oto cats

[cbfreder]

I apologize if this is in the wrong section. I figured plant geeks kept these guys the most, and they certainly aren't monsters.

I have been neglecting algae scraping in preparation for getting two otos, so I had a nice sheen of algae on my tank and plants. The problem is that the pair has been ravenous and cleaned the whole thing in 24 hours. All that is left is some black brush algae on my wood.

Do you guys keep these guys? Do you know if they will eat BBA? I assume they were not well fed in the fish store tanks, and they will chill out in a little while. How do I know when i need to supplement them?

Thanks guys,
Brandon

 

[evercl92]

First off, you picked the best overall algae-eating fish you can get. I love these guys. They stay small, so they can eat algae off of leaves without injuring the plants.

What size tank do you have? I have 8 (or at least I bought 8) along with 5 siamese algae eaters in my 125gal. I have alot of plants, and these guys pretty much keep in all under control.

They don't eat BBA. SAE do though, but they can get 4-5inches. Certain shrimp eat it as well, such as cherries and amanos. Cheapy ghost shrimp wont though. Florida flag fish are supposed to, but I have read they can get a little rough with some fish (although I haven't had any issues with mine).

If they have round little bellies, they are eating well. If their body is strait (no belly bulge) from head to tail, then the need algae wafers or something similar.