Getting An Oto ~ PICS ADDED!

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 algae 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

 

Re: Getting An Oto

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.

 

Re: Getting An Oto

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

 

Re: Getting An Oto

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.

 

Re: Getting An Oto

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

 

Re: Getting An Oto


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.

 

Re: Getting An Oto

ok that's good - I will check it out. Miley

 

Re: Getting An Oto

Here He Is!!!!

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

 

Dennis Bubbles

 

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

 

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

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.

 

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

 

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

 

ok - good LOL!! Miley

 

Hello,
Just wanted to get some info and tips for having and caring for an otto. My tanks are growing quite a bit of algae and they are to small for a pleco. Mt LFS sells Otto’s and I thought maybe those would work. None of my petstores have them though just my LFS. Any information is appreciated!

 

Well you need at least a 15 gallon, needs to be in a group of 6 or more, needs a mature tank, have vegetables ready because ottos love vegetables. Temp should be 72-79.

 

Well you need at least a 15 gallon, needs to be in a group of 6 or more, needs a mature tank, have vegetables ready because ottos love vegetables. Temp should be 72-79.

Okay thank you! Is there a certain type of vegetable? Do I have to boil them first? They eat algae right?

 

They eat a variety of things, from zuchinnI to algae wafers

 

They eat a variety of things, from zuchinnI to algae wafers

Perfect, I have a bag of algae wafers then i’ve been saving. How I often do they get fed the wafers or vegetables, right now the tank they are going in has a lot of algae and always will. Also are they jumpers?

 

Yeah you really want larger groups of them. They thrive in larger groups and become more active and less timid. Acclimate them as carefully as possible and don't be surprised if some appear just fine but suddenly die in the first week or two, it is not uncommon for them. Once they make it for a bit in your tank they are fairly hardy. Mine go nuts over blanched zucchini. I have 6 of them in a 29 gallon, fairly devoid of algae at the moment, so I feed them fairly often. They will eat algae wafers but mine don't seem to like them as much and their tank mates try to bully them more with those. The zucchinI on a veggie clip works wonders for them and everyone else leaves them alone.

The don't jump, they will hang mostly at the bottom , sometimes the middle or stuck to the sides somewhere

Some good tips here:
Caresheet for otos

 

Perfect, I have a bag of algae wafers then i’ve been saving. How I often do they get fed the wafers or vegetables, right now the tank they are going in has a lot of algae and always will. Also are they jumpers?

Honestly, I don’t know, ive never had them lol. Tol gave you something good tips though

 

They rarely jump as long as you don't spook them. As for vegetables give it to them as soon as they are done with the last one. I like to keep mine fat and healthy! But you can just wait a day then give them more vegetables. It's really what you wanna do.

 

How I often do they get fed the wafers or vegetables

I have been adding zucchinI every few days. I put 2 slices on the clip now because 6 of them is a bit crowded on one slice. I leave it in there for 1-2 days usually and try to get it back out before any falls apart and makes a mess. Usually they will eat at least 1 slice completely and do pretty well on the other. Then I wait a day or two and do it again. So far they seem to be doing fine. In the off time they clean the sides and the plants of any biofilm or algae that might show up. I don't know if they stop eating when full or not? I have seen people say they will, but even after a couple of days of eating the veggies there are at least a couple on eating still when I take them out.

 

I have been adding zucchinI every few days. I put 2 slices on the clip now because 6 of them is a bit crowded on one slice. I leave it in there for 1-2 days usually and try to get it back out before any falls apart and makes a mess. Usually they will eat at least 1 slice completely and do pretty well on the other. Then I wait a day or two and do it again. So far they seem to be doing fine. In the off time they clean the sides and the plants of any biofilm or algae that might show up. I don't know if they stop eating when full or not? I have seen people say they will, but even after a couple of days of eating the veggies there are at least a couple on eating still when I take them out.

Ok So I was thinking the same thing. Algae doesn't fill ottos up because there is no protein involved. So there are likely always looking to fill their bellies up.

 

I have just moved 6 into my 10 while I'm rescaping and planting their home tank and they've cleaned everything in an alarmingly short period of time (even the pebbles are gleaming!) and now I'm having to supplement with veggies and algae wafers. I've never kept them in that small a tank before.

I would warn, I have never had success with them in groups of less than 4 so I wouldn't advise getting 1.

I also noticed despite being in a smaller tank than they're used to they're actually MUCH more active in my dark water tank with all it's tannin and leaf litter and wood than they were in an equally planted but clearer water tank before. They even school with the rasboras and seem happy to swim around mid tank for short periods of time, which I've never seen them do before. I'm not sure if it's because this particular tank feels safer from a dimmer/more cluttered stand point, or if it's because the rasboras are so small and if they're schooling and safe then the otto's don't feel there's a need to be threatened (which is what dither fish are for after all).