Do I get him a Oto friend even though he's been the only Oto for 5 years straight?

[Nov92]

Hello all! I have a question and I'd like to read your opinions.

I currently have a long 10 gallon tank which I've had going for the past 5 years. It was stocked with 6 Tetra's, 6 Danio's and 1 'algae eater'. I trusted the pet store employee, was misled and overstocked my tank.

I'm down to 1 Danio, 1 Tetra & what I now know is a Otocinclus (I believe it's a vittatus LDA023). How the little guy(or girl) has survived all these years is beyond me since I was told not to add any food for him & algae production isn't very high. I feel horrible about it and I've been feeding him a variety of foods and wafers. His color is way better now and he's so much more active now. Before he'd hide for days and leave me wondering whether or not he was still alive. Now he hangs out on my live plants, the castle, the tunnels, the heater & the glass.

My plan is to restock my tank but not overstock it this time. I've been reading up on the Oto's and learned that they *should* be kept in schools of 5 or more. I only have the 10 gallon tank so stock options and numbers are limited. Do I get him a Oto friend even though he's been the only Oto for 5 years straight? How many should I get? Should I be concerned about him and any new Oto(s) fighting?

[Jools]

I don't see why not, I'd add 3-5 then, once they're all settled, maybe look at a few more danios in a month or so. As long as you put in some sinking food for them and keep up good water changes this tank will be fine.

Jools

[VelcroWY]

Otos are a schooling fish - they are happiest when in groups of 5 or more.
They will ignore almost all food IF there is algae available. But some algae flakes/tablets are always a good idea. Watch and see if they eat them. If not, save them for another vegan later.

[Nov92]

Sorry for the delay in my reply and thanks so much for your help!

Do you think that 5 Otos, 5 Danios & 5 Tetras would be too much for my tank? I'd go with 5 since they all are schooling fish.

[Jools]

Given they were added gradually and that they are small tetras like neons then, that would be OK.

Jools

[pleconut]

Hi I have 5 oto's in a 4ft they are more active and prefer to be in shoals you may know this already but read up on oto's before buying as they are notoriously difficult to get through the first 24 hrs then first month once past these stages they go on to do well for five years your doing well because of how they are caught transported ect a lot don't survive beyond lfs. In terms of feeding there's not much algae growth in my tank but mine eat cucumber and courgettes i tend to leave them in about 12-16 hours I change my other plecos every 6 hrs the oto's go for food that's been in longer but don't leave food in too long as would affect water quality in 10 gal tank hope this helps teresa