How Many More Fish Can I Have

[Joinerlavin]

would i get 6 in my tank with the other fish?

 

[Fishin Pole]

I think Trucksaurus answered for me............i think 6 ottos would be fine, once your tank is stable

 

[Athena]

I would be worried about adding 6 Ottos to a tank of only 10gallons - even if the tank wasn't overstocked, they still have a problem finding enough food to live on. I would worry that your tank couldn't produce enough of the right algae these Ottos need and you would possibly have a few deaths on your hands from starvation. It's the brownish type of algae they eat, not the green stuff btw.

Up to you though, these are just my thoughts on it from experience with Ottos in my own tanks.

Athena

 

[Truck]

would i get 6 in my tank with the other fish?

if its crammed with plants i would say yes

 

[Joinerlavin]

would 4 not be enough for a 10 gal

 

[Athena]

Yes - 4 would be fine

 

[Truck]

Yes - 4 would be fine

you wont see much of them with 4, and really it should be 6 minimum as they are shoaling fish

 

[Athena]

True, they are shoaling fish - but you could add 6 to a small tank and find 3 die of starvation - and the other 3 will live quite happily for many years together...

Off home now - nite all!

 

[cor2008]

Yea totally agree with athena, 6 ottos in 10 gallons is way too many.

6 ottos get through a fair bit of algae in a day so IMHO that is too many for a tank that size (this is obviously based on a normal tank containing a normal amount of algae )

I have 3 fat happy ottos in a healivy planted 180 litre who have just started to breed and think that is a good number (maybe 1 more) as my goal is to keep algae low, not grow extra algae for my ottos.

If your looking at keeping algae down i would look at shrimp as otto's only eat certain algae anyway so 6 ottos would only be competing for that same amount of algae leaving the other types i.e. hair & stag-horn

 

[cor2008]

you wont see much of them with 4, and really it should be 6 minimum as they are shoaling fish

my 3 are always out the front in search of algae & have laid eggs this week so i doubt if they are that unhappy.

not sure what your basing this on as im sure 3 or 4 healthy otto's with a suffient food supply would be happier than 6 competing for a smaller amout of algae!!

 

[Truck]

you wont see much of them with 4, and really it should be 6 minimum as they are shoaling fish

my 3 are always out the front in search of algae & have laid eggs this week so i doubt if they are that unhappy.

not sure what your basing this on as im sure 3 or 4 healthy otto's with a suffient food supply would be happier than 6 competing for a smaller amout of algae!!

the algae issue isnt my point, its the shoaling ability, there will be plenty of algae if it is full of slow growing waxy leaved plants such as anubias.

6 would be fine that way and they dont just rasp on glass, and if it were as above i highly doubt they would starve, theres more chance in a bare 120 litre
than a fully planted tank with slow growers

 

[cor2008]

the 2 main reasons for otto's dying in an aquarium are inadequate water quality & starving..

im sure you already know this but the above post is just my opinion from my experience

I agree with you on shoaling but sometimes 30 & 60 litre tanks are just too small

 

[Truck]

the 2 main reasons for otto's dying in an aquarium are inadequate water quality & starving..

im sure you already know this but the above post is just my opinion from my experience

I agree with you on shoaling but sometimes 30 & 60 litre tanks are just too small

if i was the OP i wouldnt i would go with some small pleco

 

[Joinerlavin]

ok so my tank is quite close to my tv, and if they are very sensitive fish would this kill them at nite times when its on and the tank lights are off my tv is at the side of the tank (no room anywhere else for the tank). And if i would feed them algea wafers they would get food.

 

[Joinerlavin]

what about 3 corydoras julii, seen these today in the fish store, 3 for £15.50, look quite cool rumaging around. would they be ok for my 10 gal