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Thread: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

  1. #1
    Registered Member Harry Marsh's Avatar
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    Default ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Putting together a tank.. no discus yet. Planning 6-8 discus, juveniles to separate as they pair

    Bare bottom tank but manzanita branches as decoration with 6-8 anubias randomly on the manzanita
    Probably ten assorted tetras for variety and movement

    Simple and clean. I like it that way....and more or less a nice grow out tank

    I left for four days...tetras cycling....and came back to a brown algae tank
    The automatic feeders probly fed too much, lights on timers not on enough


    The moral seems to be a needed place for algae eaters:-)?

    I am concerned about not enough algae for BNs....the fish may die after it gets the tank clean?
    Otocinclus are small enough to keep tank clean, not add to the bioload....and not work themselves out of a home?

    But how many? Just bought five...they do not appear large enough to do much, but are pretty active.
    Thoughts, beyond giving these a few days and reevaluating?

  2. #2
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    Smile Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Oto's are known to harrass discus to the point that they cause stress related illness, plus by attaching to the discus sides eating the slime, cause serious infections. I had them in my planted back in the mid 90's and had to remove them. BN's will eat discus food. Ypu are better off with one of them.

    Mat

  3. #3
    Registered Member Harry Marsh's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    a search of simply discus seemed to say the same of bn?
    Along with pictures of them attached to discus

    All that being sai, bn are safer?


    Quote Originally Posted by ShinShin View Post
    Oto's are known to harrass discus to the point that they cause stress related illness, plus by attaching to the discus sides eating the slime, cause serious infections. I had them in my planted back in the mid 90's and had to remove them. BN's will eat discus food. Ypu are better off with one of them.

    Mat

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    Smile Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    I've never had a problem with them. I feed the BN's though. I do not treat them as a garbage disposal. They need proper care as well, this includes a good diet (they eat discus food plus I throw in a vege now and then)

    Mat

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    MVP Oct.2015 discuspaul's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    I haven't known BNP's to be a problem. But I have had problems with Otocinclus, and SAE's, taking a liking to discus' slime coats. Some do, some don't - just keep an eye on your Otos. Feeding them well may be (partially) the answer.

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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    oto's wont harassed the discus..if anything its rare. only thing im more concern about is the discus eating the oto's then choking on it and die. since the otos have like pleco like armor skin where once the discus eats it..theres no way of spitting it out cuz of how the scale is from the oto's.

    i witness my altum angel eat an oto and choking itself to death and i couldnt do anything.

    but u can easily fit a lot of otos in a 75g.

  7. #7
    Registered Member ericatdallas's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Don't confuse BNP with 'generic' pleco. I don't think I've ever seen anyone complain about these with discus.

    At one time, I had 20 tiny plecos in my Discus tank. I've since moved half of them to another tank and I've never seen them attack discus slime.

    Although I think either my Discus eat these or they just 'disappeared'. One moment there were 20 (Petsmart had a sale for $1/each) and then the next I had 18... 17... 16... but it took a while though.
    Eric

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    Registered Member Harry Marsh's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    ....there is a pic in another thread of a bnp on the side of a discus........

    I think it comes down to if there is enough food for the bn.
    If not, they will find it

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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Otos are not a good idea. too many instances in the literature of them "rasping" on discus. I have two dwarf albino bushynose plecos in my tank that are blissfully unaware of the discus. I just got rid of a regular size long-finned ABN that was rasping on my amazon sword plants. I think you might want to re-evaluate, as the brown algae is an indicator of unbalanced water/light conditions. I gather your tank is in the process of cycling. Watch the tank and be careful about feeding; as the tank is cycling, there will not be enough nitrifying bacteria to take up the decayed food, and that will be contributing. Adjust your lighting to be on four hours, off two hours, on four hours, then off all night. This is said to help prevent algae, which apparently need a solid photosynthetic period of much more than four hours. I don't know if that's actually true, but I do know that when I adjusted my light cycle that way, algae issues disappeared.
    When you do see algae blooms as you cycle, they are usually part of the tank's progression toward stability. Once the tank is cycled, adjust parameters and you won;t need ABNs to keep algae down. If the water is properly kept, and you don't use plant ferts or CO2 additives (which in the wrong balance will cause algae blooms) because you don't have a planted tank, you should be fine.
    1250 bb pot-planted: twelve discus (six my babies), cardinal tetras, sidthimunki loaches, angelfish. 35 gallon hex tank: hospital
    40gallon grow out tank: snakeskin juvies

  10. #10
    Registered Member ericatdallas's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    You could also buy shrimp to handle the algae. Buy a lot though and maybe have a small tank to keep them breeding. Discus will eat them... in fact, I'm raising them for just that purpose right now.
    Eric

  11. #11
    Registered Member Harry Marsh's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    You are spot on. I didn't have a problem until i left for vacation and had a light on timers...which weren't on terribly much
    I returned to a lot of brown algae

    I might be ok if i simply cleaned the aquarium and went back to normal maintenance



    Quote Originally Posted by judy View Post
    Otos are not a good idea. too many instances in the literature of them "rasping" on discus. I have two dwarf albino bushynose plecos in my tank that are blissfully unaware of the discus. I just got rid of a regular size long-finned ABN that was rasping on my amazon sword plants. I think you might want to re-evaluate, as the brown algae is an indicator of unbalanced water/light conditions. I gather your tank is in the process of cycling. Watch the tank and be careful about feeding; as the tank is cycling, there will not be enough nitrifying bacteria to take up the decayed food, and that will be contributing. Adjust your lighting to be on four hours, off two hours, on four hours, then off all night. This is said to help prevent algae, which apparently need a solid photosynthetic period of much more than four hours. I don't know if that's actually true, but I do know that when I adjusted my light cycle that way, algae issues disappeared.
    When you do see algae blooms as you cycle, they are usually part of the tank's progression toward stability. Once the tank is cycled, adjust parameters and you won;t need ABNs to keep algae down. If the water is properly kept, and you don't use plant ferts or CO2 additives (which in the wrong balance will cause algae blooms) because you don't have a planted tank, you should be fine.

  12. #12
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    nikond70s ,

    Oto's WILL drive discus insane with constant harassment. I know. I witnessed it. Friends of mine have witnessed their discus being harassed as well. They attach and will not let go until they are done feeding or the discus knock them off.

    Mat

  13. #13
    Registered Member Discus PB's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Quote Originally Posted by ShinShin View Post
    nikond70s ,

    Oto's WILL drive discus insane with constant harassment. I know. I witnessed it. Friends of mine have witnessed their discus being harassed as well. They attach and will not let go until they are done feeding or the discus knock them off.

    Mat
    I just found two in my tank and now one of my discus is acting all sick. When I cleaned out a tank from upstairs. I took a pot out and pit it in a bucket with the fish. My daughter took it and washed it off (she says) and put it into my discus tank. Now a lot of the time I don't pay to much mind to the tank for the past few days. I did have one sick discus in there which died last night.
    I failed to notice two of the oto's living in the pot. Since I have had the light off most of the time and the room dark to help keep the stress down on the sick discus. They never came out of the pot while I did water changes odd shaped to began with. I haven't taken the water down very low since I thought the BN was living in it.
    He was eating fine today when I got home. Then when I went to feed them again tinght and turned the light on he started darting around the tank and then started hiding under the sponge filter. Well needless to say I checked on him later and there was a oto stuck to him and one eyeballing my littlest discus.
    So I going to assume they have been beating my discus crazy since the lights have been off for 5 days now. I caught the otos and just flushed them. So who knows what they gave my discus and how much damage they did to them in them 5 days.
    I hope I don't lose him but he is not looking good. He was eating so well until about a hour ago.
    Just my freaking luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. #14
    Registered Member Maria Ashton's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    Brown algae will usually go away after a couple of weeks, it is sometimes part of the cycle. I would go with a BN and make sure it has places to hide and plenty of food like the discus.
    Maria
    117G/ 450L planted, 12 discus, 15 cardinals, 2 rams, 5 corydora
    68G/ 260L planted other community
    "There can't be a crisis next week, my agenda is too full"

  15. #15
    Registered Member Harry Marsh's Avatar
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    Default Re: ?how many otocinclus in a 75 gallon??????

    So, no cleanup crew needed :-) ....do water changes and clean self

    I might try just a few otos...make sure they have ample food and watch carefully
    The toilet handle will be near

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