How to determine if enough algae for otocinclus

[Beastije]

Do you use root tabs for any of the plants? Liquid ferts are useful, but swords (echinodorus) are greedy root feeders, and really need root tabs to thrive (and to stop them stealing all the nutrients from every other plant, they spread some impressive root systems!). Might just need more root tabs more often sticking under there!

I never tried a root tab, because i have diet sifting snails i am afraid might dig it up.if i manage to buy few of them and place them well it would work just for the echinodoras.
Good tip, thanks

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I never tried a root tab, because i have diet sifting snails i am afraid might dig it up.if i manage to buy few of them and place them well it would work just for the echinodoras.
Good tip, thanks

I have Malaysian Trumpet Snails that dig through the sand too (and cories that love to dig through the sand!) and it doesn't usually cause a problem! If you have aquascaping tweezers, or even normal tweezers, just try to stick the root tab deep under the roots of the echinodorus plants. If you buy good quality brand name root tabs (I use NT labs, Seachem or Tetra tabs, don't buy cheap, no brand ones - I had a bad experience when I bought some cheap no name from China root tab) it doesn't cause a problem if one or two balls get dug up. You just stick them back under the plant.

Vallis, cryptocorynes, and echinodorus plants all really like root tabs since they're heavy root feeders, and will struggle without them, so I bet yours will pick up a lot once you've added some.

 

[Matty24]

I have 5 otocinclus mariae (1 died he was an awful lot smaller than the others when I first got 6) around about a month and a half ago my tank is only around 3 months old I'm very impatient when I want it I want it I think myself lucky my 5 otos seem visibly very happy swimming together, dancing around the bubbles coming out of the sponge filter, eating together they have little fat round bellys which I always check and if im honest I don't really do alot for them admittedly, I feed them some blanched cucumber once a week other than that they hang on the glass clean the nozzle on the sponge filter they seem to like it on there, cleaning plants constantly, I do have to count 5 every night before I go to bed.. sad I know but I really do like them little guys my livebearers don't bother them in the slightest, some will say I've been very lucky I guess and I would say I am as I was advised not to get them for atleast 6months I love just sitting there and watching them they have so much character

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I have 5 otocinclus mariae (1 died he was an awful lot smaller than the others when I first got 6) around about a month and a half ago my tank is only around 3 months old I'm very impatient when I want it I want it I think myself lucky my 5 otos seem visibly very happy swimming together, dancing around the bubbles coming out of the sponge filter, eating together they have little fat round bellys which I always check and if im honest I don't really do alot for them admittedly, I feed them some blanched cucumber once a week other than that they hang on the glass clean the nozzle on the sponge filter they seem to like it on there, cleaning plants constantly, I do have to count 5 every night before I go to bed.. sad I know but I really do like them little guys my livebearers don't bother them in the slightest, some will say I've been very lucky I guess and I would say I am as I was advised not to get them for atleast 6months I love just sitting there and watching them they have so much character

Sounds lovely! It does take 3-6 months for a tank to get properly established, but I think it was about three months after I'd set up my tank that I'd got my group of otos, and there were enough plants and plenty of algae to keep them having rounded bellies all the time! they're a lovely little fish, especially when they have a group together.

 

[Beastije]

Hi, so update on this, if anyone ever finds this thread and is curious how it turned out.
The 6 that survived however just passed the 2 month mark of survivability and they are happy feeders. Even though the seller lied, he must have had them acclimated and fed, because they came very good looking.
A month before getting them I stopped cleaning all the glass, and now I have a very clean glass, they did get rid of the spot algae no problem. They are not interested in green hair algae that is currently spreading in my tank (most likely cause I put it on a longer light cycle to help develop some algae for them, but the wrong kind has developed). They also show no attention to a black beard algae that I have on anubias leaves.
They are active when the lights are on, swimming around, even sometimes chasing each other or corydoras (playfully). But the feeding. I feed blanched vegetable, bottom wafers with protein, wafers with spirulina, live mosquitos and once every three days I will drop a frozen cube of daphnia or cyclops.
They are first on every meal I throw in, they climb over corydoras, sometimes sucking on their fins to make them move away from the meal, like daphnia cube that I just fed moments ago. They will go at the cube, attach and before some fish throws them out, eat it. They are not only vegetable or algae eater by a long shot, they are fully omnivorous. This may be good news for me, cause that means they really should not go hungry.
I will give it few more months and maybe get another batch of 10, to see if I can increase their shoal.

Btw when I clean the tank ,they often latch to my hand too

 

[Colin_T]

You got a good batch of them then. Most come in skinny and starving and most don't do well, let alone take other types of food.

Shrimp can sometimes help with black beard algae.

Green filamentous algae is normally caused by excess nutrients.

 

[itiwhetu]

You have had this tank for ten years, you know exactly what you need to do.

 

[Beastije]

You have had this tank for ten years, you know exactly what you need to do.

True, but only last year I switched to planted tank and softer water. I always had issues with plants and algae in other tanks, because despite me being quite ok plant keeper for land plants and vegetables, give me an aquatic plants and disaster occurs
If the algae doesnt hurt the fish or the tank, I dont care, but it is growing in the moss again. Will see what happens once the temps drop a bit, we are all boiling a bit

 

[Beastije]