How Oto's behave?

[Satsumas]

I just got home and added 2 otocinclus catfish to my tank.
They straight away sat on objects. 1 on a plant and the other on my colloseum ruin.

I watched them for about 10 minutes and saw that they constantly move about! my pleco is totally different. he finds somewhere and sits there for a good 10 minutes before he moves somewhere else.

The 2 oto's have been using there mouth's to move about (like my pleco) and to eat algae. The only thing is.... if there constantly moving are they not finding food? There is quite a lot of algae on my glass and on some plant leaves so they should be fine for food.

 

[Jchillin]

Think of otos like you think of vacuum cleaners. Go over the same spot several times, then move on. They'll get around to every single surface of the tank eventually.

Once the algae is minimized, you will need to provide supplemental nutrition.

 

[Satsumas]

Yeah, i have algae pellets and wafers that i put in every night.

Also i put some lettuce in every other week or so, my pleco finds it rather nice cus in one night he eats half a leaf!

Do oto's like lettuce?

Also im a bit concerned about my pleco reacting to the arrival of 2 algae eaters.
My tank is only 21-23 gal and i read that if pleco's feel challenged or that there isnt enough food to go around they become aggressive.

I think that the algae should grow quickly enough so there isnt a shortage.
There is a lot of algae and i think it should balance out nicely so that when some is eaten some grows.

 

[Jchillin]

I would highly doubt your pleco would harm a fly. Your betta would show more aggression if he were so inclined.

 

[Satsumas]

Yeah, my pleco seems a bit of a softy, my loaches sometimes show a bit interest and he dosent seem to mind. Although i cant help thinking he'll have an aggressive side to him. Well it dosent help cus pleco's look so mean and especially in darkness which is where he sits most of the time.

Saying that my betta was getting a bit close to 1 of my oto's and the oto swam off quite fast. Scaring the betta away in the process lol.

The oto's are just so small! i just naturally feel for them i guess. lol

 

[Crusis]

Heh... Plecos do look a bit like alien invaders bent on death for the hum...

er, they do look menacing, just imagine if you were their size!

 

[Satsumas]

Yeah i would be rather scared put it that way lol

Gonna go see how the little guys are doing. My betta again was slowly following 1 of my oto's.

Because of the way betta's eat (kind of draw back a bit then snap at there food) i think he's gonna do that cus he approaches the oto slowly.

These oto's look pretty quick tho and probably can hide in small places so they should be ok.
They have both chased some of my black neons. They look really similair cus of the black stripe they both have, im guessing thats why they show a bit of interest towards each other?