# Ottocinclus



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Welcome to The Planted Tank!
Otos are a kind of tricky fish to keep alive. They are super-sensitive to water quality and nitrates, more so than most other fish. They need quite a bit of plant/algae matter in their diet to stay healthy and they won't eat much else.

For a 29G, you could try a Siamese Algae Eater, _Crossocheilus siamensis_. I have a couple and they are hardy, peaceful and a great clean-up crew. Beware, though. There are Siamese Flying Foxes that look very similar to the SAE, but are fairly aggressive and don't eat a lot of algae. There is also the Chinese Algae-Eater, which is probably the most common, non-pleco, algae-eater in the marker. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! CAE's get big and like to slurp the slime coat off other fish. And they don't eat algae. At all. 

Anyway, my rant is over. Bristlenose Plecos are a good choice as are most dwarf shrimp, but they can be picky about water quality also.

As for the MIA Oto, I'll go a week at a time without seeing my Otos, but they'll pop up every once in a while. Depending on how long your tank has been set up, the corpse could decompose in a day or so, but will probably take longer. More likely, the snails will find it pretty quickly and go to town on it. Just to be safe, do a couple of small water changes to remove any toxins that may be there from the dead fish and you should be fine.


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## Spachi (Oct 27, 2008)

AggieAquarist said:


> First of all, new to the forum and new to the hobby.
> 
> I've had my planted 29g set up since October 2008. So far I've been keeping one or two ottocinclus with 4 cory cats and some tetras. The mortality rate on most of my fish so far has been decent (at least I'd like to think so for a new hobbyist). Out of the corys and tetras I've bought, I've only lost 2 fish (84% survival), and that was due to a bad shipment of fish to my LFS. The otts I've bought are a different story though.
> 
> ...


if you have a dead fish in there you need to find it. especially if you dont really have anything that would eat it. will turn into a toxin factory.
it seems that if ottos survive a month, they will last a long time without much special care.
edit- they do vanish from time to time. one day i was sure mine were all dead, then the next day all 5 (in a 37G) reappeared!


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## fishsandwitch (Apr 20, 2008)

You need to drip aclimate.


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## idontknow (May 9, 2008)

I got 3 ottos when I started my tank back in june. For months I would see them hanging around the glass then one day I realized I hadnt seen them in a while. I looked all around my tank for em couldnt find em. Figured they must have died and the shrimp ate them. Got around to cleaning my tank out one day and pulled up my driftwood and there they were hanging out underneath it all 3 of em.


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## starrystarstarr (Sep 6, 2006)

a rubber lip pleco is small and does a good job cleaning


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## t0p_sh0tta (Jan 24, 2008)

starrystarstarr said:


> a rubber lip pleco is small and does a good job cleaning


Plecos are nice. I have a bushynose that keeps the glass in my 40g spotless. The problem with plecos is that they can't tame the algae on the smaller/finer plants. Otos are awesome when it comes to that. The only other fish that comes close is the the Siamese algae eater. Unfortunately, once they get a taste for normal foods, they stop eating algae (or become really lazy).


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

AggieAquarist said:


> 1) I've seen in other threads that ottos tend to have rather pathetic survival rates, although I've read that they are supposedly "easy" fish. What other types of algae eaters would yall recommend if the above is true? Its kind of a pain to run to the LFS on a monthly basis to replace fish.
> 
> 2) Do these fish typically try to hide right before dying? I have a rock cave in my tank and its the only place I could possibly think of the corpse being in (if my missing one really is dead).
> 
> ...


(1) Yes they have pathetic survival rates largely owing to the way they are caught, using a chemical to paralyze them. I believe that many do not recover from the stress caused by this and the subsequent stress of transport, not to mention the stress from being transported home and from one tank to another. IME, Amano Shrimp are hardier and just as effective if not more effective than Otocats when it comes to algae eating. IME, otocats seem to prefer only diatom algae, but Amano Shrimps seem to prefer a wider variety of algae so IMHO that makes the Amano Shrimp more effective algae eaters overall. To increase survival rates of otocat, check with the store to see how long they have been in the tank before you buy them and don't buy otocats that have been in the tank less than a month, choose otocats that appear the fattest as this is an indication that they are well fed and eating, and finally as mentioned by others drip acclimitize them.

(2) Otocats may not appear for long periods of time as others mentioned. I have some where I did not see them for a while and then out of the blue they would turn up alive and kicking. In other cases, they totally went MIA never to reappear. Without actually seeing a dead corpse if it does not get eaten up by shrimp or snail it is difficult to know one way or another. Mine tend to be more active at night than in the day time. 

(3) Same as (2), you likely will not find the corpse. I have not when I have assumed mine were dead. I think given their small size, they probably decay very quickly or are very quickly consumed by snails and or shrimp.


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## Bugman (Jan 7, 2008)

X2 on the drip acclimation. Especially with otos. I find them to be very easy to keep. I have read all the articles and post about their mortality rate in the first few weeks of adding to a tank. I drip acclimate all my new fish. I put the bag down in the tank and then find a method of holding it upright with the top above the water. (I use a Mag Float) Every 15 minutes or so I will add about 1/4 cup of the tank water to the bag. I do this for 4 or 5 times and them release them into the tank. Have them in 8 tanks with no real issues. You do want to keep more than one or two though because they are a very social fish and do better in groups.


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## AggieAquarist (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks everybody for the helpful replies and advice. Maybe I'll check again in a bit now that the lights have shut off or tomorrow morning for the missing fish. The new ones really aren't comfortable moving around much during the day yet.

Edit: How many ppms of nitrates is too much for ottos? I try to keep mine around 10 ppm and no more than 20 ppm.


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## FishGirl65 (Apr 26, 2008)

I have a heavily planted 75g and my ottos seem to be doing fine. I have a couple that are half the size of all the rest and can only conclude that they managed to raise some little ones. It's so hard to find them and then count them when they all look alike.

When I first brought them home I purchased 6 and added them to my 14g quarantine tank. I read that they didn't adjust well and planned for a couple losses. I didn't see all 6 again (only one or two, maybe three) until it was time to move them to my 75g. I just kept scooping them out and presto 6!

They seem to especially like my val forest. Bunches of tall verticle linguini type leaves they can easily be lost in. To my knowledge I haven't lost one and perhaps have gained a couple. But I've never seen ALL of them again in the large tank. If one died my snails (apple) would make short work of it, probably 1/2 to 1 day at the most. I would probably never know because the plants are dense.

Anyway, perhaps yours are still around. Don't be dismayed at not seeing them. The wild caught ones I purchased are very shy. I have noticed that the smaller ones that I believe were born in my tank are more visable.

I'm glad that you purchased more of them. A group will do better than one or two. I've seen a video of these fish being wild caught. They swing a net into a cloud of them and bring up hundreds. Most likely they are not fed again until they reach the lfs. Too bad they really are a sweet fish.


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## Midnkight (Jun 21, 2008)

i have gone through 3 batches of 5, and only 5 remain. I have two that are HUGE.  i've had them since July. and the next 3 were suppose to have that number be brought up, since 3 out of 10 survive.


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## praxis5624 (Apr 2, 2006)

When I purchase Oto's , I place them in a quarantine tank and treat them with a wide spectrum medication for several days. I find them sensitive as neons and improve chances with them after quarantining them first.


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