Corydoras are not a cleanup crew. They have to be fed specifically, just like any other group of fish.

In my limited experience, Otocinclus, if they have a good supply of algae, don’t require supplemental food. And, I’ve never seen mine on the bottom.


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Corydoras are not a cleanup crew. They have to be fed specifically, just like any other group of fish.

In my limited experience, Otocinclus, if they have a good supply of algae, don’t require supplemental food. And, I’ve never seen mine on the bottom.


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when I say "clean up crew" I mean cleaning up the leftover food at the bottom of the tank. I have some Corys in my 20 gallon and feed them Fluval bug bites that sink about every other day or so, since there is also some other food that sinks to the bottom the Rasboras and the betta doesn't eat. I noticed one of the Otos tonight was cleaning up a piece of gravel and it was close to where I dropped some algae thins, so I don't know if he was looking for that or just eating whatever was on the gravel.

Looks like I need to get just a few more Otos then and either gravel vac regularly or add some Corys. I would do Kuhli loaches but you need sand for the substrate since they like to make tunnels?

 

I would say that Otocinclus are a specifically an algae eater. Most corydoras are going to be a scavenger and eat whatever they come across on the bottom. They need to be fed just as much as any other fish in any other tank. I would do corydoras first and only add 4-6 Otocinclus as the tank matures or if they are needed.
I havent actually seen much of my Otocinclus and cannot account for the work they have done. I do know there is 5 of the original 6 I added 2 years ago still in my 50, I just hardly see them. When I do see them, there are happy and are rather large. I see more of the corydoras and they are definitely much more active. Save the Otocinclus for when you start to see a food source for them.

 

Otos are algae eaters and do not inhabit the bottom of the tank. I would not lump them into the "clean up crew" category either. If you are looking to remove left over food at the bottom. As others have already stated, Corydoras are the better choice for this.

Otos prefer specific algae types as well. Supplemental feedings is always a must if you want long term success with Otos. Goodwood hit the nail on the head, "Save the Otocinclus for when you start to see a food source for them."

Gary

 

do they eat food that falls to the bottom?

Also, I've seen so many different suggestions of how many Otos to buy.

They mostly just live off the algaes in the tank. they can but it's not easy to train them to eat other foods. I rare see mine eating other foods. I would recommend 6 at the bare minimum, for a 40 I would say to 10. They stay small and don't add as much to the bioload as other fish in my opinion.

Corys are not exactly a clean up crew, but then also kinda are. They do need to be fed, but the keep things on the substrate moving and kicked around so with corys in the tank the substrate stays cleaner as things on the substrate tend to be shuffled about and ends up on the filters more frequently.

Otos need to go in a very mature tank (2-3 months is my recommendation, each tank is different). definitely add these last. I see them in my tank rather often, they don't hide from anything, but there isn't anything aggressive in there. about 9 corydoras, 9 Otos, and a dozen female betta in a heavily planted 40 breeder. a few amanos, but when the Otos went in, they cleaned up everything in a few days and it has stayed clean. They have little round bellies, so I am not worried about them.

 

Just to add to everything people already said.
I love keeping otos.
I've found them to be a great indicator species. Once they are happy (getting through a new tank period or initially being introduced), they are pretty bulletproof. I find I can use their behavior to gauge the general health of the tank. When they are swimming about, and schooling together, grazing across all the details of the tank, and have a nice round belly, life is good. I don't feed them specifically, ever. But I do have a very highly planted tank, and don't clean my wood or rocks for situations where food may be low for them, but otherwise I keep it very clean. I will clean those things if they are out of control, but generally, otos do great off nearly invisible biofilm, and can help curb some of the more obvious algae issues. IMO, they won't touch black beard, staghorn or string algae, but green algae, diatoms etc, they seem to prefer. I have noticed that they will collect in areas where my fish food pellets have collected at the bottom. This isn't all the time, but to me, it says that they are eating something that they provide. But that happens rarely. They do seem to like cleaner water. In the wild, they come from fast moving streams, and will collect in very large populations (I think the hundreds). They definitely are happier in a group. I've been playing with this number in smaller tanks, and 4 seems to be the minimum for sure. At 4, I see 2-3 grouping together, and I think the other 1-2 may have passed away, because it's been a few weeks before I see all 4, but sure enough I eventually see them all together. In a slightly larger group of 6+ they seem really happy, and I see them all out, if not together, then generally visible. This can obviously be impacted by other species in your tank, but in my case I try to keep them all on the small, non-aggressive side, so I would say that's not a factor for me.

 

I previously had a 30 gallon tank and now have a 38 gallon tank. I have had both Corydora catfish and Otos for years now. For this size tank qty (6) Otos work well. I had qty (2) Green Corys and (2) Albino Corys but I have to add that I have alot more now since my female Albino Corydora lays alot of eggs and I have been successfully removing a large qty and having the eggs hatch and be cared for in another 2.5 gallon container for a period of time before adding back to the 38 gallon tank. I have been successful raising and later have donated alot of baby fry. Currently at this time I have close to qty (12) baby Green Corys and (2) baby Albino Corys. I may donate (6) more Green Corys but am not sure at this time. I was thinking about creating a PlantedTank article on this topic since it was a learning experience on how to best handle fertilized eggs from a female Albino Corydora. I have learned a bunch over the past few months on this and have experience and am more comfortable on what to do when she lays more eggs.

 

For those interested, this is a good read about Otos: TFH Online Forum-The Otocinclus Paper [Work In Progress]

Gary

 

They do sometimes go and get some of the fine particles of shrimp wafers on the bottom, but I noticed them doing it more often when the tank was not as well established. Now I hardly see them at all. They do like protein from time to time, just not a ton of it.