otos

[fishyyy]

Do otos eat plants??

 

[daza]

everything I have read says that they don't.

not actually kept any myself though. I've just been reading about them a lot as I'm planning on adding some.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Oto's are omnivorous as far as I can tell. Generally, they graze on algae, but if they're well fed, they tend to leave it. I have 3 of them in my 20G(UK) and I have never seen them attempt to nibble at my plants. Hope this helps.

 

[fishyyy]

This is what is says on fishbase.com:
"Aquarium keeping: feeds on plants and roots; in groups of 5 or more individuals"

Do they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more???

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

I think mine are Otocinclus Vestitus, and the ones you're referring to are Otocinclus Affinis. Mine aren't golden in coloration like the latters description. Mine are brown with a dark brown mid-section running from the head-tail. I don't know if O.Affinis looks the same?

The most I've ever seen my Oto's eat are cucumber slices, live foods and algae, but have never seen them eat my plants. I wonder does it matter what type of plants you may have in your tank, that may become food for them?

I have 3x 0.Vesititus's and they get on well with each other, because this number appears to suit my tank size. As they're semi-aggressive to each other I think you'll need a slightly bigger tank if you're thinking of getting 6 of them.

 

[mandi]

I have always read that oto's should be kept in groups of 3 or more ... so 5 would be better, but 3 minimum.

I have amazon swords, java fern, lloydiella, moss balls, and dwarf sag in my tank and they don't bother any of it -- though they do clean the algae off the leaves (but don't do any damage to the leaves themelves). They also like to hide in the plants during the daytime, I've noticed. The only "harmful" thing I've noticed is sometimes they uproot my smaller dwaf sags. More of an annoyance than a problem really, haha.

 

[Sasha]

I'm almost sure that ottos don't eat plants. My ottos never even harm a plant! They just lay on one of the leaves and nibble on the algae.