Oto cats

[Minaku]

I've recently run into a small problem with my cycled 5g - it's got brown algae! I was wondering if I could "hire" a small crew of otos to come in and clean. But all the information sources say different things about otos! So I decided I'd come here and post questions about them. Here goes:

1. What is the optimal temperature for an oto cat?
2. How many otos should I get for a school? How many can I fit safely within my 5g if it already holds a medium-to-very-messy betta?
3. Do they even eat brown algae?
4. Other than algae, do they take foods with protein, such as spirulina and shrimp pellets?
5. I have hard water. Is that okay for oto cats?
6. Would I have to have a planted tank for them?

Thanks for any answers you guys can provide me. Bottom line is that I'd love to have otos and a larger tank, but if my 5 can't hold them, then I'll deal with the algae the old fashioned way.

[twoluvcats]

1. they'll tolerate 75-82...i've had them in betta tanks before and they do just fine.

2. they will school...but they don't HAVE to school. I wouldn't put more than 2-3 in a 5 gallon, and 1 will prob control your brown algae just fine.

3. THEY LOVE IT!!

4. they'll eat pretty much anything they can find, they won't go hard after algae if you feed them 'easy' food. If they are getting enough to eat they will have a littl round 'button belly'.

5. I have 'liquid rock' for water and they do ok...but they are kinda a mysteriously sensative fish. There are theories out there that you get them mostly starved from the LFS...so its easy to get one 'too far gone'...they also do not do well in new tanks, they prefer established tanks. Don't be surprised if you have to buy 5 to get 2 that survive.

6. they'll live in planted or unplanted, the important thing is a source of algae and/or food...they also like to chew on driftwood.

By far, otos are my favortie algae eating fish. Cherry shrimp eat the widest variety of algae, but otos really go after the brown algae the best!

HTH

[Minaku]

Hopefully my cycle will re-stabilize soon - I just got this tank back from the fishsitter's, and tried to set it up as fast as I could. Right now I have a small ammonia spike (.25 ppm) and so far, no nitrites. A small water change will get rid of the ammonia, but if the bacteria have metabolized it since last night, I won't bother.

Thanks for the info, twoluvcats. I can't wait for my tank to stabilize so I can get two of those cute little fish!

Oh! About quarantining and air needs. Should I add an airstone to Boris' tank, or would the water agitation from the filter, which is a spillover type, be enough? And when I quarantine them, can I separate them in two .75 gals? I don't want to put them together in a small tank, but I don't want them to get lonely, either.

[jeromee]

I personally wouldn't add more then one per 20 gallons, they eat constantly, if you don't have the buildup of food, they will die, and I've had no luck feeding them anything other then algae

[Minaku]

I do plan on buying spirulina pellets for the otos and my betta, and giving them the usual blanched zucchini for a snack.

Otos don't get to be more than 2 inches. I can't imagine them fouling up 20 gallons of water by themselves in a short period of time, even if they are catfish and they constantly eat and poop.

2LC, I think I'm going to get two so that I can distract my betta. One might be too tempting for him to pick on.

[jeromee]

I wasn't talking about them fouling the water, I was talking about them starving to death. They won't eat tablets, or sinking foods or anything of that nature, so don't waste your money, only fresh veggies, they seem to like zucchini... Just trying to look out for the ottos

[amanichen]

Otocinclus catfish should enjoy sinking spirulina tablets.

Additionally, you can get dried algae sheets (seaweed) for feeding to your herbivorous fish. Here's an example of them.

Most herbivorous fish can't resist either of these two foods, and I doubt that otos would.

[Minaku]

Thanks, Amanichen. When you said seaweed I thought about the kind that I eat, and that stuff is pretty much irresistable to me (khim and dried seasoned nori). And then I realized that I can't feed that stuff to an oto...

Anyway, here's to hoping 2 oto cats at once won't crash the cycle in my 5g. I should probably buy some Cycle to help keep it stable.

Jeromee, I've been keeping my full-spectrum light off to try to discourage the algae growth, but I have Java ferns in that 5g that need the light. They've been dying off because they're not getting enough light at all. I also just ordered some Java moss, so I'd like to turn my light back on so that the plants won't die. That means more brown algae, though, which won't be a problem once the otos get to work on it.

[jeromee]

amanichen: I've had several ottos deny any sort of tablet food, they are very picky. I don't know if you've had experience with them or not, but, in my experience, they don't like tablets. This goes the same in the same in the local fish stores, they can't get their ottos to eat tablets either. As long as you have an established food supply for them, and are willing to substitute if they don't look like they're getting enough to surivive, then go for it. When you purchace these guys, refrain from getting the ones that look really thin, they aren't well fed and are probably not going to last for you. A otto with a pot belly is a happy otto.

[twoluvcats]

jeromee said:

I've had several ottos deny any sort of tablet food, they are very picky.

I had this problem with ALL my bottom feeders and solid tablets...they HATE them...now I only feed wafers and sinking stuff that can be broken up...as a whole tablet, they won't touch it, but when I break it up...they ALL go after them, otos included.

[amanichen]

jeromee said:

amanichen: I've had several ottos deny any sort of tablet food, they are very picky. I don't know if you've had experience with them or not, but, in my experience, they don't like tablets.

I agree with what you're saying about fish not liking rock hard food that is too big to fit in their mouths -- even if it smells good, they just won't eat it. I've even seen carnivorous fish that can't resist the smell of algae tablets. My point was that otos should flock to algae due to the smell alone, whether or not they can eat a hard tablet is a different matter, though.

Anytime I feed tablets to fish, I always let them soak first =)

[jeromee]

Soaking over night in the tank, soaking in a cup of water, my ottos refuse to eat algae tablets.

[Minaku]

The search for oto cats has been futile so far. No one carries them in the three petstores that are in the immediate vicinity, two of which are specialty aquarium shops. I'm guessing they're out of stock. There should be more next Thursday. Oh well, gives me more time to grow some algae, either brown or green, doesn't matter. My plants are doing much better now that they have light for more than a couple of hours a day.

When I quarantine the otos, should I quarantine them together or separately, and should I include an airstone in the tank?

[twoluvcats]

if you purchase them together, you can QT them together. Personally, I think otos are better to get the day they come in...you run a better chance of getting healthy ones than 'mostly-starved'. Call the LFS and ask them what day they come in.

Mine always loves to 'surf' my airstone bubbles (when I had one in the tank)...so they would prob appreciate it in a QT tank.

[Minaku]

Thanks, 2LC.