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Hi,

I have a 20g planted tank with a couple of Zebra Danios in it currently. I have a huge algae problem and have heard for small tanks the best option is to get some Otocinclus to help with cleanup.

Would they do okay with the Danios? Most of them are okay but I do have 1 Danio is is a bit "frisky".

I seen 1 Otocinclus at my local fish store today and they said I could get them to order more for me later on.

Thanks!
- Jennifer

I think they will be fine. I'm familiar with the rowdy danios. Ottos don't seem to be bothered very much by other fish. They spend most of their time "hanging" on to the sides of the tank, rocks, plants, etc. Even my rather large Synodontis catfish that could swallow one in a gulp doesn't hassle them.

They are great for algae, especially diatoms, but be aware, it's common for ottos to "disappear" for a while and then appear again later. They're pretty stealthy little guys. If any seem to be missing after you bring them home, don't panic too much unless you see a body.

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Thanks for the fast reply! Yeah, I read they kind of mind their own business. I was more worried about my Danios... The 1 little guy seems to be territorial and has staked out the more heavily planted area in the tank and fights off the others from coming to close normally (even during feeding time usually) LoL. I didn't know if that one would be a problem for the little guys or not.

I still need to get one of my spare 10g tanks setup and cycled before I ask the store to order some more for me. Need the weather to stay nice for a few days in a row so I can bring the tank out on our porch for a good cleaning.. easier to do outside than in the sink or tub here. -_-

I doubt your danio bully will even notice an otto.

Are you stripping down the tank completely to clean it? Unless you've had a mystery disease kill everything in your tank, there's really no need to do that.

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Thanks for the information

And nope, if I can get the Ottos, I just don't want to bring some illness into the tank so I'd rather get them setup in a different tank for at least 2 weeks to make sure they don't infect my 20g tank with something weird LoL

I have one other question, not related to Ottos... Any ideas how Neon Tetras get along with Danios? I thought about them as a future tank mate but I couldn't find any information about how they'd get along. It's hard to find fish info now days it seems

Kudos for setting up a quarantine tank. I have two 10-gallons set up in my room and I move fish out of one (into the other) to quarantine new fish for a couple weeks and then move them back when I'm done.

I have cardinals with a danio in the aquarium I maintain at church. You probably don't see much information on keeping danios and tetras together because most people just assume small schooling fish go together. And danios and tetras are not an exception. I would recommend cardinals instead of neons because they are hardier and less susceptible to NTD. IME if you have one danio and a school or schools of tetras (or other small schooling fish, the danio will tend to chase the others around. If you have several other small fish it shouldn't be a problem because they're pretty evenhanded with the chasing. I'd just be worried if it got down to one danio and one or two other small fish, where the danio might exhaust them with the chasing.

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Thanks

I have just have 5 Danios right now. I just got this tank up and running again last June/July so it's fully cycled and running smoothly for the most part. There was a slight drop in PH the other day that I'm trying to figure out but it only a very very slight drop and hasn't dropped further. Not sure what that was about... Testing again today before I do my water change in a bit...

I don't remember if the LFS had Cardinals or not but I'll check next time I'm in there.

Sometimes pH drops a bit when water sits out or is aerated with an air stone, just reacting with the carbon dioxide in the air (forming carbonic acid). If it's stabilized it's nothing to worry about.

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Apparently our softner ran out of salt this last week which might have played a part too

The test today showed the same... Usual was 7.2 but it's still showing 7.1 I'll keep a close eye on it for a few days and make sure there are no more drops...

Is all the water in your house sent through the softener?
I prefer to use non adjusted water in my tanks since a slight fluctuation may cause issues with the fish. If you have a water source that doesn't' use the softened water I'd suggest you use that. Be sure to run a ph test on it first though, so you know how much the ph may change (gradually over time with water changes).

If there was only a slight change in the water source ph and you only changed a little of the water in the tank it shouldn't have made that much of a difference in the tank ph. I'd not be using anything with salt in it in an aquarium though. Fill me in on how the softener works since I've never had to soften water for a house before.


^_^

I don't run the softener myself, my dad takes care of it... I know it's hooked up from the main water valve outside though... It goes from the well to the softener in our barn/garage and into the house. Before my Danios, I had had 4 tanks running with various fish (and some ADF's & Ghost Shrimp) and it never caused any problems.

I test the tap ph now and then also and it's right around the same as whats in my tank (within a .1 or .2 difference sometimes). I only change out about 2 1/2 - 3 gallons each week.

As to how the softener works, like I said, dad runs it not me... I sort of keep to myself around here LoL We had a softener at our old house as well and to be honest I really don't know what is does either LoL I just know it's never caused problems with the tanks all these years and it's a special salt that is used I believe. It's not like regular table salt. I test the tap water fully every couple months usually, mostly out of curiosity and the parameters don't change much... I think the softener helps with the hardness, because our water is very "soft" and hardness always shows up really low on the tests LoL

Hi,
Since you have lived in two homes that required a water
softener system, you might ask your dad for some
information about it and what needs to be done to maintain
it. At times he could probably use your help, and it
may not be something your Mom is able to do.

Basically the system is automatic for the most part and
the only "human" effort is in keeping the brine tank filled
with salt. It comes in fairly large bags and all one has to
do is tear off the top of the bag and pour it evenly around
in the brine tank. The timer needs to be checked,
especially if there has been a power outage as the normal
time for it to process is during the late night hours when
all are asleep and the water use minimum. The plumbing
needs to be checked for leaks, and if you are living in the
northern climes, the pipes need to be protected from
freezing.

Here is a site that might help:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question99.htm

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hi Frank,

The softener is personal choice by my parents, not required. Thank you for the information link though. I'm staying here rent free until I can get a car and a job and move out (I'm all grown up but sort of trapped here still LoL) but I help out where I can. Heh, unfortunatly if my mom can't lift the bags, I can't either.. I'm female too

I live in Washington state and it can get pretty cold during the winter (luckily it doesn't go negative though). We used to wrap the pipes but it never helped so during the winter we don't use the outdoor faucets and for the pump house we keep a heat lamp and for really cold weather we setup a small heater and keep an eye on it. We've had problems with frozen pipes in the past and it's nasty... usually when it happens we have 1-2 feet of snow to melt if needed though

I got one of my spare 10g tanks cleaned up yesterday. Going to soak it in hot water and wipe it down really good one more time (cleaned it outside yesterday since it was warm and nice for a change). Need to get the filter, heater and light setup cleaned up really good and I can get it filled and ready to cycled Hoping to get to town again soon, I need to return a video game that doesn't work within so much time so I can hopefully drop by the fish store and see if they can order some more of the oto cats for me!

*sneaks back* Just figured I'd put an update on here.... the LFS never did get the little Otos back in stock again and they either won't/can't special order (they didn't actually say which)

Hi,
Thanks for dropping by.Sorry about the ottos. Usually
stores try to stock them.
Hope all is well...
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Having kept Otocinclus for the best part of 17 years, I can tell you that they'll be compatible with a wide range of fishes that are conventionally labelled "community" fishes - the smaller Barbs, Danios, Rasboras, most of the small Tetras (though I'd avoid keeping them with the likes of Serpae or Red Eye Tetras, as these have something of a reputation for being headbangers), and they're even compatible with one or two of the more peaceful dwarf Cichlids such as Anomalochromis thomasi. However, it's wise to keep an eye out for any dwarf Cichlids pairing off and breeding if there are Otocinclus in the same aquarium, as the Cichlids might not take kindly to the Otocinclus suddenly finding lots of nice juicy eggs to supplement their diet with!

Your basic requirements for Otocinclus are:

[1] Lots of algae in the aquarium (and a willingness to buy supplemental foods if the algae crop isn't large enough to be a permanent food source);

[2] Live plants, the more the merrier, as Otocinclus love to scrape algae and diatoms off the surface of the leaves, which they do without damaging the plants;

[3] Plenty of nice hiding places for them to explore - ideally, get some small pieces of Mopani wood or other pieces of bogwood, and stack them to form caves and grottoes for the Otocinclus to hide in if they want to - ironically, when you do this, they feel secure enough to be bold and outgoing in the aquarium!

[4] When you perform water changes, exercise some care, as Otocinclus tend not to like too drastic a change in water conditions ... however, if you do exercise some care, they'll live for quite some time - one of mine lasted over 9 years!

The one thing that really kills off Otocinclus is, sadly, the standard dealer aquarium setup. A bare aquarium with no plants, no algae, and no one supplying supplemental algae based foods for them, results in them dying in horrific numbers. Find a dealer who knows about this, and who keeps his Otocinclus in a tank with at least some plants, and with some algae growing on rocks in the tank. That way, when yo buy them, they'll be a LOT less stressed, than if they come from the more usual bare dealer setup.

Remember, it pays to do some shopping around, and go looking for a small independent dealer who knows how to keep his fish happy, and therefore keep his customers happy. Some of the big chains are more interested in the sound of the cash till than in animal husbandry, and so, you'll find that they are amongst the worst places to buy Otocinclus from, because they dump them in numbers in bare tanks, and don't bother giving them the TLC they need to ensure that they're not starving to death by the time you turn up to buy them. Basically, if you see them in a bare tank, you'll know in advance that you're going to have to exercise some care and attention acclimatising them to their new home, and you're going to have to watch them carefully in case some of them are too weak to make it when you finally put them in a decent home.

Don't worry about the Danios, the moment that frisky one discovers that Otocinclus are covered in prickly armour, it'll back off.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002