Room for otos?

J

Jennifer

Large Fish
#1
May 11, 2006
230
0
0
39
Guelph, ON
#1
I am getting a lot of brown algae in my tank...up until now it was only on my plants so I would just wipe it off when i did water changes. Now it is getting all over my gravel (which is light coloured) and other decorations. I have already stocked my tank how I wanted, so I am not sure what to do. could I add anything else that would get rid of it all (without overstocking my tank)?. (I read that the otos were good).

My tank is 32Gallon, planted, fully cycled now.
I have:
-a school of neons
-1 male betta
-1 powder blue gourami
-1 sunset gourami
-pair of cockatoo cichlids
-1 small rubberlip pleco- I had really wanted a pleco rather than the other catfish but he isn't doing anything to clean my tank! I love him to bits though and dont want to get rid of him.

As it is now, they all seem happy with plenty of room to have there own space to swim and hang out. I am worried I'll disrupt everything by adding more fish (and I think it will be too many). Also, the gouramis and the cichlids like to pick food off the bottom a fair bit.

Any suggestions?

Thanks, Jenn.
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#2
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#2
Jennifer,

after having the same issue with brown algae I was told to get some oto catfish. I still have not gotten any, but I hope to get some this weekend. Brown algae just looks bad. I read that ghost shrimp will tank care of algae, but I'm not sure if that includes brown algae.
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#3
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#3
Hi Jennifer, your tank may be okay with adding a couple otos. They don't do much swimming, so the space shouldn't be an issue. They do contribute to bio-load, but the plants should help with that some. Might want to keep a check on your nitrates though, to make sure they don't get too high - but if they're not too high now, then I don't think two otos will make much more of a dent.

The otos will do a great job on the brown algae. I have 2 in a 25-gal and don't see any brown algae, although green is the new problem that I'm trying to control. Otos won't do as well for green algaes.

Joe, the ghost shrimp aren't very good at keeping algae down. They're mainly scavengers of leftover foods - but will sometimes eat dead plant matter and some green algae. Amano shrimp and cherry shrimp are better at eating algae (especially amanos).

Good luck! :)
 

SkwidsLair

SkwidsLair

Large Fish
#4
May 17, 2006
316
1
0
Not nearly far enough west
www.skwidslair.com
#4
Are Ghost Shrimp and Glass Shrimp the same thing?

I have two Oto Cats in my 75, and they do a pretty good job. I also have a Clown Pleco which doesn't really do much about the algae, but he's good at picking up any leftovers, as are my Glass Shrimp. (And I still get weirded out when I see my Glass Shrimp eating Shrimp pellets. lol)

I have an Apple Snail, which helps out in the algae department as well, I think.

On top of all that, I have two loaches (YoYo and Coolie) and three 'Sharks' (more classified as catfish) who seemed to do a good job cleaning off everything as well.

I've found the Black Shark to be extremely good with eating algae. The problem is that he will eventually get too big for my community...but it's something to consider, if only for a while.
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#5
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#5
Also forgot to mention that black mollies are supposedly great algae eaters, as well as flagfish (jordanella floridae).

SkwidsLair said:
Are Ghost Shrimp and Glass Shrimp the same thing?
Click to expand...
Not sure. I'm not familiar with "glass shrimp". I'd assume that they're the same species, just with different common names. Do your glass shrimp look like these pics (which are ghost shrimp)?

Click on pic for larger image:




:)
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#7
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#7
SkwidsLair said:
Yours seem to be a little more 'blue' and a bit bigger, but yeah. Mine look very close to that.

and they eat shrimp pellets... o_O
Click to expand...
Yeah, the blue's a bit misleading. They're not that blue, more clear or whitish. Still working on getting good pictures of the tanks. Need to mess with the camera options more.

I've also thought it's a bit odd that they eat shrimp so heartily. Guess it's like them eating their exoskeletons when they molt, but with more "nutrients". :eek:

:)
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#9
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#9
JNevaril said:
i would also try to figure out what is causing the brown algae. get to the root of the problem. :)
Click to expand...
Good point! ;)

Brown algae are actually diatoms - not actual algae. They're very common in new tanks and will usually decrease with time as the tank environment becomes more stable. Something about silicates.

Also, low lighting in the face of nitrates will contribute to brown algae - which is different from most green algaes that decrease with low light.

Good luck!
 

F

FishGeek

Elite Fish
#10
May 13, 2005
4,294
5
0
38
South Carolina
#10
WOW!!!

:eek: :eek: :eek: Your tank is in for a lot of trouble. You can not mix a Male Betta with Gouramies. Its like putting 2 Bettas together!!! I suggest you change your stock. Also another probloem I see are the cichlids. My best advice to you is for you to do some reading before you go any farther. You can go into the Profiles tab at the top of the page. Also you can search for the fish online and that will help give an idea on that type of fish. Good Luck and I hope things workout for you.
 

J

Jennifer

Large Fish
#12
May 11, 2006
230
0
0
39
Guelph, ON
#12
From what I have read of other peoples experiences (and based on my own) the compatabiliy between gouramis and bettas depends on the personality of the betta...my betta is lazy and not aggressive. I have had them all together for over a month now and haven't had any problems...no tail biting, aggressive chasing or any one fish cowering in the corner in fear. The odd time the betta will flare up but he doesn't chase or bite. None of them have established permanent territories so the tank isn't a war zone. Quite often they all "hang out" close together...no problems.

Of course I am prepared to take the betta out at the first sign of stress and I keep a close watch on them. I am in the process of setting up a second tank and will probably move my smaller gourami over.

As for the cichlids, they are not like the large african ones. They grow no more than 3" and they are community fish (sometimes they can chase the others away but I think they are trying to breed).

Thanks for the info everyone, I am going to go by the petstore tomorrow to check out what they have in stock.

Jennifer
 

D

DarkMuse

Medium Fish
#13
May 12, 2005
93
0
0
Kentucky
#13
Jennifer said:
As for the cichlids, they are not like the large african ones. They grow no more than 3" and they are community fish (sometimes they can chase the others away but I think they are trying to breed).
Jennifer
Click to expand...
Just thought I'd add this because it's not always the large african cichlids that are aggressive. Granted personality does play a part. I had a pair of Otos in a tank with a German Blue Ram (South American Cichlid...also stays pretty much under 3 inches, which are also considered community fish) and he killed both of the Otos and the female he paired with. There were plenty of hiding places for the otos to get away. Yet the same Ram lives peacefully with 2 Cherry Barbs.

Amanda
 

J

Jennifer

Large Fish
#14
May 11, 2006
230
0
0
39
Guelph, ON
#14
Yeah, I was surprised how much personality fish have and how they can differ so much from eachother in their own species as well as from the many profiles written about them. I think my cichlids will be okay, they are really quite docile fish, and I have heard the same thing from other people who have owned them. My tank is jampacked with plants and rocks for hiding places so hopefully that will help. I have a large cave that the cichlids, betta and larger gourmai can't fit in the openings.

I found a really great tank (55 gallon) for super cheap that I am trying to buy...I will hopefully get it tomorrow. I am going to take my smaller, sunset gourami out of the 29 gallon and put him in there. He is now getting picked on by everyone in the tank except the tetras! He is has been tagged the weakest and quietest. The other gourami and betta get along fine because they are of the same size and temperment. Same with the cichlid because he is big and stands his ground.
 

N

noncentric

Large Fish
#15
Feb 18, 2006
196
0
16
WA state
#15
Jennifer said:
Yeah, I was surprised how much personality fish have and how they can differ so much from eachother in their own species as well as from the many profiles written about them.
Click to expand...
I agree. I think a lot of it has to do with how they're raised and kept before being sold to us.
 

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