"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Mary E. Hill" wrote in
message ...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because
of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two
african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter
built into the hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a
partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day
and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic
plant (which I'll now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary

Mary - I have an Eclipse 6 with a female Betta
and 4-6 otocinclus and some number of snails,
along with Java Fern & other live plants,
driftwood, some ornaments and gravel, bringing
the actual water capacity down to what yours is,
probably. My lights stay on 12 hours daily
(on a timer).

I think you could easily add 2-4 otos and they do
a nice job with the algae (but not all kinds). I also
feed them additionally, an algae tablet every other
day, on the offhand chance they take care of too
much algae!

Otos stay small, they are herbivores and
usually don't move around much (unless you
try to find them!), so they're not going to add
much to the bioload of your tank. I do a PWC
about every two weeks, also.

They can be sensitive to changes in water so
I usually take my time about introducing them
to a tank, gradually adding tank water to their
bag over a hour period or so.

Gail



Gail, thanks for the reply! If I go to the LFS and say, "I'd like to buy 2
otos...", is there any chance they'll not know what I'm referring to
exactly? What's the exact name I should be looking for?

Thanks

Mary