Otos Tank Maturity

I want to put Otos in a 40 gallon breeder with Eco-Complete substrate. I was earlier advised that Otos are sensitive to tank maturity. My tank has been stocked for about 3 1/2 weeks now. It is lightly stocked (about 10 small guppies and 5 Assassin snails now - was about 25, but moving males out). It is planted - battling algae. zero ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I think the plants and algae are eating all the nitrates.

I was earlier advised that I should let the tank mature for about 3 months after initial stocking before adding Otos. I am wondering if there are steps I could take that could allow adding Otos now. Can I feed algae wafers? Is food the issue? Or is it water chemistry? Or something else? Any maintenance steps I could take to make the tank comfortable for Otos.

I have also read that a minimum school of 6 is advised. Would that be a good size school for this tank.

Also, this is a pregnant female guppy tank. Will Otos threaten guppy fry?

kallililly1973
PascalKrypt

 

Ottos are harmless to everything except diatoms and certain algae . They are voracious eaters. You could try 3 and see how they do and sometimes they will take to veggies algae wafers and prepared foods but sometimes a toss up. Then if you see them doing well wait a month or two and add 3 more. 6 in a 40 Breeder should be fine. Indian Almond Leaves will form a bit of biofilm they will graze on as well as driftwood and cholla wood. Just my opinion. But I still like to wait a little bit for the tank to mature. They don't eat all types of algae but the kinds they do you will never see cause it will never be there with them in a tank.

 

Thing with ottos is they eat bio-film and algae. If you have a lot they will be alright mos times. Ask the store your buying from what they are feeding. If not feeding waffers there not eating. As to 6 I say no. 4 at most. Again with that new of a tank if you got 6 they would eat everything in the tank within 2 weeks and if there not eating waffers (lots won’t) they will starve.

 

I have quite a bit of algae in the tank. It is near a window. I also got some plants from another fishkeeper and these plants have some algae. Seems like quite a bit which is part of the reason I am anxious to get Otos soon. Is there a way to tell if I have the right kind of algae?

Is the tank maturity issue that I might have enough algae, but not enough bio film?

Since the tank is lightly stocked would that mean that bio film would grow more slowly?

I have driftwood in the tank.

 

I have quite a bit of algae in the tank. It is near a window. I also got some plants from another fishkeeper and these plants have some algae. Seems like quite a bit which is part of the reason I am anxious to get Otos soon. Is there a way to tell if I have the right kind of algae?

Is the tank maturity issue that I might have enough algae, but not enough bio film?

Since the tank is lightly stocked would that mean that bio film would grow more slowly?

I have driftwood in the tank.

If you can get a clear pic of some of the algae we may be able to see if an otto will help out. Nerite snails are also non stop workers when it comes to algae. Just a thought

 

 

I put two in my 3-month old tank a couple of weeks ago. One died within two days. I went back to the pet store to get a replacement. They only had two left, so I took both. They were both dead within a few days, but the one survivor is going strong.

I've read that the ones sold in stores are all wild caught, so it's difficult to to get them past all the stress of being caught, shipped to the stores, then caught again and introduced to a tank, and that's certainly been my experience. With those four I just temperature acclimated, but if I get more in the future I may try drip acclimating over an hour or so to see if that improves the survival rates.

Good luck, and please be sure to report back on how they work for you.

 

Ok In the first pic your showing bba(black beard algae). That’s a hard algae to get rid of. Only thing I know to remove it is Siamese algae eaters. Ottos won’t eat that though they will eat the algae on the glass. As will nerites and it’s best just to scrape it off. Another way to remove the bba is to dip those plants into hydrogen peroxide . Dip them for 3-4 min than let sit for 3-4 than rinse in tap water and put back in tank.

Back to ottos. As the last guy wrote these fish do have a high casualty rate. So look for round ones at the store. Only get 2 to start and see how they do in a month. If they are still fat than get another 2. As soon as you get them offer algae waffer bits. As in break the waffer into small pieces and add a quarter at a time.

Now once you’ve removed that algae do weekly water changes to keep it away. You can also add apI co2 booster or flourish excell. Both will kill off algae.