Otto Bioload Question

[soritan]

Is a single otto considered 2" of fish, or more since they're "dirty" fish?

I am thinking of getting 1, 2, or 3 (I'm confused about 'shoaling' for ottos), for my 10gal.

My tank doesn't have much algea, so I plan on feeding the ottos veggie supplements.

I don't have a sand substrate, so I can't get corydoras, since they need sand substrate.

I really would like someone who enjoys a bit of algea, as I'm growing a decent crop of it at the moment, and my shrimp are more concerned with blood worms than algea.



It's an idea I'm considering, mind you. If 10 US gallons isnt enough for 1-3 happy ottos or cories, I'll gladly drop the idea.


My LPS has dwarf cories as an option. I've seen them treated as "middle dwellers", who don't require sand, if I get a small shoal of 4 or so, will they be happy with standard aquarium gravel? (as in, that ugly sort they sell to your 12 year old neice? rounded, slightly neon, and inert?)

 

[yvez9]

IMO, otos are minimal waster producers and i wouldn't really count them toward your stocking. note that they are very delicate fish so if your tank is overstocked/lacks maintenance, they won't do to well.

otos eat nothing but algea so if your tank isn't growing any, don't get them. they will usually find enough to survive though, and you can throw in algea wafers in there as well. they don't eat much though.

they are not a shoaling fish, but they like the company of others. 3 would be fine in your 10 gallon tank.

the pigmy corie idea is good but i doubt they would do well with larger gravel. you could get larger cories though, like panda cories or c. aenus. they are also small waste producers so stocking impact is not that great. you could probably get 4 or 5 for your tank!

 

[soritan]

I am at once "crap!" and "yay!"

XD

I do have algea, but I honestly think it's not enough to keep more than 1 'whatever' happy. I have fast growing plants, and I am beginning to think it's a matter of time before my plants are happier than the algea is (or perhaps I'm overly optimistic.... I've never been accused of that, but there's always a first).

My tank is currently fishless cycled, but it's been without actual 'fish' for almost 24 hours. I think my bacteria is alive, but I suspect that some of them have died off.

It's a 'new' tank. I haven't even had time to establish a maintanence schedule yet.

I was envisioning cleaning the tank once a week, cleaning the gravel once a week, and siphoning off around 2-4 US gallons per week.



I really took a shine to the pygmy and panda cories when I saw them, but my slim research told me that they'd hate me for putting them in my tank, wich has rounded standard-issue gravel, large river stones, and marbles in ther at the moment.

 

[Clairel]

I have 8 Otto's in my tank, i inherited them along with the tank when i bought it, i wasnt sure about them before i got them, but now i must say i really like them

C x

 

[Luke_e]

IMO, otos are minimal waster producers and i wouldn't really count them toward your stocking. note that they are very delicate fish so if your tank is overstocked/lacks maintenance, they won't do to well.

otos eat nothing but algea so if your tank isn't growing any, don't get them. they will usually find enough to survive though, and you can throw in algea wafers in there as well. they don't eat much though.

they are not a shoaling fish, but they like the company of others. 3 would be fine in your 10 gallon tank.

the pigmy corie idea is good but i doubt they would do well with larger gravel. you could get larger cories though, like panda cories or c. aenus. they are also small waste producers so stocking impact is not that great. you could probably get 4 or 5 for your tank!

My ottos eat cucumber, and sweet potatoe as well as algae. If they dont have algae in a tank, they go for the other food sources available (as long as you provide veg they should be fine).

 

[IMCL85]

Oto aren't heavy poooooer compare to other pleco species. But it seem like they r easy to getting bully. I have 1 got kill by my cardinal . So now I'm going to use amona shrimp to clean algae.

 

[Arfie]

As Luke_e said Otto's will eat other things such as cucumber/courgette(zucchini) algae wafters etc.

As for the corys, I've kept albino's and peppereds for over 18 months in a 10 gallon tank with gravel and they did just fine, no damage at all to their whiskers. They can be kept with gravel, so long as it's not sharp edged. That said, they do prefer sand as mine are showing in their new tank

Arfie

 

[blue_ram]

If you have enough algae in your aquarium, then Otos add negligible bio-mass to the aquarium, since all the algae are growing from excess nitrogen in the aquarium anyway. Although you could feed them Algae Wafers/Pellets, try not to use it as primary food. They are primarily composed of fish meal and I don't think it's a good idea to feed herbivorous fish animal protein.

 

[soritan]

Are all ottos small-ish, or is it possible a novice such as myself could accidently get one of those killing 'chinese algea eaters'?

I'm seriously considering getting myself a single otto, now, or 4 dwarf cories.

The only tank occupant I have that is eating the algea is a single pond snail, so there are little clear paths on my glass where it's been. It hasn't been breeding, or if it has, then my shrimps ate all the eggs, as I've seen absolutely no baby snails or snail eggs. Either that, or the lack of food in there has caused it to breed less, as I've read that snails tend to alter their breeding habits according to food availability.

I'm not sure what sort of algea I'm growing at the moment. One's that faint stuff that coats your glass, the other seems to be beard algea, another seems to be hair algea, and a third... is... uhn, odd.

It's dark green, and it seemed for quite some time, to be pearling. After a while, the bubble itself was wrapped in algea, so the sheet has 2 bubbles in it.

I would say that I don't have very much algea at all, in there, although I do have more than one kind. I don't want a fish to 'take care of it', I just want something that can enjoy it and help me control it.

 

[nino]

I wouldn't get an otto if your tank is not yet mature. From what I've read the tank should be up and running for atleast 6 months before introducing an otto. It should also be stable, not going into mini-cycles. For a ten gallon, I'd get one or two. I also think you could go with cories as long as your gravel is smooth and rounded. I've got cories with gravel and kept an eye on their barbels in the beginning which seemed to do fine. I've heard they really love sand but they will also be happy with gravel.

 

[nino]

I wouldn't get an otto if your tank is not yet mature. From what I've read the tank should be up and running for atleast 6 months before introducing an otto. It should also be stable, not going into mini-cycles. For a ten gallon, I'd get one or two. I also think you could go with cories as long as your gravel is smooth and rounded. I've got cories with gravel and kept an eye on their barbels in the beginning which seemed to do fine. I've heard they really love sand but they will also be happy with gravel.

 

[nino]

I wouldn't get an otto if your tank is not yet mature. From what I've read the tank should be up and running for atleast 6 months before introducing an otto. It should also be stable, not going into mini-cycles. For a ten gallon, I'd get one or two. I also think you could go with cories as long as your gravel is smooth and rounded. I've got cories with gravel and kept an eye on their barbels in the beginning which seemed to do fine. I've heard they really love sand but they will also be happy with gravel.