ricktavious

I'm thinking of getting a couple of otos to put in with one of my bettas. His tank has a bit of an algae problem. The tank is a five gallon tank, pictured below. How many otos would be the optimal amount for this tank? Would there be enough food and space for both the betta and oto(s)? Thanks!

Kevin

you can fit 2 otos in a 5 gal. tank...and you might want to put an algae wafer or two in there every day...just to make sure they are getting food as they eat 24/7

ricktavious

Thanks for the response Kevin.

Would just one oto be better than two, or do otos prefer to have a little bit of company?

COBettaCouple

they can get lonely without buddies and 2 would be the minimum to keep. if you only have 2, i'd get the Omega One veggie wafers and maybe put half in the tank in the morning, leaving it in for up to 12 hours. If your betta decides to start eating them, you may need to use slices of veggies like cucumbers instead.

ricktavious

But then of course, lets say I get two...would a betta + 2 otos be good in a five gallon tank? Would there be enough food for the otos (algae + wafers/fresh veggies) and space for the three to happily live together? Would two otos together be considered "happy" otos?

Obviously, I think it would be nice to have a couple of otos, but would want to make sure to have happy little fishies in my tank

voiceless_kat

I am no expert by any means, but in my experience with otos - which I am still learning about .

I have 2 otos in a 10g with Wink Jack SparrowI will have a couple more soon as lfs receives more. . I use veggies in there, seems when I put algae tabs, they aren't being eaten, are clouding the water, and when I suck those out with turkey baster, they are putrid - like a swamp. So be careful and remove uneaten after about 12 hours. Everyone seems happy - WJS patrols the tank and keeps things in order. ( Much better than with the CAE - who was a bully).

In my fry tank, I also have 2 otos ( 3 gallon) - they will all be moved to a large tank in a week and I will buy a couple more. This tank has more algae, pcs of wafer in here seem to get cleaned up faster ( all the fry pick at it too). No problem with cloudiness.

In my 55g I have 5 otos, minimal algae ( also a hillstream loach in there who eats algae), I use pcs of algae wafer and veggies. Everyone in that tank loves the veggies & apparently the algae wafers. Socially, these guys are more fun to watch, they seem to stay together more often than when there are just two. Seeing a group of them together - they seems happier ( No problem with cloudiness - all wafer is eaten)


I also just posted about how long to leave veggies in the tank - while the fish pick away during the day - if I put them into the tank in the evening, they must eat all night, since the clips are empty by morning.

I guess I said all that to say this: I would keep at least two; and when with a betta, make sure the algae wafer is being totally eaten or removed. Otos bio load is small, I am told, so you wouldn't be overcrowded as long as you keep that tank really clean.

Sorry I was so long winded - just sharing my new expereinces with otos, which have all been good -hope yours are also!

armadillo

Hi Stefan. I've just transferred my two otos who were in my small nursery tank to my 29G tank to be with my other 4 otos. I just couldn't bare to see them in that small tank anymore. And all I can say is they seem muuuuch happier now that they have a tank big enough to offer them lots of other oto tank mates, plenty of algae, and plenty of deep plant covers. Having said that, lots of people keep otos with their bettas, and it seems to work for them, so this is just my personal experience. I guess what could be ideal is a 20G with 1 betta and 4 otos or something, but I don't know how that fits with your plans at all.

0morrokh

Since your Betta has been alone in the tank for a while, he might reject tankmates. I would only try it if you have another tank the Otos can move to if the Betta doesn't like them.

ricktavious

Don't think I'll try anything...between the betta being used to being alone and probably not being able to keep the otos happy, it just wouldn't work out.

But Laure-Anne, I really do think the 20 gallon betta/four oto tank sounds like a cool idea once I get some room

armadillo

Thanks, Stefan. I'd love to do that myself, but I also don't have the room for it. Why can't we all live in castles!!!