OTTOCINCLUS causing problems!

[rorie87]

I currently have 4 discus in my show tank, all very large in size. Photos of them all are shown below (sorry, can never remember their names!)

I have ottos in my tank, but in the last week they have taken to landing on my albino crystal, and only him! It causes him to freak out, flip upside down, swim backwards etc etc.

They dont touch the other fish, just him. I assume its because he is so much lighter in colour than the others?

Is there anything i can do to stop this? I dont want to remove the ottos really as they clean so well! But maybe it needs done? Its just a recent hobby they have taken up

[moon_knight1971]

I'm interested in finding out if there is another solution other than removing them too! I'd take those guys out asap and get a bushy nosed pleco. Ottos are cheap $2 fish and I'm sure your Albino Crystal is almost 80 times that price so for me it would be a no brainer.

Joey!

[rorie87]

Yeh, i am thinking that may need to be done! But the ottos work so hard :( Granted, the only algae i have is BGA which they wont touch anyway!
Here are my discus BTW, you can see how much lighter in colour the crystal is
http://www.roriethomson.com/90l-6.jpg

[ericatdallas]

Granted, the only algae i have is BGA which they wont touch anyway!


LOL, you answered your own question there! Go with ancistrus (BNP). I had a Hypostomus (pleco) that I promptly removed the minute it started to even look like it was going to latch on to one of my discus.

Snails also work... use Maracyn for BGA if it's out of hand.

[Skip]

Discus come first.. Flush the ottos

[brewmaster15]

Unfortunately, Ottos do develop a taste for discus Slime....nothing to really be done about it I am afraid but remove them.

Sorry,
Al

[discuspaul]

Yes, I've had the same experience, more than once with Otos, and with SAE's as well.
As they get a little older, fatter & lazier, they give up on algae altogether, and a few will develop into "rogues", or "attack" fish, as some people call them, and really take a liking to discus' slime coats. You need to ditch them - they just won't give up once they get started.
Most discus can almost always shrug them off without any damage, EXCEPT for the constant stress it causes them - and we all know that's no good !

[rorie87]

Thanks very much for the replies folks! I have a smaller 90L i could put them in, but i dont know if there is enough algae in that tank as for some reason, its always spotless!! But my show tank is not! Sods law!

[Northwoods Discus]

I had one otto that started that and stressed out the discus. Somehow one day I saw him attack grabbed the net and scooped. Somehow I got him and into the bast..d tank he went. A large rainbow promptly ate him. Others in the tank were fine and the attacks stopped. I just let the otto numbers decline and never replaced them. I have one left and he behaves.

[calihawker]

Same here. I had to lose the ottos.

Steve