New Ottos

Hi, I'm new to the forum, and to keeping fish! I have a 10 gallon tank with a Pearl Scale (Pearl) and a Ryukin (Phil) that has been set up for a couple of months. I just added 3 Ottos (Moojie, Pixie and Topsy) two days ago. They have already made short work of the algae that was in my tank and I don't have any live plants, so I put in an algae wafer tonight, but the goldfish seem to like those a whole lot and I'm not sure if the Ottos are getting enough to eat. I am already attached to the little guys and I know they can be hard to keep. Any suggestions?

 

Feeding them at night will help and you can also feed them some greens.

 

They LOVE spinach leaves!! I freeze them so they will soften upon thawing. I place a veggie clip on the stem & sink the spinach leaf. In a day my 4 otos have completely devoured it!! (Then back to algae & wafers until the next spinach treat!) They also like cucumbers, but I don't really so I never have them! The biggest thing about keeping otos is to keep the water clean, ammonia at 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 0 (I have live plants, so I have a small amount of nitrates). Give them a place to hide during the day, and enough to eat (but don't overfeed or they may not do as well with eating the algae!). They are my favorite fish, enjoy your little ones!!

Sharon

 

Thanks for the advice....
Sad news though, Topsy died 2 days ago and then Moojie died yesterday. I still have Pixie so we will see how she fairs. I know they like to be kept in groups, but I am a little wary about buying more :'(

 

I wonder if it was just too much stress from the goldfish. I love otto's, and have wondered if I could put them in with my goldfish, but I think they are too dirty and will harass the ottos. Goldfish eat everything, so they probably just didn't get enough to eat!

Has anyone had success in keeping otto's in a goldfish tank?

 

Is your tank heated? Goldfish prefer temps lower than what otos should be kept at. That may be what contributed to Topsy's & Moojie's demises. Keep an eye on Pixie. They are really sensitive, but if you can keep them healthy for a few weeks to a month, then you should be good. If Pixie is good for a couple of weeks, then you could look into getting her a friend. But I am concerned about the tank temp. Otos should be at around 78-80 degrees F, and goldfish around 75 deg F (I think--never had goldfish, but read about them here). Any advice from the more expereinced folks?

Best of luck with little Pixie!
Sharon

 

75 degrees is actually a little warm for Goldfish. They prefer 65 - 70 and can even handle temps as low as 60 or 58 as long as it isn't a fast and drastic drop. Goldfish tend to suffer at more tropical temperatures.