Can snails and otos coexist? Is there a certain kind of snail that I should NOT get?
I currently have ONE oto .. I'm going to get him some friends tomorrow as I think he is lonely. Tot did not survive, so Tater has been by himself for a few days.
I was just wondering about snails because I thought they would be interesting for the tank too.
I went and bought 3 more otos today and found that my other remaining oto had died. :-( I half expected this to happen since keeping otos alive has been a trial for a bunch of people.
I also bought a black snail. My new three otos are swimming and eating happily and my snail is, well, being a snail :-)
We'll see how it goes!!
Btw, the five gallon tank I have is now serving as my quarantine tank so that is where I put the otos and snail.
Oh they are such a bunch of darlings and are so CUTE!!! They remind me of my babies when they were littler. I hope you have better luck this time. I went through 8 otos to keep 5 so maybe this will be your last purchase. Let's hope these little guys are healthy and happy for a long time. While I do agree that Otos do like to be in groups of 3 or more I have had 2 in one of my tanks for months now and they are incredibly close and I do not believe that they would accept another with them as this has happened in the other tank where one Oto lived by himself for a month when my other Otos and my Betta died. When I replaced the Otos they never accepted the older Oto and he is really alone to this day. So if they are playing together they will be fine but if you find yourself with only one left just buying more will not necessarily add to his company as they do not automatically add the outsider to their group. So actually in that tank I have a group of 2 and a single. I am so sorry for Tuck but he seems to actually not care much and is quite the active little fish.
They are really adorable! :-) (Not tooting my own horn, otos are JUST CUTE!) I wasn't sure about the snail at first since he is quite big but he seems to be enjoying himself. He even got some algae on him from when he got dropped in the tank (I tried to place him but it just didn't work out) and I saw one of the otos eating the algae off of him! Thre are two otos that seem to stay near each other quite a bit and actually look like they are dancing and the other kind of hangs out on his own but even he plays with the others sometimes. They all appear to love to throw themselves in the bubbles and get swept away in them.
I am definitely having a blast with these little guys and they appear to be happily munching and MUCH more active than the other two I had.
We'll see how it goes. Right now, no trouble to report.
I haven't thought of names yet since I want to make sure they survive before I get attached.
Question - Has anyone had trouble with snails dying? Will the snail come up for air or does he not need it?
Love your pictures!!! I too have one Oto in a tank and he has been there for three years seems to be fine. I wouldn't recommend buying just one but it jst seems to happen that way sometimes. The actions of three or more together just can't be beat.
Your snail has such pretty stripes
Carol
I only lost one and I think it may have been his walk on the wild side that did it. Creamy did pass on the the great Snail Motel in the sky but he had been out of the tank on my hardwood floors and they are oiled and I am wondering if something in the stuff on the floor did the poor little guy in. He was the only one of the three who decided to turn daredevil on me and I am afraid it cost him.
I'm sorry to hear about Creamy. I do remember the story about him getting out of the bucket but hadn't heard (that I remember) that he had passed.
I woke up this morning and couldn't find Sniggles (my snail) ... I was afraid that he had gotten out. Turns out he was just chilling on the back of the filter. It took about 20 minutes before I could find him. Gave me quite a scare!!!
Mystery snails will occasionally go up to the top of the water and extend their siphon above the water line for air. They can stay under water for a really long time without doing this, though.
I find snails extremely entertaining and endearing. Last night I dropped a green bean into Floyds tank, and the snail found it quickly. There she was, holding the been with her foot and rolling back and forth nibbling on it. She reminded me of a baby with its bottle.
All my snails have grown quite a bit since I got them, and their new shells look so much better than the old; more color, more defined lines, no errosion at the edges. I think this is due to the turtle/aquatic frog sticks I feed them (lots of calcium there). Schultz has almost doubled his size already!
I will say the first time I saw the snail go to the top with his siphon extended I was really concerned when I saw him kind of convulse, but then realize that he was breathing and now it is a thing I am used to.
I love my Otos but as you said, there are little groups. I think it has to do with the groups they were groups they were brought into the LFS in. Once they are a member of a group it seems they do not assimilate into a new group well. The single Oto you had would probably never have become an accepted member with the others.
My 2 in the one tank love and play with each other but the 3 in the other tank were divided as the one was alone for a couple of months and when iI introduced the other 2 they never did really become friends and they do not hang out together, but none of them seem to mind. My single little guy does not seem to like company, and gets upset if the others are too close.
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