Could I get 6 Otocinclus affinis?

[anewbie]

then would Otocinclus affinis not work at all?
what about Otocinclus hoppei? I've read they are better adjusted to hotter temps
how many for parotocinclus spilosoma? I've seen 6 but I don't know if that'd be okay for my current stocking and tank size? Either way I cannot find a vendor that sells them at all

and the l239 pleco is really cute but I read it needs a minimum of 55 gallons and I cannot provide it that
L239 BARYANCISTRUS BEGGINI idk if its the same but that one says needs 100L but does better in a small group? But I'm afraid they'll become territorial with the corys, they seem too big for the aquarium

All males pleco can be a bit territorial females less so just the nature of the game; you only have room for a single pleco. There is also the clown pleco but they hide a lot - mine is like 8 years old and i've only seen it once the past two years. Conversely a lot of male pleco will hide or only come out at night - my L208 seem to be an exception (both male and female - i have 8; but they are too large for your aquarium). All of my honeycomb bn have remained small around 3 inches - they are like any other bn but i've not seen too many large ones (i have 1 male, 3 females and a couple of younger ones) but i rarely see them.

L397 is hit and miss with regards to staying out during the day (probably depend on sex); but they are going to get around 4 or 5 inches.

Pleco are really larger fishes and rather messy and quite frankly i would skip them - though the really small ones are too bad.

If your problem is just algae a couple of platy might solve your issue - i'm not a fan of platy preferring swordtails but your aquarium is again too small for them. Most live bearers will eat algae all day long esp if you don't feed them much. I once had 40 guppies in a 40 breeder and they picked it clean.

An odd ball i've never kept but pretty none the less is the american flag fish. They love greens and aren't too large. Your temp is in the high range for them but probably sufferable.

 

[Death by Fish Tanks]

View attachment 383460
It's a 105L, 7.4~pH, 4 months old, 25ºC in winter, up to 28ºC in summer.
It has 14 boraras merah, 7 gastrodermus nanus, 1 honey gourami (2 more on the plan) 4 clithon corona, 3 amano shrimp, 13 adult neocaridinas + all the babies and a ton of ramshorns and bladder snails.
I don't know if 6 or 7 otos would be too much for this? I wanted them from the start but wanted for some algae to grow and now I have some even on the glass.
If they are not good for this set up I won't get them and I'll leave it be after the other 2 honeys are in.

6 ottocats should be fine. just remembet to feed them. preferably in the dark so the other fish don't steal it all.

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

All males pleco can be a bit territorial females less so just the nature of the game; you only have room for a single pleco. There is also the clown pleco but they hide a lot - mine is like 8 years old and i've only seen it once the past two years. Conversely a lot of male pleco will hide or only come out at night - my L208 seem to be an exception (both male and female - i have 8; but they are too large for your aquarium). All of my honeycomb bn have remained small around 3 inches - they are like any other bn but i've not seen too many large ones (i have 1 male, 3 females and a couple of younger ones) but i rarely see them.

L397 is hit and miss with regards to staying out during the day (probably depend on sex); but they are going to get around 4 or 5 inches.

Pleco are really larger fishes and rather messy and quite frankly i would skip them - though the really small ones are too bad.

If your problem is just algae a couple of platy might solve your issue - i'm not a fan of platy preferring swordtails but your aquarium is again too small for them. Most live bearers will eat algae all day long esp if you don't feed them much. I once had 40 guppies in a 40 breeder and they picked it clean.

An odd ball i've never kept but pretty none the less is the american flag fish. They love greens and aren't too large. Your temp is in the high range for them but probably sufferable.

Yeah, I love plecos but have known since I started my fishkeeping journey that this tank is too small hahaha
I really don't want to deal with livebearers ngl, I already have shoaling/schooling fish so I don't think I'd like that
idk how a american flag fish would react to a group of honey gouramis either hmm

 

[anewbie]

Yeah, I love plecos but have known since I started my fishkeeping journey that this tank is too small hahaha
I really don't want to deal with livebearers ngl, I already have shoaling/schooling fish so I don't think I'd like that
idk how a american flag fish would react to a group of honey gouramis either hmm

I've not kept them but mrs google suggest they will be nippy and drive the honey gouramis mad. Hum. Well the choices we make.... maybe just turn the light lower

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

6 ottocats should be fine. just remembet to feed them. preferably in the dark so the other fish don't steal it all.

Otocinclus cocama, Otocinclus affinis or Otocinclus hoppei ?
Cocama is more expensive and affinis doesn't seem to do well on 28ºC waters, so it may suffer here in the summer
Otocinclus hoppei does seem like a good option (to my begginer's opinion hahah)

 

[anewbie]

Otocinclus cocama, Otocinclus affinis or Otocinclus hoppei ?
Cocama is more expensive and affinis doesn't seem to do well on 28ºC waters, so it may suffer here in the summer
Otocinclus hoppei does seem like a good option (to my begginer's opinion hahah)

cocama i've kept and are a bit fragile also cooler water.
affinis i've kept and cooler water
hoppei i've not kept but yes the data sheet on them match your water nad temperature no promises

Also be aware that oto mostly eat biofilm and not actual algae so if you are buying them to eat algae you will be disappointed but they are cute little fishes.

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

cocama i've kept and are a bit fragile also cooler water.
affinis i've kept and cooler water
hoppei i've not kept but yes the data sheet on them match your water nad temperature no promises

Also be aware that oto mostly eat biofilm and not actual algae so if you are buying them to eat algae you will be disappointed but they are cute little fishes.

I don't really mind the algae, I love the natural look, but it was more because I heard they can be picky eaters and didn't want them to starve LOL
I'll try to look for some hoppei then when I get the 2 honey gouramis I plan to get (still waiting for the current one to grow a bit to sex it better, but it's looking like a female now hashaha)

 

[anewbie]

I don't really mind the algae, I love the natural look, but it was more because I heard they can be picky eaters and didn't want them to starve LOL
I'll try to look for some hoppei then when I get the 2 honey gouramis I plan to get (still waiting for the current one to grow a bit to sex it better, but it's looking like a female now hashaha)

Two reasons they frequently starve or die shortly after purchase:

a) The user aquarium is new and has insufficient biofilm
b) The fishes are still in shock after being exported to the store (i usually try to wait till a store has oto for over a month before purchasing - of course store owners sometime don't tell the truth and other times they don't last that long in stores).

DIfferent stores have different policies - some will receive a fish shipment and a few hours later sell them; others will have qt tanks in the back and put fishes in there for 7 to 21 days before selling.

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

Two reasons they frequently starve or die shortly after purchase:

a) The user aquarium is new and has insufficient biofilm
b) The fishes are still in shock after being exported to the store (i usually try to wait till a store has oto for over a month before purchasing - of course store owners sometime don't tell the truth and other times they don't last that long in stores).

DIfferent stores have different policies - some will receive a fish shipment and a few hours later sell them; others will have qt tanks in the back and put fishes in there for 7 to 21 days before selling.

I see, the only provider that ships to my place hoppei (20€ for transport...) say they do a 15 day quarentine and a 5 day max shipment, so idk about that, how can I know if I have enough biofilm?

 

[anewbie]

I see, the only provider that ships to my place hoppei (20€ for transport...) say they do a 15 day quarentine and a 5 day max shipment, so idk about that, how can I know if I have enough biofilm?

I think i'll let someone else tackle that one.

 

[MattW47 163]

You could try scraping the glass and seeing if white residue comes off. In my 60L, I have never scraped the back wall of the tank, and I constantly see neo shrimp grazing on it.

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

You could try scraping the glass and seeing if white residue comes off. In my 60L, I have never scraped the back wall of the tank, and I constantly see neo shrimp grazing on it.

Mine never really go on the glass, the like hanging out on the filter, the moss, the floater's roots and the sand but never on glass! I'll scrape the front pannel for the algae when I do a water change and check for white stuff!

 

[plebian]

oto i find are a bit more delicate

I think this is a myth. The trick is getting healthy Otocinclus to begin with.

I purchased 9 and did a plop and drop in my QT with pH 7.6 and TDS ~350 ppm. They were eating within the hour. One died less than 12 hours later. The rest are all fat and happy in my main aquarium (same water parameters) now 3 months later.

I tried keeping Otocinclus twice before, in soft water, and none of them survived more than a few weeks.

 

[Naughts47 119]

, how can I know if I have enough biofilm?

Time is a good indicator, 6-12 months to establish without any disruptive cleaning or treatments in the water. I don’t think a 105l is big enough for sustaining a decent sized group of Otos considering you also have other grazers.

 

[ambrosia0444 24]

Time is a good indicator, 6-12 months to establish without any disruptive cleaning or treatments in the water. I don’t think a 105l is big enough for sustaining a decent sized group of Otos considering you also have other grazers.

amano shrimp, neos and snails are enough to compete with the otos?