Best Plants/decor For Otos?

Hello all!

I recently had a tank catastrophe that has left me with one surviving oto: Bonnie. Once the tank is healthy again, I really would like to make it an aquarium with live plants and less plastic decor than I have now. I'm a plant newbie, so I really have no clue as to what plants to get... I would also be adding more otos to keep her company, as well as some tetras and possibly a few dwarf gouramis.

As of right now I have a green hedge and a moss ball, along with a fake coral with an LED bubbler, some fake plants, and a large plastic log. I've got a 20 gallon tall tank, and have attached a picture of it.

I would like to get some plants that my oto could clean. At the pet store I was told that I needed a special light for plant growth, so I now have in my tank. I was also told at the pet store that I "must have" driftwood with an oto to eat off of, and I was wondering if that is true? Does anyone have any recommendations as to what plants their otos like, or what they think they may be able to clean? I was hoping to get some lower maintenance, hardy plants that don't require too much extra love to keep alive.

Thanks!!!

 

I'll be honest, anubias and amazon swords are the best plants for otos, they like big leaves, which also happen to be some of the easiest plants to grow. I tossed 2 amazon swords into a qt tank without light and they're growing from a few hours of sunlight a day.

 

I have never heard of needing driftwood for Oto's, a Pleco yes. Anubias, Amazon Sword, and Java Fern are all good low light plants.

 

Otos rely on a source of algae from what I hear, they can transition to algae wafers and blanched cucumbers but their diet usually requires algae. They're not wood eaters, and they probably would appreciate the coverage of a lot of plants. Some good low maintenance plants would be java moss, java fern, generally any crypts (aka cryptocoryne), jungle val, dwarf lily, anubias, probably most bulb plants, water wisteria, dwarf sag, anacharis, to name some. You can likely find at least a good amount of the above mentioned at most stores that sell fish.

For algae though, just to keep a steady supply fir your otos, you probably want to leave the light on for quite some time, maybe 10 hours, maybe provide some direct sunlight?

Personally I never had luck with otos. They're pretty hard to keep from what many people say just because they can easily run out of food quickly.

 

The list that candiedragon gave you is great, a few others that would work is Moneywort, Hornwort, and Penny wort.

 

Otos rely on a source of algae from what I hear, they can transition to algae wafers and blanched cucumbers but their diet usually requires algae. They're not wood eaters, and they probably would appreciate the coverage of a lot of plants. Some good low maintenance plants would be java moss, java fern, generally any crypts (aka cryptocoryne), jungle val, dwarf lily, anubias, probably most bulb plants, water wisteria, dwarf sag, anacharis, to name some. You can likely find at least a good amount of the above mentioned at most stores that sell fish.

For algae though, just to keep a steady supply fir your otos, you probably want to leave the light on for quite some time, maybe 10 hours, maybe provide some direct sunlight?

Personally I never had luck with otos. They're pretty hard to keep from what many people say just because they can easily run out of food quickly.

I've had four otos the past two years, and have had Bonnie since the early winter months. Her tankmate Clyde died about a month after I got the both of them, but she seems to be going strong. The tank is right next to my window, so all I need to do is open up the curtains a bit to get some direct sunlight shining on the tank. Since we're approaching winter, the light doesn't come in as well, which is why the algae level is low right now (though there is a little on the back wall and on some rocks). I'll definitely keep the light on for longer in order to grow some more, and will try the algae farm method in the next few days.

I'm surprised that the store said driftwood. I've read that it can be difficult to prepare, so I think I'll steer clear of it and stick to plants. I'll definitely be getting some amazon sword and anubias, as these seem to be the most recommended and look large enough to support some otos.

 

Driftwood isn't that bad, MopanI is dense and sinks without a problem. Some people boil it to get rid of the tannins. My first couple of pieces I bought I did boil it, these days I just put it straight into the tank. Most employees of the standard pet store have limited knowledge of fish. A Mom and Pop fish shop may have better info.

 

I have a tank that I bought a FOWLR light for that is 10000k, it grows algae like crazy. I take the plants from that tank covered in algae, give it to my otos and within hours it all cleaned off!