New Fish

[Jess]

Hey,

Ive got a major algae problem in my betta tank at the moment and ive been having to scrub it every two days!! So me, being lazy decided to buy a fish to help out!! I got this little guy! He was sold as a 'Dwarf Sucking Loach' but he looks like an oto to me.. Is that just another name for them or am i very confused? lol Whatever he is, he's very cute!

So... here we go with the pics!!!

Here his is in his bag!

 

[Jess]

Bad pic, sorry...

 

[Jess]

Cute... But most of the algae is the other side of the tank...

 

[Jess]

Isn't it cute?!

 

[jams.alaskan]

Looks like an otto to me too. Don't you wish you can leave them signs of where you want cleaned first...?

ALASKA

 

[The-Wolf]

Some comon names of an Otocinclus affinis are....
Dwarf catfish, Dwarf sucking catfish, Golden otocinclus,
Midget Sucker Fish and Dwarf Sucking Loach.

You definatly have an oto there.
Are you aware that they prefer to be kept in groups of two or more?
they are not exactly community fish but do thrive when kept in groups.

 

[Jess]

Lol! I just went to check how he's doing and he seems to be moving round the tank!! He'll love the really algae-covered bit!

The guy at the LFS said he'd be fine on his own.. I really wanted something to keep on its own cos its only a small tank!! Will he be alright alone? If i got anymore it would be a bit overcrowded in there i think...

Jess

 

[cutecotton]

he'd definitely be lonely. I got 3 otos and they ALWAYS swim with each other, suck on the same place, etc. I tried moving one out onto another tank which i needed cleaning nad he got all depressed and didn't move around much. He was also very panicky when he was by himself...suddenly spurts of swimming all over the place, etc.

 

[SirMinion]

The guy at the LFS said he'd be fine on his own

...Because he wanted to make a sale.

Otos do indeed need to be kept in groups of three or more to be happy.

By the way, otos are minature plecos, they even have an L-number! (LDA23)

 

[Jess]

Hmm... well, i cant have any more fish in that tank... This is not good... Any suggestions? Take him back and get a...? This sucks...

 

[The-Wolf]

just to be pedantic
Ottocinclus are
Family: Loricariidae (Armored catfishes), subfamily: Hypoptopomatinae
Order: Siluriformes (catfish)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)

and I think Plecos are
Family: Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) , subfamily: Hypostominae
Order: Siluriformes (catfish)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
slightly diferent but not a pleco imo.

 

[SirMinion]

Hmm... well, i cant have any more fish in that tank... This is not good... Any suggestions? Take him back and get a...? This sucks...

don't take him back, get two more.. and a bigger tank!

 

[SirMinion]

just to be pedantic
Ottocinclus are
Family: Loricariidae (Armored catfishes), subfamily: Hypoptopomatinae
Order: Siluriformes (catfish)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)

and I think Plecos are
Family: Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) , subfamily: Hypostominae
Order: Siluriformes (catfish)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
slightly diferent but not a pleco imo.

Plecos are any suckermouthed catfish from the Loricariidae family. They have an LDA number, ergo, plec.

 

[Jess]

Hmm... well, i cant have any more fish in that tank... This is not good... Any suggestions? Take him back and get a...? This sucks...

don't take him back, get two more.. and a bigger tank!

Um... i dont want a bigger tank, i just want something small thats going to eat the algae...

 

[lizard]

As others have said, that is definately an Oto. I have two of 'em...fun little fish Maybe I should get another My two don't seem to munch where the algae is...silly little fish... Then again, there isn't much algae growing around the rest of the tank, so I guess they're keeping things fairly clean

What size is your Betta tank?

Oh, and your pictures aren't bad We can clearly see the fish in 'em, so they're good pics

Pamela
aka Married Lizard