Otto question

[sirkeen]

Hey all,

I have three ottos in a 20 gal hexegon tank with light algae. When I first got the ottos they were all over the wall. Actually there wasn't a time when I didn't see them sucking away on the wall. As of late, and they are about a week old in my tank, all I see them doing is laying on the floor. Even with visible algae on the tank walls, they just sit on the floor and do nothing. This is all during the day however, I'm not sure what they are up to at night, but the algae hasn't gone away. I ended up having to clean it off the walls myself. Anyone have any ideas? This behav. has been going on for about 5 days now.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Maybe there is more plentiful algae on the gravel?

I have had two ottos for 6 months in my 10 gal, but they still clean everywhere (on glass, plants, rocks).

 

[Tong]

Ottos aren't strong enough to get at the green algae that forms on the glass. You'll probably always have to scrap that. Most the algae that ottos eat, you can't see.

The next time an otto is stuck on the glass, just check its belly, if its full, its fine. If not, try feeding them algae wafers. Kind of odd, but also make sure none of them are dead. Sometimes ottos just die for no good reason when they are first introduced.

 

[dskidmore]

Zucinni! My otos loved that when they were in QT. They ignore it now that they have so much driftwood to hang out on.

For the spot algae, you might try snails. I havn't cleaned my glass in a long time. Sometimes I get a hard water droplet on the outside, and if I'm going to take a picture I wipe the snails off.

 

[Alshain]

Ottos are wonderful fish. They feed on brown algae and also the natural slimes that build up in the tank. They don't feed on green algae however. I'm not a fan of adding fish to solve a problem. If you are having a problem with green algae I would check for causes (ie. direct sunlight, excess nutrients, overfeeding, etc.). If its a glass tank, scrape it with a razor blade to clear up the problem immediately. A little green algae is normal, I get some on my tank and as long as it doesn't block viewing, I leave it alone but if it gets on the glass I scrape it off.

 

[sirkeen]

The only algae i saw on the glass was brown. Two big patches that none of the ottos were interested in. I do see them occasinoaly much off the gravel, so I hope they are gettin' enough food. They aren't dead, thats for sure, and I do throw in a algae wafer once every two days. Just thought I would see them a little more active..

Regards

 

[dskidmore]

They like high current, maybe you could put a powerhead near where you want them to hang out?

Are they currently hanging out near the filter downcurrent?

 

[MSU Fan]

could the brown algae actually be "diatoms", because i have the same thing, and my oto's won't eat it either...

 

[Tong]

If you don't already have live plants maybe adding a live plant would help. My ottos are rarely on the glass, rather they are on the plants being very active. In anycase, ottos sitting around doing nothing on live plants looks more natural than ottos on the ground doing nothing so it couldn't hurt. I think plants make them feel more comfortable as well.

I also agree with what dskidmore said, ottos like current. Mine go nuts (in a good way) when I add some current during a water change.

 

[dskidmore]

In anycase, ottos sitting around doing nothing on live plants looks more natural than ottos on the ground doing nothing so it couldn't hurt.

Besides, it's really funny to watch an otto cling to a plant wildly waving in the current of the powerhead 3" away.

If you're going to get plants specifically for the oto's comfort, pick something at least mildly broad leafed. They don't spend much time on hornwort or eloda, but spend a ton of time on my vals and crypts.

 

[Musket]

They like high current

I didn't know that about otos.. Luckily for him, he is in a high current tank. I see mine all over the place at all times of day. On the walls, on the plants, on the castle, on the rocks, on the gravel, on the snails.