Ottos kept in small groups, pairs, or singly?

MikeWinLDS · Post by **MikeWinLDS** » 22 Apr 2004, 07:34

They are voracious eaters. They keep on sucking on anything and everything. Although right now my Angel and Rosy like to take big chunks out of the lettuce I put in the tank, and they make a mess. A lot of uneaten lettuce floats to the top and just floats around making a mess. I probably won't have that problem in a new tank without those big fish, but still wondering.

Should Ottos be kept in a small group (I've got 5 right now), in a pair, or singly (and give the reasons why)? I don't have that much algae in my tank. I don't think I've ever seen algae in my tank, probably because my lighting levels aren't that high. All I've seen are diatoms, really. I think they're getting enough to eat, since they've been here for well over a month now. I feed them lettuce when I can, but not daily. I should try cucumbers again. since it doesn't make as big a mess as lettuce.

Graeme · Post by **Graeme** » 22 Apr 2004, 17:37

They are shoaling fish!

G.

MikeWinLDS · Post by **MikeWinLDS** » 22 Apr 2004, 22:41

What happens if they aren't kept in a shoal? When I think of shoaling fish, I think of small Tetras like Neons, and people usually say that the bare minimum is 6 fish, and the more the better. Some people use Ottos for algae eating in smaller size tanks, which I'm sure they can't afford to keep more than maybe 1 or 2. I've heard about fish wasting away if they aren't kept in groups. What happens? Do they get sad and stop eating or what?

fmueller · Post by **fmueller** » 23 Apr 2004, 00:19

I've got 6 otos in a 29G tank, and they seem to be pretty happy in there. They often hang out together - maybe not all of them, but I often see up to 4 of them in close proximity of each other. That's more shoaling behavior than the 6 hatchet tetras show, which are in the same tank. Of course the natural agae growth in that tank can't support them, so I feed them with algae wafers and vegies such as cucumber, zucchini, tomatoe and so on. They are lots of fun to watch. I am kinda hoping that the otos will breed in there one day, but breeding them seems to be largely a question of luck. People who just keep one or two otos to keep the tank clean don't worry so much about their wellbeing, as long as they do their job. If you have to buy a new one every once in a while, who cares? I paid only $1.59 for mine - that's cheaper than a new blade for an algae scraper

metallhd · Post by **metallhd** » 23 Apr 2004, 05:23

Hi - I have 4 in each of my tanks, a 33 and a 10. The 33 is heavily planted so I don't see them much, but in the 10 they are often visible and there are almost always at least two together somewhere. They seem to enjoy each others company - I'm not sure of their sex but imagine there's probably a pair - they don't cavort or display for each other or anything, though, they're pretty laid back, they just kinda hang out - maybe that's why they like groups, because then they're cool, just chillin'

MikeWinLDS · Post by **MikeWinLDS** » 23 Apr 2004, 05:50

I don't see them playing like you would some Clowns or Cories, so that's why I was thinking about just getting a single pair instead for when I get new tanks set up. Here's 4 of them on one wall of the tank, and then 1 loner on the adjacent wall.