Wil otos compete with rcs for algae??

[angelvelez87]

I bought one oto for my 8gl rcs tank yesterday and i asked the guy at my lfs and he said the oto would not nip on shrimps and that it would not steal their food source either! Is this true??

 

[Coursair]

I bought one oto for my 8gl rcs tank yesterday and i asked the guy at my lfs and he said the oto would not nip on shrimps and that it would not steal their food source either! Is this true??

They both eat Algae and biofilm. But my Otos and Shrimp get along great !! Yes the Otos sometimes suck on my Shrimps' food, but my Shrimp just climb over them. I have 2 Otos in my Shrimp Jungle. My Shrimp don't starve

 

[angelvelez87]

Thank you coursair your comments are always helpful!! Now i can be in peace with my shrimps new friend!!

 

[Darklight]

They both eat Algae and biofilm. But my Otos and Shrimp get along great !! Yes the Otos sometimes suck on my Shrimps' food, but my Shrimp just climb over them. I have 2 Otos in my Shrimp Jungle. My Shrimp don't starve

Ditto that! I have 4 otos in with my shrimps, complete harmony! They share each others food, all well fed

 

[phoenixkiller]

I bought one oto for my 8gl rcs tank yesterday and i asked the guy at my lfs and he said the oto would not nip on shrimps and that it would not steal their food source either! Is this true??

They'll just do their own thing. They won't have too much to do with each other. I would say that you should get a few more otos though, loners die young IME.

Another plus for Otos is, they are in the handful of fish that don't eat RCS babies! I love otos, and may get a school for my 55 soon.

 

[emerald76]

They'll just do their own thing. They won't have too much to do with each other. I would say that you should get a few more otos though, loners die young IME.

Another plus for Otos is, they are in the handful of fish that don't eat RCS babies! I love otos, and may get a school for my 55 soon.

Otos are safe with almost anything lol
You'll be fine

 

[angelvelez87]

Thank you guys!! But how many can i get into my 8gal??

 

[emerald76]

Thank you guys!! But how many can i get into my 8gal??

2 at the most
It is recommended that there is one per 3-5 gals of water

 

[maxwellag]

2 at the most
It is recommended that there is one per 3-5 gals of water

1. That's not a good method to stock with because tanks vary in shape and size- some use more glass but have less volume and vice versa.
2. Ottos should not be in a tank that small (3-5g). They need more room.
3. Volume doesn't matter as much because ottos usually suck on glass, not constantly swim around.

 

[absolutangel04]

I don't recommend otos in an 8g personally. I have kept them in a 10, but once you get under that, they don't always do well long term. Especially since many otos won't eat wafers.

 

[Autumnsky]

I have some newer Otos and I made them some farmers market organic zucchini cooked in treated water til tender, and they swam around them then started eating I was so happy, the snail loved it to. lol

 

[siva]

You don't need to worry about oto's stealing the RCS' food source, more like vise versa. In the event there isn't enough bio-film and algae present, RCS are easy to supplement and oto's usually are not. I wouldn't stock oto's in anything smaller than 15-20 gals, and only in mature tanks (atleast 6 months old). That allows you to have a group of three and have no more than 1 per 5 gals. I've heard a lot about oto die offs when these guidelines aren't followed. Despite their small size they are not great candidates for "nano" tanks. Oto's should be with other oto's, and your tank can't accomodate more IMO.

 

[angelvelez87]

Ok thank you!! Mine is still around!! I hope the rcs are a good company cause there is not another oto to hang out!!