Otocinclus or BN pleco?

[GallonsOfFun]

Planning a 55g planted and driftwood-rich Amazonian inspired tank. Rest of the stocking list will be: 4 angels, 10 cardinal tetras (yes, aware of potential to be eaten by angels), 10 rummynose tetras, and 6-8 false juli cories.

As for an algae eater, I can't decide whether I want to add 6 otos or a bristlenose pleco (or another small pleco - open to recomendations).

What are everyone's opinions? I know otos are probably better algae eaters, but I find plecos really interesting. I'm aware of their reputation, but is the waste production of the smaller plecos, like the BN, that bad? Will the BN still clean the glass with an abundance of driftwood in the tank?

 

[Brookster123]

Both!!!

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[sinibotia]

Both!!!

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+1....

 

[MissGurnus]

I prefer otto's little spunky and a little more active and fun to watch in my opinion


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[Fishobsessed7]

I vote for otos and/or a clown Pleco.


Fishobsessed7

Money Can't Buy Happiness, But It Can Buy Fish Which Is Pretty Much The Same Thing

 

[Laeris]

Albino bristle nose pleco and five otos. Bam! Now on to world hunger.


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[jessipanda]

Lol, I agree with why not both? The only thing to worry about is the pleco may eat your plants some. My juvie bn attacked one of my jungle vals and my banana when I temp housed them in my 10g. Now, I'm trying to let them get bigger amd healthier before I move him into the 55g that the plants are currently in.

Have you considered some farlowellas? They are great at cleaning both glass and plants, plus they're pretty neat looking. I've heard they can be difficult to care for, but I'm relatively new to the hobby and my farlowella is doing wonderfully in my 55g. The main problem with them is that they can't and usually won't compete for food so you have to make sure they're eating and not competing with other species. Oh! My favorite thing about our farlowella is that we're always basically playing where's waldo when we look for him! He's great at blending into the driftwood!

 

[henningc]

Keep in mind when the otos grow out they can get a bit aggressive.

 

[Brookster123]

Keep in mind when the otos grow out they can get a bit aggressive.

Huh??

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[Laeris]

Keep in mind when the otos grow out they can get a bit aggressive.

Are you mixing up otocinclus and other algae eaters like flying foxes or Chinese algae eaters? Randomly bumping into other fish happens as a matter of course, they're a bit willy nilly when they get going from point A to point B. This isn't purposely aggressive behavior, though.

In general, their cares field is barren.
No cares to give. Not a single one. Even for the suction monster everyone else flees from. Zero cares. Aggressive behavior requires cares and they have none. I'm baffled it's even suggested. Otos? Aggressive? No. One of their doppelgängers? Yes.

 

[TheresaM]

In that size tank I agree with the others and would do both.

Otos are definitely not aggressive. They're actually the only fish recommended as being shrimp safe, that's very peaceful!

 

[absolutangel04]

I am on board the both train as well.
Personally, I prefer rubber lip plecos to the bristle nose. I have found that the rubbernose hide less as adults. Farlowellas (sp ?) are also really great! I have had a few and loved them. They are more sensitive than the bnp or the rubberlip IME, but so are otos, soooo.... but hey, whatever floats your boat. Just avoid Chinese algae eaters. They can get aggressive when full grown. Many stores will try to sell them to you though with vague labels and promises and an algae free existence. Beware!

 

[GallonsOfFun]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it!

The only thing I'm worried about with both is overstocking. If it didn't look too crowded, I was going to bump both schools up to 15.

So here's what it would look like if I did that:
4x angelfish
15x cardinal tetra
15x rummynose tetra
6x false juli cory
1x pleco
6x oto

Too much or no? Hard to visualize sometimes.


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[Brookster123]

4 angel fish will most likely be an issue.. they get nasty in spawn.

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[Autumnsky]

A no for my opinion for the Angelfish unless you can get all males. Also sometimes the look of 2 schools of fish with the same body type is too busy. When I had mine set with schools of Cardinals about 16, and the Glowlight about 12-15 can't quite remember, it seemed chaotic with so many lttle fish swimming in different areas in the tank. When there was Harlequin Rasboras, and Cardinals, it gave the tank more interest to me. Though I was interested in Von Rio Tetras because of different body shape than cardinals, (which due to a fish illness I never ended up with a school of them.)

Both Otos and a small Pleco. If you are considering the Faro. wait for the tank to be matured and stable for while with no side issues before getting them.

 

[GallonsOfFun]

I initially had reservations about 4 angels but I was lead to believe on another thread (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/angelfish-questions-343949.html) that it would work. As I'll be getting juveniles it'll be difficult to sex them, so I was planning to split up any that began to pair off. What's the opinion on this?


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[GallonsOfFun]

A no for my opinion for the Angelfish unless you can get all males. Also sometimes the look of 2 schools of fish with the same body type is too busy. When I had mine set with schools of Cardinals about 16, and the Glowlight about 12-15 can't quite remember, it seemed chaotic with so many lttle fish swimming in different areas in the tank. When there was Harlequin Rasboras, and Cardinals, it gave the tank more interest to me. Though I was interested in Von Rio Tetras because of different body shape than cardinals, (which due to a fish illness I never ended up with a school of them.)

Both Otos and a small Pleco. If you are considering the Faro. wait for the tank to be matured and stable for while with no side issues before getting them.

Really? Have you seen a rummynose & cardinal aquarium before? Only seen them on the Internet myself, but I've been told they're very good looking in person.


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[Brookster123]

Really? Have you seen a rummynose & cardinal aquarium before? Only seen them on the Internet myself, but I've been told they're very good looking in person.


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You Need big numbers to keep them from intermingling.. my 30 has 10 rn and 7 green neons and they're all over the place. I like it but if you want tight schools than pick one or like autsky said. Something bigger than a rn

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[sinibotia]

In that thread Andy mentioned removing any pairs that form... so in a way no, 4 angels won't work permanently unless you have a place to remove pairs to. A single pair would be fine IMO

 

[GallonsOfFun]

Well the idea would be to end up with 4 that have no interest in pairing off after removing/adding. What % of the time do they pair off?


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