Whats This Fish, And Could I Have It?

[tom_os]

i asked my lfs for a small fish that will eat algae and they suggested one that began with o, i cant remember what it is called.

if someone knows what it is, could they tell me if i could keep it in my 60l tank with 4 danios, 4 corys and 2 phantom tetras and probably a gourami?

do they need to be kept in groups or could i have just 2 or 3?

thanks

 

[Ficious]

otocinclus pry...you need about 3 or more to keep them happy and are sensitive to uncycled tanks, poor water, etc. theyd be good in there but acclimate them carefuly. feed cucumber and zuccini to keep them going good

 

[minxfishy]

Sounds like Ottos to me.

Yes should be fine, however they like to be in groups and its mainly brown algae they prefer, you will also need algae wafer for them to eat once the algae is gone or they will starve.

 

[tom_os]

its not ottos (unless that is an abbreviation of their longer name)

edit: yeah i guess that is the shorter name looking at pics. i dont really have an algae problem but would like different varietys of fish and plecos are to big. however i do have what look like small white hairs growing on the filter, is this algae?

 

[rdd1952]

Keep in mind that otos are prone to sudden deaths and need good water parameters. Before you buy any, ask the shop how long they've had them. Because they are wild caught and don't travel well at all, there is usually a pretty big die-off when they arrive. If they've been there for a week or 2, then they should survive.

They prefer mainly diatoms (brown algae or green spot algae) and most likely won't bother with other types. If you want to get them specifically to help control algae, you first need to ID the algae as different fish/inverts eat different types of algae and otos may not be right in your situation.

 

[minxfishy]

Sorry I mean otocinclus

Link to species: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=35094