I hear they are fun fish but mine don't seem to be too exciting. I barely see them move. Are they nocturnal? One of them doesn't look too good and he will probably not make it.

If you have otos, how are they suppose to behave. Will they be entertaining or just boring algae eaters. I've only had them for a day so I don't know if it will take time to get use to their new home.

Should i drop a small piece of an algae wafer in the tank at night for them to eat? Will they eat during the day? Tomorrow I will go out and get some zuchini.

Any info on these little guys would be most appreciated.

 

[SerLunchbox]

oto's .. AWESOME algae eaters. Sure you won't see them move much ... hell, you won't see them much at all! The way to really tell if they are doing well is if they look like they are ready to burst or they look like they swallowed a basketball. They generally stay out of the way and are more a background fish and are not really a fish for entertaining. Algae wafers are great for them, but they don't need much. Zuchini will be eaten by all fish to be honest. HTH

 

[blang]

I put a small piece of wafer by one of them and they ignored it completely. My other fish were happy to get an extra meal! I put a small blanched piece of lettuce in the tank so we'll see how they do with that. I'll go out and by zuchini tomorrow.

 

[Jchillin]

As a oto keeper, they are passive and quiet. They want algae in any form possible. If you have algae in your tank, they will be just fine (they even eat algae that is invisible to us). A wafer is fine. They will get to it when they want it. They just don't feed like the fish at all. They will do most of their eating at night (when it's dark). The lettuce, zucchini will probably be wasted or eaten by others.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

They do like to eat algae. The bad part about them is they are veryfragile when it comes to water conditions. Buying one from the fish store then bringing it home and doing the normal float method doesnt always work well with them. They are very touchy to PH change and just about any change from what they are currently housed in. If I were to buy them I would have the fish place give me alot of the water they are in and slowy acclimate them in a small aquarium with that water then dripping the water they will be going into slowly into that container.

Anyhow I found a better replacement thats hardier and only grows 4"

Striped bulldog rubbernose pleco they are much better IMHO.

 

[QTOFFER]

Otos are fantastic algae eaters - one of the few fish that actually love to munch on those annoying sheets of brown diatoms.

They can be difficult to acclimate, and unexplained deaths are not uncommon. Some think it's because they are transported and held in relatively algae-free tanks before being sold, resulting in starvation and stress.

I would offer them some algae wafer every night and stop cleaning the back pane of your tank - let it grow a nice layer of algae for them. If you can get a few otos to take in your tank, you'll never have to clean algae again. Good luck with them!

 

[blang]

I usually drop a small wafer in for my other fish in the late afternoon. Should I just make it a little bigger piece or should I drop another small piece before I go to bed. I'm just afraid my other fish will go after it, especially my two cories.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

Im telling ya I have had my 29 gallon for 3 years and this one little small striped bulldog rubbernose pleco eats everything. I have never seen algae in my tank.

Heck they are $5-6 bucks and worth every penny.

had to edit this

They do like a small cave of some sort to hide in. They are really friendly as far as plecos go. He watches everything I do and looks at me when I am just sitting in my chair. I have tried ottos did not have much luck eiher. If your ottos dont make it check out this little guy.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/chaetost/318_f.php

 

[blang]

I have a small pleco for my 15 gallon but I thought that the 10 gallon tank was just too small for a pleco that a couple of otos were a better choice.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

I have had this little guy for 3 years and hes 3" long. the max length of one is 4" I dont think they would be too bad for a 10 gallon

 

[blang]

Well, I will consider that if it doesn't go well with the otos. But for now, I want to do all I can to keep these two guys healthy and happy.

 

[FancyGuppyGuy]

I suppose you could be right? 2 inches or so for 2 ottos over 3 inches or so. Youd only save 1 inch basically and you have to deal with ottos and their short life span and frequent sudden deaths. I know I bought some they lived for awhile then poof they died one by one.

I hope your ottos make it along time I really do, but from past experience and from all the posts I have read they just dont seem to make it for the long haul. And on top of that they seem to get sick awful easy and I dont want fish that get sick easy to get my other fish sick

 

[Maillis]

I've never had a problem with Otos dieing and I keep a few in two tanks, I get mine from petsmart and I think they may be domestically bred so they are better suited for aquarium life than wild caught.

 

[blang]

Well, I lost one of the otos. I'm not surprised as he didn't look like he had a lot of energy. The other one seems OK but he is not doing much cleaning and I never see him eat. I called the LFS and they will replace the one I lost. I asked him what they feed their otos and they said flakes. I feed this tank flakes every morning but I never see this Oto go after the food.

We'll see how this new one goes.

 

[smallfry]

Hey,
I have had the same 4 otos (in my 10g) for over a year now...here's some tips:

When you get the replacement oto, look for the largest, most energetic one at the pet store. Also make sure his belly is rounded. Don't pick a small oto with a slim belly....they have more chance of dying.

Acclimate him SLOWLY to your tank and leave the tank lights off for the first 24 hours. This gives them time to relax and settle....my otos are very sensitive to light.

Don't worry if you don't SEE them eating....go by the roundness of their bellies instead.

I've never known otos to eat flakes.

I don't ever clean my tank (I let the otos do it). This insures that they are getting adequate algae most of the time. When I notice the bellies getting slimmer, I'll cut a small piece of cucumber/zuchinni length wise, take off the seeds, microwave it for approx. 1 minute, let it cool and anchor it down in the tank using a veggie clip or decorations... My otos seem scared of the veggie if it's floating around the tank...they like it stationary. (Unlike my pleco, who "rides" the cucumber around my larger tank).

With 4 otos in a 10g, I tend to give them veggies once every 2 weeks or so, but your mileage may vary. (My tank is near a window and tends to breed algae at a quick pace)

I would encourage you not to give up on otos....oh! another thing is if you can have a total of 3 or more otos, they will be more active. They are more comfortable and secure in groups.

Good luck and HTH!

 

[blang]

thanks for the advice. This guy hangs on the glass but I don't see him move much. I only have green algae on my decorations. I have quite a bit of brown algae on the front glass and slime on the other sides. My tank is about 2 months old.

As soon as the snow stops, I'll go and pick up another Oto or two. I don't know if I have room for a third as my tank is almost fully stocked:

2 melini corys
3 serpae tetras
1 oto
1 gold dust molly (will only grow to about 1 1/2 inches or less)

I was hoping to get a dwarf platy or another small Molly. Would I have room for 3 otos?

 

[Ramrebel]

i have an oto in my 20g (signature is old) he doesn't seem to be doing his job there is algae all over my decorations . he likes to chew on my amazon sword and does a decent job on the glass

 

[smallfry]

Blang,
You would have room for 2 more otos if you didn't get the extra molly. You could always get the 2 otos now and wait on the extra molly to see how things go for awhile. The one inch of fish per gallon rule is a loose one, but needs to be adhered to more strictly, the smaller the tank. (10g is small)

Ramrebel,
You may see better results if you give your oto 2 or 3 buddies. He will be happier and they will keep up with the algae better.

 

[blang]

Maybe I will try two more otos, I will think on that. And besides, my one molly thinks he is a tetra anyway so I know he isn't lonely. The tetras, however, are confused on why this yellow and black fish keeps on hanging around with them!

 

[Ramrebel]

i was thinking of 2 otos and 2 clowns as an addition
any thoughts?