Re: Algae Eater suggestions for Yoyo aquarium

[ey]

The Otos commonly available may or may not be all one species, but, to me they look the same: One dark (almost black) horizontal stripe.
I like the looks of the Zebra Otos, and do intend to get some when I find them. They cost a lot more than 'regular' Otos, though. I think Zebra Otos ate some Black Brush Algae growing in one tank. (Other fish were Rams and Harlequin Rasboras)

I have various Ancistrus species in most of my larger tanks.
One set up includes a pair of 29 gallon tanks with a hamster tube (2" PVC pipe) and the BN was the first one to go from one tank to the other. He is keeping both tanks cleaned of the flat sort of stuck on algae.

Hi Diane, Do you know if other Otos also eat black brush algae? I have some in my tank and apparently BN don't eat these and just about the only fish that eat it are SAE.

This might be a silly question - but SAE are definitely different to Otos right? I see some LFS classifying what looks to be SAE to be Otos, its funny because in the tank below it they are selling SAE labelled as SAE which look exactly the same as the "Otos" they sell!

[jones57742]

ey:

I believe that these are the species of Otocinclus which have been classified.

Do you know if other Otos also eat black brush algae?

Based upon my observation only if nothing else is available.

This might be a silly question - but SAE are definitely different to Otos right?

Yes.


ey: also please note this information

TR

[SAEdude]

My experience with oto's is that once acclimated right they will be very hardy. Remember that 95% if not more are wild caught from S. America so they will not tolerate base and hard water very well.

Like previous posters, mine were all acclimated for at least an hour before introducing to the tank. I have 6 and they have positively thrived in the 12+ mths I've had them, one of my females gets so fat with eggs she looks like a tadpole on times I would say that they are not a solution to algae though, I find they prefer the newest growths of algae and tend to leave the older stuff alone.

Here's a vid of Otocinclus being collected in the wild:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ilnitMs1LRk

I find that video quite disturbing. I wonder how many of them he squashed to death when jamming his hand into the net to scoop them up. They could have at least used a few bags to give the poor things some more water volume. They put like 2000 of them i one bag with like 2 gallons of water...if that!

Sometimes i feel like stopping this hobby of mine so that i do not support the industry becuase of the torture that these fish go through in order to get to our homes.

Anyone ever feel like that too?

[greenbaron]

Sometimes i feel like stopping this hobby of mine so that i do not support the industry becuase of the torture that these fish go through in order to get to our homes.

Anyone ever feel like that too?

Sure do. On a couple of different levels, too. Take clown loaches, for eg. Whenever I go into a fish store anywhere, I always see them. They are one of the most commonly stocked loaches, it seems. Yet once you educate yourself to the proper keeping of this species, you see that the supply would seem to be greatly outweighing the demand. I mean, what percentage of people keeping fish have tanks of an appropriate size for clowns? So, what becomes of all those clown loaches then?

[starsplitter7]

Sometimes i feel like stopping this hobby of mine so that i do not support the industry becuase of the torture that these fish go through in order to get to our homes.

Anyone ever feel like that too?

I have felt like this several times. Especially when animals don't even survive it to the stores. Too much stress, strain and starvation. I wish the fish were marked tank raised and wild caught, so I could make better decisions in buying.

[uuini]

What about algae-eating shrimp? I've been thinking about getting a couple for my loach tank which is currently lacking a designated algae eater. I've read that they get along fairly well with loaches as long as the loaches can't fit the shrimp in their mouths. Has anyone kept algae-eating (Amano's) shrimp with their loaches before?