"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Mary E. Hill" wrote

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

Otocinclus. I would start with 3 because otos
tend to suffer from "sudden oto death syndrome".
They are bit sensitive, like some tetras, but I've
found them so useful I just add more until I
get a (relatively) stable population. Like any
fish they'll occasionally die for no apparent
reason, but not at an unusual rate, all else
being equal.

Here's a link I found useful:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...cinclusart.htm

I've only ever seen the common ones locally (gray
with black stripe).

And as far as "soft, acidic" water goes, the
water in my tanks is moderately hard.

Gail
near San Antonio TX



Thanks for the link. It said 1 or 2 per 10 gallons...I'm only working with a
5-gallon tank. And it already has the two African drawf frogs who like to
hang out on the bottom. Can I buy just one of these (and others pending
survival...) and have it be ok by itself?