Need Some Help With Bn Plec Or Otos?

[adam12345]

hey everyone,

i recently got my 95 litre tank cycled and currently have 5 zebra danios and 2 female guppys. they always at the top of my tank and next month would like to buy something for the bottom of my tank.

( i also ahve a 30 litre tank with a few guppy babys in which i might put my 2 female guppys in not too keen on them these days)

i also want to add some kind of tetra to my tank and will prob go with the cardinal tetra but anyway,

i want something for the bottom of my tank, also to help with algae. i no that they need to be fed properly aswell and cant just let them eat algae all the time.

so my problem is do i get a BN plec or a group of otos? i have ALWAYS wanted a plec, and because of the size of my tank though a bn would eb the best choice? if there is a better one please do recommend. but then today i seen a picture of a oto fish a small catfish. they looked amazing, im beginning to think that maybe a group would look better then a single plec?

so, whats easyer to look after? which one is hardyer? i no that plecs make alot of waste do otos do the same? ive been to several fsh shops around my are in bristol and not seen any otos but seen lots of bn plecs are otos easy to get have i just missed them lol?

some help would be great!!!

Thank You

 

[BethK]

BN plecs get to 6 - 8", normal plecs are double that eventually.I would say a 95ltr tank might be pushing it, Have you thought about corys? You can purchase a couple and they are common enough to be found in most LFS. Otos, if you are after them, you could find a UK Online breeder and see if they will ship to you. If your LFS hasn't got any in, you could see if they could order them?

 

[JenCliBee]

BN plecs get to 6 - 8", normal plecs are double that eventually.I would say a 95ltr tank might be pushing it, Have you thought about corys? You can purchase a couple and they are common enough to be found in most LFS. Otos, if you are after them, you could find a UK Online breeder and see if they will ship to you. If your LFS hasn't got any in, you could see if they could order them?

8 inch is a bit extreme, they usually don't get much bigger than 6 inch (usually smaller), in the 95 litre you could have 2 as long as the filtration is adequate and the decor gives enough hiding places and most importantly the tank isn't already overstocked.

 

[adam12345]

BN plecs get to 6 - 8", normal plecs are double that eventually.I would say a 95ltr tank might be pushing it, Have you thought about corys? You can purchase a couple and they are common enough to be found in most LFS. Otos, if you are after them, you could find a UK Online breeder and see if they will ship to you. If your LFS hasn't got any in, you could see if they could order them?

if they grow to lets say 8" at maxium my tanks still big enough aint it? i only have 7 small fish in there. and cheers for recomending a place to get some otos but you coudl give some information about them? wether there be more suitable for my tank?

thanks

BN plecs get to 6 - 8", normal plecs are double that eventually.I would say a 95ltr tank might be pushing it, Have you thought about corys? You can purchase a couple and they are common enough to be found in most LFS. Otos, if you are after them, you could find a UK Online breeder and see if they will ship to you. If your LFS hasn't got any in, you could see if they could order them?

8 inch is a bit extreme, they usually don't get much bigger than 6 inch (usually smaller), in the 95 litre you could have 2 as long as the filtration is adequate and the decor gives enough hiding places and most importantly the tank isn't already overstocked.

cheers for the response, i thought i should be able to get anyway with having 1 in there, i only have 5 danios and 2 guppys in there so def not over stocked. if i got rid of the guppys and had 5-10 cardinal tetras 5 danios and a bn pleco would that be overstocked? aslo would u recomend getting 1 plec or getting maybe 3 otos? really would like to know more about the oto, because the hole bottom half of my tank is empty and i dont no if id rather have one larger fish (bn plec) or 3 small otos.

thank you

 

[BethK]

Mate's got 2 BN's and they are at 8", better to be safe than sorry.

Plecs poop a lot, so make sure your filter system can handle it, if you get 2 x

 

[JenCliBee]

Mate's got 2 BN's and they are at 8", better to be safe than sorry.

Plecs poop a lot, so make sure your filter system can handle it, if you get 2 x

Then im not convinced there common BN's or even in fact BN's. Try getting a picture and that would convince me more lol.

Ive kept in the region of 100+ adult BN's and probably less than 10 have gotten over 6 inch and even that wasn't much over.

cheers for the response, i thought i should be able to get anyway with having 1 in there, i only have 5 danios and 2 guppys in there so def not over stocked. if i got rid of the guppys and had 5-10 cardinal tetras 5 danios and a bn pleco would that be overstocked? aslo would u recomend getting 1 plec or getting maybe 3 otos? really would like to know more about the oto, because the hole bottom half of my tank is empty and i dont no if id rather have one larger fish (bn plec) or 3 small otos.

thank you

For me an out and out plec lover/keeper i would chose the BN but the other factors are oto's aren't very durable, they have a tendency to die with pretty much no sign of illness,the need a good mature tank pref with algae and they need to be kept in larger groups than 3 preferably.

The stocking you mentioned above seems fine to me, be prepared for the BN to make alot of waste when larger but other than you should be fine with adequate filtration .

 

[adam12345]

Mate's got 2 BN's and they are at 8", better to be safe than sorry.

Plecs poop a lot, so make sure your filter system can handle it, if you get 2 x

Then im not convinced there common BN's or even in fact BN's. Try getting a picture and that would convince me more lol.

Ive kept in the region of 100+ adult BN's and probably less than 10 have gotten over 6 inch and even that wasn't much over.

cheers for the response, i thought i should be able to get anyway with having 1 in there, i only have 5 danios and 2 guppys in there so def not over stocked. if i got rid of the guppys and had 5-10 cardinal tetras 5 danios and a bn pleco would that be overstocked? aslo would u recomend getting 1 plec or getting maybe 3 otos? really would like to know more about the oto, because the hole bottom half of my tank is empty and i dont no if id rather have one larger fish (bn plec) or 3 small otos.

thank you

For me an out and out plec lover/keeper i would chose the BN but the other factors are oto's aren't very durable, they have a tendency to die with pretty much no sign of illness,the need a good mature tank pref with algae and they need to be kept in larger groups than 3 preferably.

The stocking you mentioned above seems fine to me, be prepared for the BN to make alot of waste when larger but other than you should be fine with adequate filtration .

cheers for the advice! been good to read, im gna go for a bn plec ova some otos. cant wait to get one. im currently runnning the filter i got with the tank dont no the name of the top of my head but its for 120 litre and ive also got a fluval u1 in there for a 55 litre i think. so filtration shouldnt be a problem.