A Single Oto's Tale...

I just thought I’d share this.
I have kept fish for over 15 years, quite successfully. I’ve only had a tank recycle once and an ich breakout twice (darn PetSmart!) – and that’s with a move from an apartment to a house. I started with a 20 long, moved to a 29 about 2 years ago and now have a 40 long ordered. After moving to the 29 and knew it was all settled, I bought 3 otos. Cute little buggers, aren’t they? All was well and after a year, the first two died a couple months apart. I have no idea how old they were, but we know otos don’t live long. It has now been a year on his own and the single oto is probably the happiest fish in the tank. He is in a planted tank with green cories, neons, a nerite snail and a male Betta. (the tank is understocked at the moment, pending the move to the 40) This little guy is in oto heaven – zipping around the tank, checking on everyone like he’s the king of the castle. He even gives the cories baths…they just sit there and let him clean them off – I couldn’t believe it the first time I saw it. He loves his zucchinI I put in to catch stray snails (darn Petco!) and will sit at the front of the tank at feeding time with a, “Human, where’s my wafer?” look on his face! I drop in an algae wafer and some shrimp pellets and he goes to town. He has no problem fighting the cories, which are about 5 times his size, for the food and holds his ground. Now, I don’t recommend buying a single oto, but I just wanted to share that a single oto can live quite happily on their own.

 

Yeah, otos are plecs and mostlecs can survive on their own despite occasioanl preferences.
as for early deaths, heres what my lfs guy told me during a discussion on his shipments:
"the people that ship them never seem to put enough air in their bags,because they're small...but they're active and waste producing cats andneedmore space."

 

How are you measuring happiness?

As you already know that otocinculus in their natural environment live in huge shoals and not solitary.

Otocinculus are sensitive fish, most of the otocinculus if not all are caught wild and not farm raised.

 

Though I wouldnt recommended keeping them on there own they don't seem overly affected by it and ive never seen a difference in behaviour with solitary ottos

 

Though I wouldnt recommended keeping them on there own they don't seem overly affected by it and ive never seen a difference in behaviour with solitary ottos

Id have to agree. Being in a large group doesnot mean you prefer it.
I'm in big groups all the time at. The grocery and in traffic, but not of my choice...

 

Id have to agree. Being in a large group doesnot mean you prefer it.
I'm in big groups all the time at. The grocery and in traffic, but not of my choice...

That's a bit of a fallacy. It doesn't relate to an animal found in the wild in large groups. Otos in the wild could very easily stay away from those shoals if they wanted to.

 

I doubt it. It would be hard to stay away. Really though, most plecs just don't care.

 

Right agreed on that. Most plecs aren't shoalers. If not over 90%.....