How many ottos should I have.

[rain87]

I have a 55g planted community tank. Currently I have 5 ottos but I still have some algae build up on the sides of my tank. Can I have.more ottos or should I just keep up with the scraping?

 

[Rosenweiss]

You can get more ottos if you want, the more the merrier. =D

 

[rain87]

Like how many more?

 

[Rosenweiss]

Depends on your stocking, can I get a list?

 

[Copachick]

Id stick with the amount you have for now. If it stays there for awhile longer then you can get one or two more. From what I hear they are hard to keep alive if they dont always have food. We have a 29 gallon tank that had the entire back of the glass full with brown algea and some spots in the front. Ill be darned if those two Ottos ate that right up and has kept it away since.

 

[rain87]

Well I originally let alage almost cover my tank before I got the ottos. Then I got 3 they pretty much cleared it up. After a couple weeks I had built up some more algae but not as much so I bought 2 more. That was about 2 weeks ago. The algae has now leveled of so it's not accumulating more so I think the ottos are keeping it in check just not keeping it gone. Currently I have 16 black neon tetras and I plan on adding 12 cherry barbs in a couple weeks.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Sounds like a great tank. If it's planted, especially if there's algae on the plants, the otos will really thrive. I say, you can get at least 2 more.

 

[rain87]

Thanks! Yes I have some anubias nana, rotalla, camboda, and a sword of some kind. Not sure I spelled those right. I'm thinking of getting some type of ground cover plant but I want to wait till my camboda and rotalla fill in first. I wasn't going to add more than 2 of I added any just wanted to make sure that many would be ok in a 55.

 

[Rosenweiss]

Yep, that'd be fine.

 

[eco23]

I have 7 in my 48 gallon tank. I bought that many because I heard over and over that they have a huge die-off rate in the first couple weeks. All 7 are alive a few months later...and some are so fat it looks like they'll explode, lol. I supplement their diet with algae wafers and blanched zucchini and they couldn't be happier.

 

[Copachick]

If only we were able to use our algae tablets and things for our algae eaters and bottom feeders. As soon as we drop a tablet in, my platys go BIZERK! over them. And will eat it all. They are truly fat little heffers. But my OTos and catfish bottom feeder do extremely well without the extra stuff

 

[alLexX]

I have 7 in my 48 gallon tank. I bought that many because I heard over and over that they have a huge die-off rate in the first couple weeks. All 7 are alive a few months later...and some are so fat it looks like they'll explode, lol. I supplement their diet with algae wafers and blanched zucchini and they couldn't be happier.

do they really eat algae wafers? i heard they didnt

 

[rain87]

Yeah my five are so fat sometimes I see them chilling on the bottom of the tank and only their fat bellies are touching lol!

 

[eco23]

do they really eat algae wafers? i heard they didnt

Mine tear them up. I drop one or two in at night before lights out a few times a week, and when I wake up they're all huddled around the remnants of it cleaning up. My Bolivian Ram and Danios think it's a salad bar, so I feed at night to help give the Otos a chance to get some.

 

[alLexX]

Mine tear them up. I drop one or two in at night before lights out a few times a week, and when I wake up they're all huddled around the remnants of it cleaning up. My Bolivian Ram and Danios think it's a salad bar, so I feed at night to help give the Otos a chance to get some.

ok,ill try feeding them to mine sson(when they finish the algae)

 

[eco23]

Yeah my five are so fat sometimes I see them chilling on the bottom of the tank and only their fat bellies are touching lol!

I would absolutely swear 2-3 of mine are pregnant. I can post a pic here in a few. They're so big that they'll cling on a leaf, and the leaf will bend down to the gravel, lol.

 

[eco23]

ok,ill try feeding them to mine sson(when they finish the algae)

They tore through my brown algae (diatoms) but don't seem as interested in the little green spots. That's why I still supplement the wafers.

 

[alLexX]

They tore through my brown algae (diatoms) but don't seem as interested in the little green spots. That's why I still supplement the wafers.

really?mine seem to love the green algae(granted,i think they like the diatoms more)

 

[asheville_finn]

I have a 55g planted community tank. Currently I have 5 ottos but I still have some algae build up on the sides of my tank. Can I have.more ottos or should I just keep up with the scraping?

Advice i'd recieved when I set up my 20 gallon planted tank was a max of 1 oto per 5 gallons as a general rule. also, that they are best at (generally speaking) keeping plants, rocks, and wood free of algae, but not the strongest choice to hit the glass. That said I watch mine eat of the glass all the time, but more so off the plants. I started to get higher growth rates of algae, due to some increased nitrates/too much light, etc. So I thought I'd get some more otos, until I did some research...

I figured I'd increase biodiversity and rather than go oto, I'd look into other species to broaden the range of algaes that might be palatable. I have stuck with 2 otos and decided to supplement the green team with an albino bristle-nosed plec. the Plec is a machine, rarely stops, pickin at algae. After culling back ont he light and 2 small (20 %) water changes in 10 days, the algae is at bay, but still keeping everybody fed. I also have a nice blue-mystery snail in there, and about 4 teeny gold snails cruising around too. (I guess there apple snails, too small to say.) I think they came in on a plant.

I've put some zuch in the tank but no takers yet, but its there if they need it.

 

[eco23]

This isn't even my fattest one, she just happened to be there when the camera was out.

A lot of people view Otos as utilitarian and just there to clean up, but I love the little guys. they are really fun to watch. They play with each other and even work as a team to clean up little sections.

Just because of my personal taste, I'd always choose having a bunch of little fish over one larger one. Plecos have a huge bio-load, and I'd rather add a few more Otos and some Amano shrimp in their place.