Okay oto lovers, I'm sold.

[Madame_X]

You guys convinced me. My bristlenose pleco was doing a good job keeping the glass and large-leaf plants clean but my stem plants always look grungy.

At the LFS last week, I noticed an oto going to town on a piece of cabomba. So I added four otos to my planted 30 gallon tank. They immediately started eating the algae that had accumulated on my ludwigia.

Its been three days since they've been in the tank and its starting to really show. They're doing a great job! And they've grown on me... they're pretty cute after all.

 

[Bearfan]

Otos do a decent job, but SAEs are the plant keepers dream.

 

[myriam]

I have four otos in my 20G and they are great! One now especially loves to sit upside down on the arched underside of my driftwood. They are fun to watch and very cute

 

[madasafish]

Glad to hear it. I love my Otos (see gallery--I think Madame_X already has). I've gotten another one, and when my lights/CO2 system arrive this week, I'll be getting 8-10 more for my planted 55. Hurray!

 

[eastennessee]

I just bought 3 otos last weekend. Hoping they will help supplement my pleco's efforts. I may have to get a few more. Will they eat both green and brown algae?

 

[madasafish]

Yes they will. They're one of the very very few species that do!! This was fantastic news for my planted tank!

 

[Patwa]

Otos do a decent job, but SAEs are the plant keepers dream.

SAE and GAES are amazing at cleaning algae off of various surfaces, but you've got to wacth out....many people who have community tanks will soon realize an adult SAE or GAE will cause tremendouse stress for the other fish.....SAE and GAE temperments get worse as they age.

but Otos do a fairly good job in large schools (4 or 5) and they are peaceful right to the end.

Zach.

 

[LondonGman]

I agree that bristle nose 9bushy nose) pleco are not plant friendly, I now have only fake plants because of it. Also he can he a bit territorial towards the albino peppered corys during feeding time. But he is so different

 

[webmoose]

I've never seen any in my LFS. Probably a good thing - I would love to add 'em to my tank. They prefer to be in groups? I assume they do best in groups? Anyone have any sucess with just 1 or 2?

 

[PlatyLady]

Otos are sooo cute! Back in March, I thought I bought one for my little tank. It turned out to be a Chinese Algae Eater or Flying Fox (are they the same thing? I forget). Anyway, it got agressive to my platies, so out it went. I'd love to get some otos, but at the moment I have a snail cleaning up for me and I don't see any algae.

 

[madasafish]

Nope, not the same thing. Chinese Algae Eater (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri) gets a lot larger than the Flying Fox (Epalzeorhynchus kalopterus). They both get aggressive, but the CAE gets about 4-6 inches larger (10-12 inches total). Also, they're from different places. The CAE is from China and the Fox is from Thailand (Siam).

Here's a page which clears up the great similarities between several Asian algae-eating fish: http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

Good ol' "The Krib."

 

[ScottS]

I put three in my tank a week and a half ago. I lost one within 48 hours, but the other two seem to be doing well. They are a fun fish to watch. My only problem is that I don't grow much algae, so I constantly worry about them. They are the first ones I try to count off when checking the tank. I hope they make it a few more weeks so I worry less and enjoy them more. They are such neat swimmers and so playful, yet peaceful.

 

[Patwa]

Otos are sooo cute! Back in March, I thought I bought one for my little tank. It turned out to be a Chinese Algae Eater or Flying Fox (are they the same thing? I forget). Anyway, it got agressive to my platies, so out it went. I'd love to get some otos, but at the moment I have a snail cleaning up for me and I don't see any algae.

just curious...where did u end up putting the Chinese Algae Eater when you took him out of the tank? who are the new tankmates??

Zach

 

[millipede]

otos...

I think it was Moose that asked if one or two would be ok in a tank.. I have two in a fifteen gallon and I've had them for almost a year. They seem to be doing ok and they haven't told me otherwise yet. They do enjoy being in larger groups and so would you. Even though I only have two, you can occasionally see them swimming together feeding in the same sections of the tank. It's really neat. Another thing you may want to know is that they are relatively cheap. Depending on where you go they should be less than three dollars ea.
Someone else said they were worried about them eating enough... dont worry about it. They definitely eat algae but they'll eat what they find as well. I feed some of my fish shrimp pellets(sinking) and I sometimes see my ottos at them, sometimes... they also like to nibble on algae disks but I really wouldn't worry about feeding them every day. They also like to munch on some driftwood.......

 

[PlatyLady]

just curious...where did u end up putting the Chinese Algae Eater when you took him out of the tank? who are the new tankmates??

Zach

Hi Zach, he went to live in a friend's tank, but died shortly after. Apparently the move was too much of a shock for him and he couldn't adjust. I felt bad, but either he went or the platies went, or I had to get a new tank just for him.

 

[ScottS]

I hung a piece of cucumber in the tank and noticed at least one of my 2 otos has added some very noticeable weight in the last day!

 

[bsuball41]

Picture

Check out my gallery for a couple of pictures of one of my otos...everything said on the forum about them are true....they are voracious algae eaters, and a fun addition to the tank!

 

[degbowl]

I bought 2 otos after reading about them on this site. It took me a couple of weeks to find them but I think it will be worth it.

 

[madasafish]

I've just added one *tiny* oto to my 55 (he's the 3rd I've bought--the others are in my 10 G) and he's already done a world of difference in the last 2 days! My Amazon Sword leaves are almost spotless now.

 

[Madame_X]

Well mine have been in the tank for five days now and have made a very noticeable improvement. I was so impressed we went and bought three more to put in the 29 gallon.

My ludwigia and pennywort looks awesome!