Goodbye Pleco, Hello Ottos

rachh004 · Oct 17, 2008

I was thinking about getting rid of my common pleco and getting some ottos in replace. My pleco has been hiding in a cave for a about 1.5 months and hasnt come out. I know he's alive because i see him moving. But my take has been getting algae on it because the pleco hasnt been cleaning it. So i was thinking about getting rid of him and getting some ottos in its place. I have a 55 gallon tank with 8 black skirt tetra, 2 rasbors, 1 guppy, and 3 zebra loachs. The pleco is about 6 inches long. What do you think about the ottos?

data276 · Oct 18, 2008

from what I've heard ottos are hard to keep and often starve from the stress of moving and are a little picky at first. you might be better off with a few small BN plecs in that aquarium.

minxfishy · Oct 18, 2008

The common will eventually need a larger tank anyway, so best to re-home him before he get big. How mature is your tank? Ottos need a mature 6 months+ tank, as well as algae they need other food too so make sure you have some on hand.

Personally I would go with the BN plec instead as already said ottos are very sensitive but as long as you have the right conditions for them, you should be ok, just make sure if you get some, they have nice round little tummies, not sunken bellies or looking skinny as if they are in bad shape to start with, they dont really stand a chance.

OldMan47 · Oct 18, 2008

I have had just the opposite experience. When I have a gross looking tank that has way too much algae, I get a very few otocinclus. The next thing you know the tank is sparkling clean. At that point I start to supplemental feed the otos so they have enough to eat. In a really gross 20H, I put 4 otocinclus and a week later it was very obvious that they had been busy. A week after that, I had to start feeding them algae wafers so they wouldn't starve.

rachh004 · Oct 20, 2008

minxfishy said:
Personally I would go with the BN plec instead as already said ottos are very sensitive but as long as you have the right conditions for them, you should be ok, just make sure if you get some, they have nice round little tummies, not sunken bellies or looking skinny as if they are in bad shape to start with, they dont really stand a chance.

If I were to get bn pleco, how many should I get or is one enough?

snowflake311 · Oct 22, 2008

One BN would be enough they are hard workers. With a 55 Gal I would get a female Bn and a male BN. 2 males could get a little territorial. and if you get a pair they could spawn.... What fun.

I tried otos. I had 6 all but one died. Now I have just one little guy. He is my little trooper. When I first got them they did a good job at cleaning then after a few weeks they stopped. Then they started to die. One lived 2 days in my tank then died. The other 3 lived about 3 months then died. I was down to 2 and after 5 months one of them died. It has been about 10 months now and my one little trooper is still going strong. I am not getting any more because I don't like watching them die. So my little trooper just has to deal with being the only one and he is fine. He has become friends with my BN.

I would not recommend Otos. They don't last long due to the fact they are caught in the wild and the stress from the transport kills most of them. Then once they get to the store they die from stress and if that does not kill them the move to your tank will or some just can not adjust to tank life. They starve unless they are smart and learn from the other fish. My little trooper now knows where I drop the wafers and when the other fish pick at them he eats the crumbs. I am proud of that little guy but never again will I ever get otos. Too sad watching them all die.

Go with the bristle nose or rubber nose pleco. If you can find some Pit bull plecos get those guys I here they are good and only get to be 2 inches. If you can find a Flying fox those are some of the best algae cleaners you can get they eat all kinds.

Personally I love my little female BN. The moment I put her in the tank she went right to work. She is active and I see here almost all the time. She is always on the move but has her favourite spots like right where the filter pumps out the water she loves that.