Otto Information Please

[KrystaK]

I`m interested in getting some Otto`s to take care of an algae problem, I have no experience with them what so ever.
I am doing research on them, but I`d also like someone to fill my head with their knowledge all in one thread, rather than searching through all the threats and google

I`ve read that they school, does this mean they need to be in groups?
Does male to female ratio matter?
Are there any species that they don`t get a long with? (I probably don't have any species they hate, as I keep mostly live bearers)


Thanks in advance

 

[FishLover66]

I don't have a ton of experience with otos, but I will say that they are very gentle with tank mates and plants. They do an amazing job keeping my tank clean of algae and are very active. They do stick to groups. I have three right now and they stick together nicely. I had five, but the most I've ever seen school together is three--this is just my experience. I've heard others state that five is a good group. I wouldn't get less than three.

I've witnessed mine chasing around cories and my small neons,which is quite funny. I think they are just trying to stick to it, like they do the glass, wood and plants. I have heard that they can be a pain in the butt with larger fish like Angels, since they try to attach to their sides, but Angels can take care of themselves.

I wouldn't put any aggressive fish with the, as they don't have a mean bone in their body and wouldn't fight back.

The other thing I've heard is that they are very sensitive to water quality, so I would be sure your water parameters are good and aclimate them very slowly. The other thing that seemed to help me was keeping some zucchini or spinach in the tank for them to eat. I replaced them daily for the first week or two, but there was a constant supply of fresh veggies in there. Many times, the otos at the fish store don't get much food and since they are wild caught, they are often times very weak and malnurished.

Good luck--they are very cute and commical fish.

 

[pablothebetta]

I'm thinking of getting some too, though more as additions to my betta tank than for algae control. As far as I know, though, they only eat green dust and diatom algae. What gets me is tank size - some websites state a minimum of 50L, some people say 10 US gallons and some keep otos in tanks as small as 5 US gallons or even less. What size is your tank?

 

[RobberyinCSharp]

I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 ottos (one passed away from a tank incident). I have never, ever had a problem with these babies I LOVE them! They're fantastic when it comes to diatoms - the two I had cleaned my tank spotless in about a week. Woot for no more algae scrubbing!
Watching them swim is hilarious. They're hyper! They've never attached themselves to any of my fish, and even my rams don't bother them. I would go with three ottos - that seems to be the magic number.

They're also very forgiving to mistakes - but they will stress easily if you're actively moving things around your tank and such! A great starter fish and a good addition to any aquarium

 

[FishLover66]

My tank is 27 gallon cube. I think the minimum group would be three. As far as tank size, I personally wouldn't go smaller than 20 gallons, 10 and under I'm not sure about. They are small and pretty active, but are very quick in cleaning up algae (they are CONSTANTLY grazing), so it would depend on if your tank could grow enough algae to sustain them.

You could suppliment their diet with zucchini/spinach and algae waffers, but some won't eat them. When I first got mine, I had a lot of algae in my tank, but it didn't take them long at all to eat it all. At the time, they were STARVING and ate the supplimental food--even the shrimp pellets I feed my cories! Now, they seem to be pretty happy with just grazing around the tank (round bellies and good color).