Ottos

[fish_face]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to find a fish that is really good at cleaning algae (especially the green spotty stuff thats really hard to scrub off the front of the tank!) I've heard that Ottos are really good, but can't find any info about them. Does anyone know any other name for them or whether they will clean algae

I already have some catfish (see sig) and they do a pretty good job - its just this green stuff.

Thanks again guys

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i dont think any fish can clean the algae that is hard for you to scrub off. maybe some snails?

 

[BigC]

Otocinclus do a really great job of cleaning algae from plants, do not put snails in a planted tank. Why? because they will eat your plants. Otocinclus are very small so check what inhabitants you already have in the tank in regards to wil they eat the Ottos. If you do decide to go ahead, buy between 4-6 as they like the company of their own kind. I purchased some last week as an algae deterrant because I had some dark brown blotches on my Anubias v. Nana plant and within 1 hour of introducing them they had cleaned it perfectly. A word of warning, acclimatiize them to your aquarium water slowly over a period of say a couple of hours, gradually introducing water from your tank into the bag they came in from your Lfs.
Hope this is of some help...

 

[fish_face]

Thats a great help thanks I couldn't add snails anyway unfortunately as I have clown loach

 

[BigC]

So sorry fish face for not paying attention to what you already had in there.
(that reply sounds really insulting coupled with your member name don't you think, it's not ment to sound like that.)

 

[rdd1952]

A word of warning, acclimatiize them to your aquarium water slowly over a period of say a couple of hours, gradually introducing water from your tank into the bag they came in from your Lfs.

Great advice for otos in particular. I usually float them for about 15 minutes then add water from my tank and float again. I repeat that until their bag is almost full, or for about an hour. They will do a great job if cleaning plants, especially the anubia nana that was mentioned but like most other AEs they won't touch blue green algae, at least mine don't.

 

[freddyk]

I don't think it's right to use any fish to control algae. Don't get me wrong, otto's are fantastic fish, and are excellent algae cleaners, but if you expect a miracle you may be disappointed.

As far as snails, they don't all destroy plants. Do some research and you'll find some that work. Snails can be very healthy for the aquarium, chosen right.

 

[guppy_man]

you should get crabs they are great i have 4 o ye if you are going to get an otto get a zebra 1 they r sooooooo cute and better to watch than a normal cat