OTO alike

[kermit13sg]

Hi

Are there any fish out there that does what an Oto does? And shrimp safe too.

I have no idea why my oto keeps dying in my shrimp tank. Shrimps are fine and breeding.

[32103940]

otos dont do well solo. need at least 3.

[felix_fx2]

I have only 2 in one of my tank.
Their very attached together

[stormhawk]

If Otocinclus are dying in your tank, it's either disease or lack of food. These small catfish are not exactly just algae eaters. They are somewhat omnivorous. In a shrimp tank with shrimps vying for algae resources, it is necessary to give the otos a source of animal protein, in the form of sinking tablets or frozen bloodworms. Otherwise, just expecting them to feed on algae alone won't work. I've had Otos that would go crazy for live tubifex, even live brine shrimp.

The no.1 mistake people make is putting these Otos in a newly setup tank with zero algae growth. They are only effective in established tanks with sufficient algae growth, especially brown and some green algae. Keeping them in a new tank with insufficient nourishment is akin to killing them from the start. Since you have them in an established tank, if they are dying soon after purchase, you have to look at your acclimatisation process, your livestock selection "criteria" and the source.

Healthy Otos at the store are usually fat, active and pooping normally. You would see them rasping like mad on algae. Those with rounded fins and slow movements have been suffering from ammonia burns during shipment from whichever source they came from. Be very careful of those that show signs of sunken eyes or bellies. They are typically emaciated from lack of food, coupled with bad water conditions and disease, and will not survive for long.

Other animals or fish that will do the same job would be a bunch of snails, specifically ramshorn snails. The drawback is, they breed like rabbits. If you are going to switch to a different catfish, then I think people will suggest either the Starlight Bristlenose or the Red Lizard. Both will grow bigger than the Oto and may spook your shrimps if they move about suddenly. Starlight Bristlenose juveniles are very good at dealing with algae, but as they grow bigger their appetite changes. Red Lizard is more carnivorous than herbivorous, so it will need supplements in the form of sinking tablets.

[kermit13sg]

Thanks Stormhawk for such detailed explanation.

I think I may have been seriously unlucky with these folks, thinking about it, I may have bought otos that are not very well..now I remember seeing sunken tummies.

I like them and I am going to try again, this time feed them more. You mentioned live brine shrimp, where can i get some? Or tubifex, ok with shrimp tank?

[xXXXx13]

Another thing to note is to acclaimatise them to your water condition before introducing into your water. They'll be pretty stressed out during the transportation from the LFS to their new home. You can observe if they are moving around actively in the LFS, check with the owner if they had been arrived recently (if it does, another movement will very likely to create the already stressed out behaviour while they are trying to acclamatised)

[kermit13sg]

Thank 4X13....do we need to drip them like shrimps?

[tetrakid]

I don't know much about otos, as I am only hooked on Golden Algae Eaters. These little gems gave me very good service cleaning up the surface Algae, so I do not even need to wipe or scrub any Algae off.

No matter how stressed they are after your handling, as long as there's a lot of Algae in the tank, they'll become happy in a short while. But I must warn you that they are 'pros' in converting Algae to their poop, like a poop factory. Basically they continuosly convert Algae to poop, as they are good eaters. So it is important to siphon away the poop during the period of Algae treatment. But you will enjoy doing this, seeing the Algae disappear as the days pass.

For siphoning the poop, make a siphon by buying a piece of stiff plastic piping, cut it to the right length and attach it to a flexible air-pump tubing. Siphon the poop into a 1.5 litre soft drinks bottle at regular intervals as necessary.

[xXXXx13]

Thank 4X13....do we need to drip them like shrimps?

yupz, you can use this method.

[stormhawk]

Tubifex is not recommended in shrimp tanks. My Oto gets the protein he needs from the carnivore pellets that I feed my fish with every day. C328 sells live brine shrimp but they're typically sold out fairly quickly. If it's just 1 or 2 Otos, live food is not a necessity.

[kermit13sg]

But I do see my Oto feeding on shrimp food... still they don't make it...

[mincedmeat]

I have one oto in my fire red tank and he seems to be doing well, so far. I crush hikari micro wafers for food for the shrimps so the oto has some food at the same time, together with some excel, he probably has enough each day.

[kermit13sg]

Then i seriously have no idea why my Otos keeping dying. I do feed Mosura wafers and it shared it with my shrimps.

Ok, maybe tell me where you guys get your Oto, I usually get mine from Pet Mart

[mincedmeat]

I got mine from C328. I think like what stormhawk had mentioned, you probably have to pick healthier ones. I personally don't prefer how PetMart keep their fishes.

[beanysoh]

Just to share that i bought four OTO from Seaview last week and they are very active in my tank now. But i am not sure if lively OTO is equal to healthy OTO though

[mincedmeat]

Just to share that i bought four OTO from Seaview last week and they are very active in my tank now. But i am not sure if lively OTO is equal to healthy OTO though

I would think you can make that generalisation.

[stormhawk]

Mosura wafer? Which one? Animal protein seems to be a requirement in their diet, which is why you normally see some Otos that are more than willing to feed off the carcasses of dead fishes. My Oto was purchased from GC some months ago. It's still alive and kicking. Most of the time it just sits on a leaf before moving off to rasp on something.

[qngwn]

hmm, somewhat similar case for me.
i used to have some otos while back in the hobby a few months back. They did not seem to feed on algae at all. instead they actually prefer carcasses of dead shrimps or the sinking shrimp pellets.

Is this normal?

What would then be the best clean up crew to get, if you had Black Brush Algae and green spot algae?