follow up to "Best Fish"

[jollysue]

Looking at increasing my oto stock in a 100 gal usg community tetra tank. I want to order soon--this weekend?

I have 3 otos I've had for six or seven months. They seem pretty established and have been moved 3 times. It seems I heard that they like to group/school a bit like cories. How many would be apprpopriate in the 100 usg planted/plastic with lots of drift wood tank? Can I have 10-12? My substrate is an eco plant flourite type that stirs up lots of red dust when I disturb it to plant, etc. Algae seems to mix with it or something and become unsightly on esp the artificial plants. It seems that the otos are efficient but having trouble keeping up. I can see their handy work, though.

Now in addition I really think I would like a plec. I would like a primarily vegi guy like a bristle nose, but I am wondering about the even smaller dwarf varieties I am seeing--under 4". I am looking specifically at the Queen Arabesque L-260 as it is tank bred and small. Although it requires quite a large space. Can I have more than one along with a school of otos?

In addition. I have three clown loaches, three adult cories and two sub-adult cories. I am considering stocking my twenty gal. and will probably want to put some bottom guys in there eventually.

So what do you think?

If I went with the bristlenose, which variety?

 

[jollysue]

Come on folks:

How many otos in a 100 usg tank?

Can add 1 or 2 small algae eating plec like brisle nose?

Recommendations for small plec?

 

[emma12321]

Hi jollysue,

You should be fine with 10-12 ottos in 100 gallons, I keep 6 in a 400 litre which i think is 88 gallons ish and have not had any problems, i would like to get 6 zebra ottos if i seen any in my lfs. Mine live with a farlowella and a breeding pair of bristlenose plecs and some babies under an inch long. The ottos spend most of their time grazing on the plant algae, the others are mostly on the glass and the bottom.

For a plec that stays small you can't go wrong with a bristle nose, rubber nose plecs are also cute and pit bull plecs (though mine died after a day in my tank so i think they are a bit sensitive like ottos can be).

If you go with a pair of bristlenose you are virtually guaranteed to get babies at some point.

Hope this helps

Emma

 

[jollysue]

Thanks so much Emma! It does help. I appreciate your response.

There are four varieties of Bristlenose at my dealer: the regular dark one, an albino long fin, an albino gold, an orange. Do you have any preference? Any knowledge? I've poked around a couple of sites, but I didn't see them.

I asked to be notified when a small (2") hatchet, a Marthae Silver Hatchet, came in stock to an online dealer. I get supplies from but never live fish. The shipping is so high that I thought I would pick up some other live stock. The price on otos is good and plecos are hard to find at lfs. So I thought I might do that. I am stuck figuring what to get, esp with the plecos. Of course I have to move on the hatchets while they have them still. I may have gotten impatient.

They don't have Zebra otos, but they have True Zebra Pleco. $250.00

 

[emma12321]

Hi jollysue,

I haven't seen any orange ones but the albino and the long finned are just varients of the regular bristlenose and should get to a similar size. I would get the long finned variety if you can we don't seem to have any around here i have only seen them online, that way if you get a pair and they breed you would be able to sell the babies for slightly more money. That's just my opinion though just get which ever you like the most.

Emma

 

[jollysue]

Thanks again Emma. The long fin albino was exactly the one I was looking at;
I figure if I'm going to get an unusual fish that costs more, I might as well get one a little more>unusual. I am getting these online. I'm going to try it. I've done buisiness with the group for a long time, and they are large and done me right so far. It's the only place I've seen these type hatchets.

Anyway thanks again. I think I'm just about ready to make the call. I'm going to try to get to get them to pick me a male and female if it's possible.