Tiger barbs and oto

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

I have a small tank with a school of tiger barbs in it and my question is would it be ok to throw an oto in there with them to hopefully help control the algae?

 

[absolutangel04]

That depends. How small is the tank? What all is in it? Is it planted?

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

It's a 10 gallon and I know it's a little overstocked but I have a 20 gallon filter on it and it has a few pieces of driftwood with Anubias on it I do pwc once a week

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

I forgot to say its a school of 5 tiger barbs and there is a couple ghost shrimp left from the ones I put in there but they will get eaten in a matter of time they always do

 

[jcolon]

I'm assuming your TB's are juveniles? If so for now your fine, but TB's need a large, wide open area for them to swim. A 10gal is too small for a shoal of TB's, they can get up to 3inches ... but 2.5 seems to be the norm. As TB's mature, they become more energetic and start fighting for top spot of the shoal. A 30gal would be more suitable for 5 TB's.

 

[LyndaB]

Tiger barbs are really nasty and actually should be in a larger school in a larger tank. They are quite often done in a species only tank.

I would definitely not put an oto in this tank. There's also the factor that otos should be in groups, not kept singly and the 10 gallon tank cannot support that.

 

[BlaseMrNiceguy]

I have a 55 gallon that I am beginning to set up as a cichlid tank, do u think I could put them in there when I have it setup with the cichlids or not, also you think I can add a mystery snail or two instead of the oto to help manage algae in my 10 gallon?

 

[LyndaB]

I believe cichlid tanks need to be species only but wait for someone with personal experience with them to chime in.

 

[absolutangel04]

Whether or not you can add the tb to a cichlid tank depends on the cichlids.
I agree that tb should be in a bigger tank due their size and behavior. I would not add an oto to your current tank. I have kept oto pairs in a 10g tank and I think its fine, but tb can get nasty, and I don't think they would like another fish in with them in those cramped quarters.