BettaBuddy ~ Miley

I am so excited!!! tomorrow i am getting an OTO!!!! YAY!!! but i have a few questions:

1. can otos be in water that dechlorinated with "betta safe" dechlorinator?? because that is wat i use for Oscar...

2. Does the eat algea wafers??

3. where should i get him/her petco or petsmart...??

4. Do they need a cave??

5. how can i keep from eating Oscars food?? oscars food floats though so idk if its a problem....?

6. will Oscar try to hurt him/her?? ( Oscar is a crowntail betta)

7. should i worry about the oto trying to nip oscars fins?

8. are their any other problems i should be worried about?

Thank you - i know this is ALOT of questions but i am trying to know as much as i can about them before tomorrow. Thank you so much, Miley

sirdarksol

1) Dunno. I would presume so, though.

2) Sometimes. I'd use fresh veggies to supplement their algae, instead. (Your Betta might like it, too)

3) NOT PETCO! (I just don't like Petco. They are horrible when it comes to Betta treatment). Petsmart is actually probably a pretty good idea. I have yet to find one from Petsmart that's actually a Chinese Algae Eater (this is apparently a widespread problem).

4) No, but they would like one, or some other hiding place. They'd also like a little chunk of driftwood. Not necessary, though. My two surviving otos are in a tank with no wood.

5) Not an issue. Their primary source of food is the algae on every surface of the tank. They will latch on to fresh vegetables that provide them a relatively stable surface.

6) Not sure, but otos are fast little buggers when threatened. Miyamoto tried to eat the otos for a couple of weeks after I added them, but they'd just outrun him. Pretty soon, they learned where they were safe when the koi was around. (That's right, folks, even the tiniest of fish has more than a 3 second memory)

7) Nope. They largely don't care about other fish. They just care about sucking up algae.

8) They're river fish, and like some current. As long as you've got a good filter that's turned all the way up, they should be okay.

No worries about the number of questions. That's why we're all here.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

1) ok?? i w geuss i will just have to trie it and hope for the best....

2) ok - what kind of veggies?? should i just throw it in there or get one of those clownfish shaped veggie clips? or does it not matter?

3) I have yet to find one from Petsmart that's actually a Chinese Algae Eater (this is apparently a widespread problem). - what do you mean by that??

4) ok well i may get them a cave so if oscar does try anything they have somewhere to go.

5) ok good. thnx

6) ok - well i am just a bit worried because Oscar is a fiesty little fireball.... he bites fingers and chases hands and is a goof ball..... would that be a problem at all??

7) ok good.

They're river fish, and like some current. As long as you've got a good filter that's turned all the way up, they should be okay. - the only problem with that is it will whip Oscar all around because its only a 3-4 gallon tank...

thnx for all the help so far. Miley

sirdarksol

2) cucumbers, zucchini, spinach, lettuce. People have had success with these. I use a veggie clip. Otherwise, you can weigh them down with a rock or something. In the case of cukes and zucchini, you can even use the surface tension of water to just stick it to the side of the tank.

3) Really young CAEs look like otos. CAEs are also easier to get during certain times of the year. (Otos are notoriously difficult to breed, and it seems that there are some times that they're very hard to catch). Disreputable sellers may supply the pet store with CAEs and say they're otos, or disreputable stores may sell CAEs and claim they're otos.

6) I really think that, as long as the otos have places to hide, they should be fine. They have a very wide range of vision, and are really fast.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

2. ok that will just give my mom all the more excuse to but fresh veggies!! HAHA!!!

3. ok - do CAE's get big?? cuz my tanks only 3 or 4 gal. ..... is there a difference that i can tell between the two??

6. alrite.... i just hope oscars cool with it or i can put skip in that tank and oscar in skips tank. LOL

Thnx, Miley

sirdarksol

http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/index.php?topic=11014.0
Check out this thread to see some ways to tell the difference. Honestly, if you find them at Petsmart, you'll probably end up with otos. No matter what other problems they have, they seem to be very honest about the types of fish they sell.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ok thats good - i will check it out. Miley

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

Here He Is!!!!

His Full name is Dennis Bubbles!! DB For short!!! Miley

armadillo

Dennis Bubbles

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

HeeHee!!! Hes the cutest little thing!!!!

COBettaCouple

aren't they? i love when they sit on a piece of algae wafer and eat or when they get real hyper. lol. i bet he'd like cantaloupe too.. all of our fish go nuts for it, even the bettas. Oscar should be good with DB (funny - that's Stacy's nickname for her dad. lol). Aslan is our fierce betta and he just ignored the otos.. kind of had the attitude of 'whatever' with them and they left each other alone.. even when one of the otos would dart right in front of him, Aslan just ignored it.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

HAHA~!! ya Oscar mostly leaves the two alone but he also chases them and i think hes just trying to play... HeeHee!! = Oscar LOL!!! They are all so cute!!!!!! Miley

COBettaCouple

yea, the otos are too fast for bettas and they both know who's the boss.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ok - good LOL!! Miley