Oto questions

[Bill Stock]

How fast do Otos grow? I bought three Otos roughly the same size about three
weeks ago and two of them seem to be about twice as big now. I couldn't
believe my eyes this morning, wow you guys got big. I did not think they
were eating that much, but they must be doing something right. I did notice
that one heater was completely cleaned of Algae one day, but I just assumed
it had snapped on after a few weeks and burned the Algae off. Perhaps not.
Also, would it be safe to add two more Otos to a 55 gallon or will they run
out of food? I had to give them a hand last week and clean the glass, but
they seem to be keeping up with new growth. Although I suspect that has more
to do with the Hornwort growing like a weed.

BTW, I already have 12 barbs, 8 Tetras, and 1 Yoyo Loach + the 3 Otos, so
I'm a little concerned I'll be overstocked once the Barbs grow (more),
Although I'm having trouble maintaining enough Nitrates now (about 2.5 ppm)
despite the fact the bottom is littered with fish poop. I'd still like to
add more plants yet too, so Nitrate supplements might be required in the
short term. I've occasionally had to add some already.

[Gill Passman]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
> How fast do Otos grow? I bought three Otos roughly the same size about
three
> weeks ago and two of them seem to be about twice as big now. I couldn't
> believe my eyes this morning, wow you guys got big. I did not think they
> were eating that much, but they must be doing something right. I did
notice
> that one heater was completely cleaned of Algae one day, but I just
assumed
> it had snapped on after a few weeks and burned the Algae off. Perhaps not.
> Also, would it be safe to add two more Otos to a 55 gallon or will they
run
> out of food? I had to give them a hand last week and clean the glass, but
> they seem to be keeping up with new growth. Although I suspect that has
more
> to do with the Hornwort growing like a weed.
>
> BTW, I already have 12 barbs, 8 Tetras, and 1 Yoyo Loach + the 3 Otos, so
> I'm a little concerned I'll be overstocked once the Barbs grow (more),
> Although I'm having trouble maintaining enough Nitrates now (about 2.5
ppm)
> despite the fact the bottom is littered with fish poop. I'd still like to
> add more plants yet too, so Nitrate supplements might be required in the
> short term. I've occasionally had to add some already.
>
>
>
Your nitrates are fine....mine are usually between 5 - 10 which is no
problem in a planted tank. In terms of stocking you have less fish than I do
in an equivalent size tank - however if you go the route of more fish you
have to be prepared for the extra maintenance and filtration....

Having been very impressed with the job being done by my 4 ottos I added
another 3 today. But a word of caution here - my tank is in a brightly lit
room with lots of algae - we wanted it there and took on board the
additional maintenance in coping with the algae. However, originally one of
my ottos (along with 2 companions) lived in a tank were there was minimal
algae - they thrived for a couple of months and then two died (just wish I
had been sharper on this) - I added algae wafers but they were just not
interested. The third in that tank was very much on his last legs so I made
the decision to move him being convinced that there was no disease as
such...he survived or unfortunately would become "fish food" but he was
certainly going to be dead by the morning if I left him where he was. He was
immediately on the front of the tank and is now as fat as his mates :-)

So really the bottom line is how much algae do you have? and what level of
algae are you willing to sustain in your tank to feed the ottos? Mine won't
eat anything other than what is available naturally in the tank - which
fortunately for them is quite a lot.....

Gill

[Bill Stock]

"Gill Passman" <gillspamattaylorpassmanspam.co.uk> wrote in message
.. .
>
> "Bill Stock" > wrote in message
> ...
>> How fast do Otos grow? I bought three Otos roughly the same size about
> three
>> weeks ago and two of them seem to be about twice as big now. I couldn't
>> believe my eyes this morning, wow you guys got big. I did not think they
>> were eating that much, but they must be doing something right. I did
> notice
>> that one heater was completely cleaned of Algae one day, but I just
> assumed
>> it had snapped on after a few weeks and burned the Algae off. Perhaps
>> not.
>> Also, would it be safe to add two more Otos to a 55 gallon or will they
> run
>> out of food? I had to give them a hand last week and clean the glass, but
>> they seem to be keeping up with new growth. Although I suspect that has
> more
>> to do with the Hornwort growing like a weed.
>>
>> BTW, I already have 12 barbs, 8 Tetras, and 1 Yoyo Loach + the 3 Otos, so
>> I'm a little concerned I'll be overstocked once the Barbs grow (more),
>> Although I'm having trouble maintaining enough Nitrates now (about 2.5
> ppm)
>> despite the fact the bottom is littered with fish poop. I'd still like to
>> add more plants yet too, so Nitrate supplements might be required in the
>> short term. I've occasionally had to add some already.
>>
>>
>>
> Your nitrates are fine....mine are usually between 5 - 10 which is no
> problem in a planted tank. In terms of stocking you have less fish than I
> do
> in an equivalent size tank - however if you go the route of more fish you
> have to be prepared for the extra maintenance and filtration....
>
> Having been very impressed with the job being done by my 4 ottos I added
> another 3 today. But a word of caution here - my tank is in a brightly lit
> room with lots of algae - we wanted it there and took on board the
> additional maintenance in coping with the algae. However, originally one
> of
> my ottos (along with 2 companions) lived in a tank were there was minimal
> algae - they thrived for a couple of months and then two died (just wish I
> had been sharper on this) - I added algae wafers but they were just not
> interested. The third in that tank was very much on his last legs so I
> made
> the decision to move him being convinced that there was no disease as
> such...he survived or unfortunately would become "fish food" but he was
> certainly going to be dead by the morning if I left him where he was. He
> was
> immediately on the front of the tank and is now as fat as his mates :-)
>
> So really the bottom line is how much algae do you have? and what level of
> algae are you willing to sustain in your tank to feed the ottos? Mine
> won't
> eat anything other than what is available naturally in the tank - which
> fortunately for them is quite a lot.....
>
> Gill

Thanks,

I was trying to maintain 5 PPM of Nitrates, but as long as it's not 0 (which
it has been in the past) I guess I'm not limiting the plant growth.

I originally had a real Hair Algae problem in this tank, but since I
upgraded the lights (4 wpg) and added the CO2, the Hair Algae has been
lessening and I'm getting more regular Algae. I never clean the back wall
and there is still lots on the Pagoda and filters. But I've seen Algae
disappear in a hurry with the right plant growth, so I don't want to add too
many Otos and then have them starve. I've read they like Zucchini, so maybe
I'll try to find an alternate food before I buy more.