ottos in discus tank

[playaslk]

hey guys
my problem is not with my discus (which seem just fine and eat like pigs) but with ottos both of which died over the past night. not sure why since i'd think they should be more hardy then discus but alas that was not the case. my water parameters are: 5 NO3, 0 NO2, 100 total hardness and 6.5 ph with a temp of 86. the tank is a 46 gallon bowfront planted with 6 discus (medium-sized 4" or so) and had 2 ottos which both turned out dead this morning. there is plenty of algea in the tank for them to munch on (perhaps too much algea, but thats a topic for another forum)
any ideas? and if i cant keep ottos, what can i keep for my algea problem
playa

[mench]

I never had much luck with ottos,they always seemed to like to latch on the sides on my discus,so I got rid of them...since then I have stuck with bushynose plecos...they do a great job on keeping the tanks clean and they don't bother the discus.

Mench

[playaslk]

do you mean bristlenose plecos? if so, will they stand temps of discus (85ish)?

[Alight]

Were your ottos relatively new? Ottos are not very hardy, and often die when they are shipped, or soon after. It seems to go in batches with some batches all living and others having high death rates.

If they were new, check and see how the survival rate was for the others at the store.

Once they are established in your tank, they should be quite hardy for you.

There seems to be a variety of different types of ottos with some doing the Discus latching thing, and others not. I've not had any problems with them latching on to my Discus.

Another, very good algae eater is the Siamese Algae Eater. Just make sure you get the real thing! They eat tons of algae, and will also clean your substrate going after food morsels. They are also not aggressive and get along very well in warm Discus water.

[playaslk]

thse ottos were in the tank for a few months. Occationally they would mess with the discus and try to latch on, but that would not go on for long, i'd say for a few mins, once or twice a week. they seemed fine till all of a sudden both of them died. I have had 2 chinese algea eaters in this tank prior to ottos and they would not leave the discus alone. i had to move them to my angel tank where they dont seem to bother anyone. my substrate is cleaned by 3 medium clown loaches, but the algea grows like crazy, ESP on the driftwood thats vertical pointing towards the lights. its not bad on plants and i'd say doesnt really grow on them, but the driftwood piece is coevered, 1 inch thick in some places. really annoying i must say. the glass is slowly becoming covered by green algea in small circular colonies. i tried using an algea scrub i bought at walmart but alas after one swipe it scratched my glass from the inside so i havent used it again. any ideas? also where can i get some bristlenoses in the tampabay area? anyone breed them here? how much do they go for usually?

[jules]

I haven't had any problems with my otos bothering the discus. They have been in there since babies. I have 6 and apparently they do better in groups of min 6 ( similar to another fish ;))

I don't find they can keep up with the algae on the tank sides, but they do an incredible job on the floor.

I just recently bought an albino bn for a shameful price and a regular bn pleco for 6$ canadian.

Julie

[Howie_W]

Hi playa,

Jules is correct in that otocinclus are schooling fish...they do better in larger numbers. There could be one of several reasons you lost them, including improper diet, and stocking density in your tank.

Several things to consider; You are keeping several types of schooling fish in the same tank; Discus and loaches also do much better in larger numbers. A 46 gallon tank is not that large for a community tank, and competion and territorial issues may have also played a part.

Ancistrus (bristlenose) do a much better job of cleaning glass than otos, and yes they are fine in warmer temps. They are quite a few species of bristlenose, and should be neither expensive, nor hard to find if you call around to your local fish stores.

Remember to always quarantine any new fish for a minimum of 6 weeks before adding to your established tank. When purchasing, find out what temp. they are being kept at and make sure to slowly acclimate them to higher temps. It's also helpful to have plenty of hiding places for plecos, such as driftwood, and caves.


Howie

[Alight]

Siamese algae eaters are NOT chinese algae, eaters, which is why I said make sure you get the real thing. There are several varieties of fish that are sometimes sold as algae eaters and will not do the job. Do a google search and you'll find info on how to spot the real thing. My SAEs do a very good job of eating very large quantities of algae. I have 4 otos which I agree is about the minimum number that will do well. The SAEs are also schooling fish, but seem to do OK with just two of them. I have a 55 with 2 watts per gallon light, in a fully planted tank with gravel, so there is a bunch of algae for them to eat, but they do seem to have eaten almost all that is on the plants, and most of what is on the glass.

I also looked for bn plecos, but couldn't find any good ones locally, and was luck to find the SAEs. I suspect the bns would be great, too!