Do otos sleep on bottom?

[A Man]

Tank: 10g tank with bubbler, light, no heater. Lots of plants. Healthy growth
of algae (all types).

I want to get an otocinclus to clean up algae in a crayfish tank. But if the
oto sleeps on the bottom (which I suspect it does) then the crayfish will get
him in his sleep. Is it safe to put an oto in a cray tank?

Crayfish are local orconectes species, which do eat neons, as they also sleep
on the bottom of the tank.

I suppose I could put the crays in a bucket of water for a few days (with
bubbler) while the otos clean up the tank.

The cray tank also has 4 baby bluegills. About 1" in size, each.

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Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.

[Jim Anderson]

In article ws.net>,
says...
> Tank: 10g tank with bubbler, light, no heater. Lots of plants. Healthy growth
> of algae (all types).
>
> I want to get an otocinclus to clean up algae in a crayfish tank. But if the
> oto sleeps on the bottom (which I suspect it does) then the crayfish will get
> him in his sleep. Is it safe to put an oto in a cray tank?
>
> Crayfish are local orconectes species, which do eat neons, as they also sleep
> on the bottom of the tank.
>
> I suppose I could put the crays in a bucket of water for a few days (with
> bubbler) while the otos clean up the tank.
>
> The cray tank also has 4 baby bluegills. About 1" in size, each.
>
>

<http://www.gen.umn.edu/research/fish/fishes/bluegill.html>

"The young bluegill's diet is commonly rotifers and a variety of
waterfleas. The adult bluegill's diet is mostly aquatic insect larvae
(such as mayflies, caddisflies, and dragonflies), but also includes
crayfish, leeches, snails, and sometimes small fish."

"The growth of the bluegill in the first 3 years is fast; but once they
reach maturity the rate slows down considerably. They can easily grow to
a range of 90-130 mm (3.5- 5.1 in) in 3 years and up to 200 mm (8 in) in
7-9 years. In the best possible conditions in Minnesota, they may reach
to 250-300 mm (10-12 in). The common weight of this fish is usually less
than 0.2 kg (0.5 lbs), but occasionally it may reach 1 kg (2.2 lbs). The
hook and line record for Minnesota is 1.37 kg (2 lb 13 oz)."

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To eMail me, just pull "my_finger"

[Mean_Chlorine]

Yes, most of the time they do.

[Dr Engelbert Buxbaum]

A Man wrote:

> Tank: 10g tank with bubbler, light, no heater. Lots of plants. Healthy growth
> of algae (all types).
>
> I want to get an otocinclus to clean up algae in a crayfish tank. But if the
> oto sleeps on the bottom (which I suspect it does) then the crayfish will get
> him in his sleep. Is it safe to put an oto in a cray tank?

Otos should be kept in groups, not singly. As algae eater they are, in
my experience, overrated. Mine are mostly night active, during day time
they rest sucked to the back glass of the tank, hidden by some plants.

> Crayfish are local orconectes species, which do eat neons, as they also sleep
> on the bottom of the tank.
> The cray tank also has 4 baby bluegills. About 1" in size, each.

Neither is the right companion for small, shy and delicate Otos, I am
afraid.

> I suppose I could put the crays in a bucket of water for a few days (with
> bubbler) while the otos clean up the tank.

Excessive algal growth, especially in the presence of plants, is a
symptom, not the disease itself. Check your water params (nitrate,
nitrite, ammonia, phosphate). The tank may be over-fertilised, more
frequent water changes could be a solution. It may also be lacking a
nutrient, algae are better able to cope with that than higer plants.
Symptoms for this will be reduced growth of the higher plants.

[js1]

On 2005-12-05, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum > wrote:
>
> Otos should be kept in groups, not singly. As algae eater they are, in
> my experience, overrated. Mine are mostly night active, during day time
> they rest sucked to the back glass of the tank, hidden by some plants.
>

Meh... depends on the fish. I have one in my 10G that's happy by
itself. It use to have two other otos for tank mates, but didn't really
socialize with them. I moved the other two to my 29G. While otos
won't clear your tank of algae, it will live on what's there. The
three of mine seem to do well on the green spot algae that's found
in both of my tanks. Given the other fish in the tank, I'm pretty sure
it's not getting any of the food I throw in there.

>> Crayfish are local orconectes species, which do eat neons, as they also sleep
>> on the bottom of the tank.
>> The cray tank also has 4 baby bluegills. About 1" in size, each.
>
> Neither is the right companion for small, shy and delicate Otos, I am
> afraid.
>
>> I suppose I could put the crays in a bucket of water for a few days (with
>> bubbler) while the otos clean up the tank.
>
> Excessive algal growth, especially in the presence of plants, is a
> symptom, not the disease itself. Check your water params (nitrate,
> nitrite, ammonia, phosphate). The tank may be over-fertilised, more
> frequent water changes could be a solution. It may also be lacking a
> nutrient, algae are better able to cope with that than higer plants.
> Symptoms for this will be reduced growth of the higher plants.
>


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