Otto shortage!

Hope I'm posting this in an okay place. I went to my local Pet Smart and they had no Ottos at least 2 weeks in a row! I called some other pets marts in the area and they all don't have them! It's shipping/stocking day and no ottos! Should I look into live aquaria or another species...?

My last shipment of ottos I bought was in march/April.

 

What you have to ask yourself is how critical is this shortage? Must you add ottos for some reason like you have a singleton that is stressed, or do you just want some?

If it's the first, then by all means shop further afield, bearing in mind it will be several days before they get there.
If it's the latter, then another week or two won't really hurt, will it?

 

Yes, I have a very-well fed possibly female lone otto.

 

If she's been alone since March then another week or two probably won't matter much. Given it's Friday and most places won't ship on the weekend, you're looking at probably Wednesday even if you buy online. The Petsmarts and most other LFS around me get their fish on Wednesday as well. So the only way you're really making a difference is if they don't get ottos as part of their shipment.

You could call and see if they know of a shipping issue. Sometimes (not always) the suppliers will give heads ups.

 

My local Petsmart had them when I was in last weekend.

 

Yay! I finally found some yesterday, but she only let me have 2

 

Yay! I finally found some yesterday, but she only let me have 2

Why only two?

 

I don't know. She said 3 ottos were enough for my tank. Should I get some more tomorrow?

 

Yes!

 

how many more?

 

How big is your tank?

 

20g High

 

I think you'd be safe with 6 in your tank, possibly more. 6 is the minimum for them but the more the merrier!
Anders247 will probably know exactly how many you can put in your tank, but that will depend on what else you plan to stock.

 

Is my tank pretty stocked? I would like a few more fish, but I don't know if the tank bioload would be too much?

 

What do you have in there now?

 

5 skirt tetras (glofish), 3 female bettas, and 1 (3 in a week) otto. Also, 1 moss ball and 2 elodea plants

 

5 skirt tetras (glofish), 3 female bettas, and 1 (3 in a week) otto. Also, 1 moss ball and 2 elodea plants

I can't see this lasting into the long term. Females bettas should be kept alone, or in a full sorority of 5+ bettas with no other fish. Atm your halfway Inbetween a sorority, and a community tank, and I can't see good things coming of this. You should either rehome the bettas, get them their own individual tanks, or get another 20 gallon, and build up a sorority in it.

 

I'd suggest getting the bettas their own individual homes. Sororities are high maintenance endeavors, and require the owner to be able to make stock adjustments at a moment's notice. If you are just learning the ropes of fishkeeping they can be both frustrating and heart-wrenching.

 

I'd suggest getting the bettas their own individual homes. Sororities are high maintenance endeavors, and require the owner to be able to make stock adjustments at a moment's notice. If you are just learning the ropes of fishkeeping they can be both frustrating and heart-wrenching.

I probably should have mentioned this. With Maggie, I would cross out the sorority option from the list. Go with rehome, or get individual smaller tanks for them.

 

Agreed with Aichmalotizo and maggie thecat.

 

ok.... my betas have been together for almost a year, with no mishaps. They're very happy where they are. I'm considering getting a larger tank for more stock and the tetras, but in the meantime, this is what I got.

 

Wow, you've been lucky then! In that case you can leave them together but if one of them died keep a very close eye out for injuries because they've obviously got a very strong hierarchy established. If one gets sick or dies that will upset the applecart and the remaining two are likely to fight for a new position

 

ok. I wouldn't say they have a "very strong hierarchy" though, because they all respect each others' space, but when meal time comes, they all like to bump into each other for food. (They don't fight over the food or with each other though)

 

That doesn't mean there is no hierarchy. Hens have a strong pecking order, too but even the lowest are still allowed to eat

 

Cool. I'm afraid my girls will be sad if they are separated. They are sometimes picked on by the tetras when they are hungry, but the tetras only make a few scratches on each (<1 time a week). Their (between tetras, and tetras vs betas) hierarchy is still being configured, but I got them (tetras) in February?? So I should do 6 ottos, right?

 

Well, since it's been 6 months or less since you got them they may have been especially young and hadn't developed their hormones yet that bring out their territoriality. Yeah, I think 6 otos is ok in a tank that size.

 

I have 6 Ottos in my 20 gallon long. I also have 9 rummy nose tetras and 4 Amano shrimp in there. I have no water parameter issues but I am also heavily planted and adding CO2.