How many otocinclus should I get?

[NikkiY]

Hi,

I am thinking to get a few otocinclus to eat up some algae in my tank. This is a 32 gal tank, how many oto should I get? Can I just get by with one or it prefers to have more companies?

Thx.

Nikki

 

[longhorn13]

they like company, i'd say get at least 3

 

[bunjiweb]

3 minimum, maybe 5 depending on your current stock list. having 3 is hardly any more bio-load than 1, and they will be much more active and thus better at combating the algae problem in the tank than just 1.

If you are thinking of just getting 1, dont bother, it wont eat your algae... only if happy with company.

Ben

 

[TorPeteO]

Are these your tank's occupants right now?

2 goldfish
3 corydoras
4 sunset platies
6 tiger barbs
5 serpae tetra
4 clams

If so, I'd recommend doing something about those goldfish. Some species can get really big, and all of them are messy eaters and coolwater (as opposed to tropical, like the rest of your livestock) fish.

You might, eventually, run into problems with your tiger barbs, too, since they're pretty nippy buggers and might give their tankmates a hard time.

If you do get rid of those goldfish, whether by getting them a tank of their own (it's easier said than done, eh?) or by giving them back to your LFS, you can easily get 5 or 6 otos in your tank. When they're in a shoal, they're cute little monkeys, when alone, they'd probably be less amusing than your clams are currently.

If you can't/don't feel like getting rid of your goldfish, getting a few otos would bring you pretty close to, if not over, maximum stocking capacity. One thing that works is an algae scraper, although they're nowhere near as cute...

Hope that helped, let us know what you decide to do.

 

[NikkiY]

Thanks for the tips I have given the clams to a friend but I can't get rid of the goldfish yet. I got two oto today and I will get a few more in a few days. I picked the really small one (roughtly 15mm). I hope this will not increase the bio-load too much.

Nikki

 

[lillibirdy]

Bunjiweb said in reference to otos:

3 is hardly any more bio-load than 1


How can this be? They will eat and poop same as any other fish right? Did I miss something with these particular fish? I am considering oto's too, and am curious.

KathyW

 

[noelberg]

Otos poop a lot too - I witnessed my big one pooping 4 times in a 10-minute span while I was talking on the phone. All algae eaters poop a lot, but otos are nice because take up less space and are not fiercely territorial like some plecos. From my experience, otos are more efficient at cleaning algae.

3 Otos are more bioload than 1 - no doubt about it - but it won't be as big of a difference in a 32 as in, say, a 10. My 10G DEMANDS weekly gravel vacc'ing because of all the poop from my otos. But it's worth it for their cleaning abilities. Definitely get a minimum of 3. I would shoot for 4 or 5 max, but that's me.

 

[NikkiY]

Finally, I got a total of 6 in my 32 g tank. I specifically picked the small size one (15mm) and hope it will not load up my filter too much. So far, these little guys are not as active as I hope, I can't wait for them to go into full speed

Nikki