lyndatu

Hello

I went to a local pet shop yesterday and saw these catfishes resembling Otocinclus Catfishes. I became excited as I've been looking for them for so long, but I'm also nervous that they might really be Chinese Algae Eaters, which are more aggressive and grow large. What should I look at to determine if they truly are Oto Cats?

Thanks in advance!

platy ben

NEVER get a chinese algae eater, my big 8 year old killed 2 of my angel fish and has servierly damged my other too but now hes back at the LFS.

Otocinclus are small fish, they are grey on top, have a black line running down either side, then they have a white under side.

Chinese algae eaters are most often brown, sometimes gold. the are brown all along the top and have faint black/brown stripes along the top of their body, they have a light brown under side.

Hope i helped you out

angelfish220

the chinese algae eater is more brown, and bigger. the otto is little.

Attached Images

	Chinese_algae_eater.jpg (8.8 KB, 94 views)
	otto.jpg (5.8 KB, 91 views)

lyndatu

Thank you! According to those features and pictures you said, the ones I saw in the pet shop are likely Chinese Algae Eaters. They are pretty big and are warm silver brown. I have read how vicious they are when they're matured(they attach their mouths to Angelfishes and Discus and bury a hole through them). Thank you for warning me.

I hope I find an Otto Cat soon, but I better watch out for the CAEs..........Thanks again!

If you have more info about the differences between Otocinclus catfish and Chinese Algae Eaters, please post it here! Thanks in advance!

Zoreta

I think it's a case of not giving them enough food, as far as CAE aggression. We had a CAE reach 6 inches and it never bothered the other fish- even the flat-sided ones like blackskirt tetras. Completely mellow fish who whizzed around and loved his algae wafers. Stopped us from having live plants, though- he'd nibble them to bits.

Jess

If you're planning on stocking with Otto Cats you need about 1 per gallon to maintain your aquarium of algae. Besides they love to be in groups and a note they must have clean water. They are difficult or read delicate in the beginning. Most people will lose a few at first. But they're cute and are hard workers. Its just they're so small you need a team of them to make any difference.

gremlin

Otos are great for smaller tanks. Cae's can be difficult. I have three in my pond in the summer (inside in a tank for the winter). The cae's black stripe on the side is more broken than the oto's. Also, the cae's does not go all the way through the tail. Cae's can be aggressive, but that is usually because they do not have proper housing/feeding. One cae needs a minimum of 20 gallons and 2 would need at least 40 gallons. They also need 2 hidey holes per fish, and LOTS of food. Algae as well as shrimp pellets/bottom feeder tablets/etc. If they get aggressive, it is because they don't have enough food or hidey holes. Oto's, or even some of the smaller plecos, are better for smaller community tanks.