Otocinclus Catfish

[nanu156]

Anybody have these guys in with their big fish?

I have a ton of algae and a LAZY LAZY LAZY Pleco.... I dropped a 4 some of these guys in my tropical community tank and 2 hours later it was as if id spent all day cleaning the thing. well maybe more then 2 hours but they made short work of the mess...

Im stocking a tank of SA/CA tomorrow, and im thinking of tossing more of these guys in.

Do you think im buying 1.99 ea fish food here, or that they will do ok?

 

[bassbonediva]

They should be okay. They're so unobtrusive that most fish just ignore them. I have two in my Hex5 with my really aggressive male feathertail betta and he flares at them every once in a while, but that's it (he's the one that kept trying to attack his neighbors through the dividers when I had him in one of my divided tanks). I have two (soon to be five) in my 55gal tank with female bettas and the girls completely ignore them as well.

If you pleco is a common pleco, they are no good as algae eaters after they reach a certain size. They create more waste than the food they eat and some of them won't even eat algae after they reach a certain length.

HOWEVER, otos need a VERY established tank with a plentiful source of algae in order to thrive. They're wild-caught using cyanide and don't usually take well to supplemental algae wafers and blanched veggies (mine won't touch algae wafers...I have yet to need to try the blanched veggies, but I've heard mixed results about them). I usually leave one wall (or part of one wall) of my tanks with otos in them covered in algae for the little guys to snack on. Some of them are also EXTREMELY sensitive to water quality, so you have to be sure your water parameters are perfect or else they might not make it (I say "some of them" because I had three in a very unbalanced tank for over a year and I only lost one of them, but that was after I put them in a different tank).

They are fun little fish, though. One of mine (my one-eyed female) was chasing one of my kuhli loaches in my 55gal just a little while ago.

 

[OrangeCones]

I think it would depend on the cichlid. If the oto is the right size, it may become lunch. They are not armored like a pleco is. I know folks that keep SAE and Fly Fox with cichilds in a HUGE (800 gallon) tank.

 

[Orion]

I would say a general no. If there is no way that the cichlid could fit the otto in it's mouth then it might be OK. If the cichlid is way bigger (think a foot or longer), then it might be OK. Anything in between would be a no from me, as otto's have a self defense issue with spines on the end of it's pec fins that can easily get the otto lodged in the throat of the larger fish if they tried to eat them.

IMHO, if algae is a problem it's better for the long term to fix the cause of the algae, not just get rid of it.

 

[Matt Nace]

Marcy,

Looking at your aquarium stock, I would say no. My Africans would go after them. If the Africans were very small they may be ok for a while. My Jewels may or may not go after them. I just think they are not a good mix.

 

[BadRedTerror]

I agree with matt on this one.I wouldn't add oto cats in an African cichlid tank especially when you have 2 jewels.Just an opinion on adding ottos:Those little guys wouldn't stand a chance.They would get picked off or get there eye busted out considering how africans love to go for the eyes.Your blue johanni's would also pose danger to a shoal of oto cats.
Your tank is just a tad on the aggressive side!