Taking Care Of New Otocinclus

[molver]

Hi,

I just got a new otocinclus today , and I'm wondering what I should be doing to keep him happy. 

I have a 20 gallon tank with aquarium salt in it. I had brown algae developing on the glass before, but I cleaned it out and turned down the amount of time I kept lights on. This was before I planned on getting an oto.

I plan on keeping my lights on more often now so that algae can start growing again.

I have several questions though. Will keeping the lights on be enough? I normally feed all my fish Omega One Veggie Rounds every 2-3 days. Will I need to adjust that? I also feed all my fish peas every 4 days or so. Is there anything else I need to do?

I also know oto diets should be supplemented with vegetables like zuchinni and lettuce, but how do I do that? How do I get my oto to notice food? I put in a blanched pea today, but my mollies and swordtails jumped right at it while the oto didn't even notice it. 
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I got mixed messages from websites and pet stores about keeping otos in schools. Some websites say otos don't care about schooling, other websites say they prefer to be in groups of 3 or more. 

Is it essential that I get more otos? I'm not sure about getting more because I'm worried whether more than one oto will have enough to graze on in my small tank.

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How will I know if my oto is happy/healthy? I know it should have a full, round belly, and it does. I also know it should be pooping most of the time, which it is.

I know I'm asking for a lot of info. I have a general idea of how to take care of them. But I just want to be totally prepared. 

Thanks.

Read more: http/www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/catfish/taking-care-new-otocinclus-401946/#ixzz32jTjaxij

 

[techen]

First off, Don't believe that all algae eating fish need algae, They don't. I have two large BN plecs in my tank with zero algae and they do fine, They've learned what a algae wafer is and that's all they need to live, Of course some veg thrown in from time to time is a plus.
 
Yes, Otos prefer schools. I suggest if you are keeping them to increase the number as much as possilbe, 6 is a good number. Round bellies are a good sign of them eating well however, The one thing bad for otos is them refusing to eat anything and dying because of this. Not uncommon and if they do die wouldn't worry about it. They can be very hard feeders.
 
So make sure you have some algae wafers and boil some veg in a cup then thrown it in, It makes it sink to the bottom.

 

[Lillefishy]

My Oto's prefer their veg higher up in the tank, you can get clips with suckers to hold it.
Always put the food in the same place, they can be a bit slow to realise it's food but once they do they'll go straight to it.
Oto's are definitely happier with friends, the more they have the happier they are & you'll see them zooming around the tank together.

 

[KirkyArcher]

Otto's even in large groups will not make a large impact on Algae, especially the tougher types like green spot! Like techen, my tanks pretty much Algae free and my small group of 5 ottos will just eat algae wafers and leftovers! Most Otto fatalities will be in the 1st week or two, any that survive after that will usually be with you for several years, (with maintained water quality) .