algae and otos

[cass]

I bought 2 otos for my 15G tank a while ago. This last week I have noticed a fair bit of algae in my tank. My otos arent dead..but they dont seem to be moving around and cleaning the tank much. The seem perfectly healthy though.
Is there a reason for that?

And they are often hidden..so i have 2 look for a while before I can find them. Does anyone else have trouble finding their otos?

What should I do about my algae problem? My fish dont seem to be able to be able to get it all. And my tank is in the corner of a room...so it doesnt get that much direct sunlight.

Also, is 2 otos and 2 albino corys enough of a cleaning crew for my tank?

TIA
Cass

 

[Jchillin]

What color is your algae? Cats of different species like different types of algae. Oto's (and most cats for that matter) like to hide. Have you ever seen them swim to top of tank at all?

 

[deeni0z]

is your tank in a high traffic area of your house, as in there are lots of people walking near the tank, etc?

 

[cass]

my tank isnt is a high traffic area. People only go near the tank to have a look at the fish.

The algae is a dark greenish brown colour and some of it is sort of stringy and long.

My otos didnt swim at the top of the tank...but they did swim around my tank a fair bit.

Do you think if I just give my 2 otos time...the algae would clear up?
I have been researching algae and otos, but any info would be helpful.

Cass

 

[vega]

oto is good at certain algae only, for best result (if tank volume permitted) , mixture of oto, SAE n amano shrimp is the best combo cleaning crew.

HTH

 

[fyrclwn]

otos are excellent at getting rid of the algae that grows on tank glass, and they'll keep the dark green "short" stuff (looks like green velvet on rocks) in check, but they don't do didly for any of the longer, "hairy" species. my spend most of their time either on the side of the tank, or on the caves/rocks. when i first got 'em, they cleaned the rocks--well, scoured, them, actually--to the point that they actually took off the top layer of color, in some places. happily, though there were no ill effects from that. whew! then, for a while, i'd only see 1 or 2 of the fellas (have 4). last week, i removed the floating plants from the tank---were spooking my new betta---and now all 4 are visible again. kinda funny---it had been so long since i'd seen 4 otos in the tank, i had to ask my family how many i'd originally bought, cos there seemed to be "too many"! LOL so yeah, they will hide.

are you using algae chips for any tankmates? if so, they may be eating that instead of the algae that's growing. my guys started doing that after their first sweep of the aquarium (FS must've starved the poor buggers!), so i went to an every-other-day feeding schedule. that way, even if they "cheat" with algae chips, they still have to find their own food (growing algae) if they want to eat on "off" days. seems to work.

fireclown

 

[cass]

As there is a lot of algae build up in my tank, I am not giving them algae wafers. I use to give them 1 every 3 days and my tank was perfectly clean.
But suddenly I have little dots of algae on my glass and longer stringy stuff on my orament. And one of my otos hasnt moved for 2 days, but is alive.

I put an algae wafer near my otos in my tank last night and watched what happened. They didnt even move and my corys and kuhli loaches ate it all.

I am not that worried about the algae...but I am really starting 2 worry about my otos now and dont know what to do. My parameters seem fine and the 2 of them kept everything clean for easily a month, so any info or sites on otos would be much appriciated.
Thanks

 

[Billsgate]

It is not uncommon for otos to die, even after they've been with you for a month. This is mostly caused by stress and bad conditions while caught and transported. I hope they make it though cass!
BTW, your tank is overstocked. Period.

HTH