otocinclus school

[fishkeeper01]

I have a 15g tank thats planted and it contains 5 female bettas and 3 cories, wat is a good amount of otos to put in the tank.

[jnatelborg54@gmail.com]

I think maybe one or two. I put 3 in a 5 gal. fluval edge and now I'm down to one. I think that you need to have a good amount of algae on the glass for them to graze on. Sometimes they feed on what I feed my shrimp but I don't think that you can rely on that.

[dastowers]

They LOVE to school. Please make sure you get at least two. I have a pair in my shrimp tank that are inseparable. After discus- they are my favorite fish and earn their keep.

[lipadj46]

pile them in, 6-10

[fishkeeper01]

would three be a crowd?

[difrent7]

I'd go with at least 3. I had one in my Fluval Spec 5 gallon and he was amazing but after a month and a half he died randomly and from what I read it was due to stress from being alone =[

[joey24dirt]

You definitely want at least 3. I think they do genuinely need the company of other ottos so they don't get stressed

[roadmaster]

Might also ensure there was plenty of their primary food (algae).
Is said that most of these fish are still wild caught and as such,,they may or may not accept supplement's to their natural diet.
Believe from my expieriences with these fish that mature tank's,with at least some algae to eat ,will increase chances of long term survival.
Am frequently puzzled by those who go to great pain's to keep algae out of their tank's but then purchase these fish and deny them their primary food.
Most of these fish I believe, die from stress related to capture,transport,and then placed in fairly new tank's where there is little of their favorite food.
Some report success with vegetable matter,algae wafer's,but many many more don't readily take to these it seem's.
Placing some smooth stones in glass bowl in window that receives full sun would encourage algae to grow on the stone's, and then these could be added to the tank once these little ones have cleaned available algae.

[JerSaint]

+1 for three. I also find my otto's love driftwood! If at all possible a little piece goes a long way.

[OVT]

The more the merrier, even though I never saw otos 'school'.
Blanched veggies: cucumber, squash, romaine lettuce, etc are usually accepted.

[msjinkzd]

Otos are absolutely schooling fish. If you ever saw them in groups of 100+, you would be shocked. They school almost like tetras.

I honestly might pick a different fish for your tank. I prefer to keep otos in groups of 6-8, minimum, with more being better and I don't think a 15g can really support those numbers.

WHen you keep less otos than that, they tend to be reclusive and shy, grazing poorly, and not being at optimal health.

[SouthernGorilla]

Originally Posted by msjinkzd

I honestly might pick a different fish for your tank. I prefer to keep otos in groups of 6-8, minimum, with more being better and I don't think a 15g can really support those numbers.

WHen you keep less otos than that, they tend to be reclusive and shy, grazing poorly, and not being at optimal health.

I would agree with that recommendation. We had a ton of algae in our tank. Since it is a well-stocked ten-gallon we didn't want to add a ton of new fish. We added a couple otos since we'd read that they loved the brown algae infesting our tank. Our tank also had (still has) plenty of green algae on the glass. But the two otos were both dead within just a few days. None of the other fish had any issues. The inverts were just fine. It was obviously not a water-related problem. We could only think they had somehow starved to death in a tank chock full of food. I might try them again in our twenty-gallon when it gets established. That tank will have enough room for a shoal of otos. But I definitely wouldn't add just one or two to a tank.

[sarahspins]

Originally Posted by msjinkzd

Otos are absolutely schooling fish. If you ever saw them in groups of 100+, you would be shocked. They school almost like tetras.

My LFS had a couple hundred in a 40 long when I bought my last batch (which included some tank raised babies a customer brought in - finding and netting those was interesting, we found 5 out of 8 that were known to be in there) and watching them school was amazing - they schooled VERY tightly, and if anything spooked one of them (there were other fish in the tank) the whole herd would take off for the other side of the tank. I bought 15 for my 55 and they tend to bunch in two groups, and it's rare to find one alone.. but I almost never see them at all since there is a lot of "cover" in my tank and a dark substrate (they blend in really well!) unless they happen to be on glass duty

I do plan on moving 3 or 4 into my shrimp tank at some point... but I wouldn't keep any less than 3 in a group.

[dastowers]

I would like to add that my ottos (dozens) love the Om Nom Nom Complete Veggie shrimp food that Somewhatshocked sells. Even with lots of plants and some algae they love these. Gentlemen that they are- they wait for the shrimp to be done and take their turn.

[Magnum26]

How about 4 Amano Shrimp, or 2 Otos and two Shrimp?