angelfish and otos

[duyisalilaznboi]

im thinking of getting 3 small angelfish at the local lfs, and i want a fish to help clean the tank that they're in, but not a pleco, so im thinking otos, but i heard that when angels get big they can eat the otos and injure themselves with the oto's spine, so...any suggestions??

[WhiteDevil]

I use corie cats.

[ChrisK]

I keep otos with angels without problems

[Dangerdoll]

I keep angels with Oto's with no problems too.... but realize, Oto's are primarily an algae eating fish... nothing cleans up the junk in a tank like a weekly cleaning.

[Hebily]

I'm gonna go ahead and say oto's ONLY eat algae/diatoms. I've heard many people keep oto's and angels w/o any prob, but also some that have had the oto's get eaten. Why do you not want a pleco?

[duyisalilaznboi]

i dont know...i just dont find pleco that attractive 0.o too dinosaur like for me...dont get me wrong, i like primitive fishies but ...idk =P...plus if im lucky enough to get some angelfish eggs, i wouldnt want the pleco going around eating it....at least i dont think the otos will

[Hebily]

There is a HUGE variety of plecos......... do you want something that only eats algae, or that eats everything? If you don't care about eating algae, you could get amanos, or if you don't care about the other stuff but want something to eat algae, you could get an apple snail, or nerite. I just don't want you to have your oto's get eaten.

[duyisalilaznboi]

well my tank is heavily snail infected so im thinking of getting assassin snails since they look cool and believe me, i looked at alot of types of pleco available and i only like the zebra pleco...but too expensive for me

[Hebily]

I've read that angels will eat ramshorns. real ramshorns, not 'columbian ramshorns' which are actually apple snails.

[Hebily]

So, do you want something that eats algae, excess food, or both?

[duyisalilaznboi]

both would be nice please =D and i dont think the angels would eat the assassins since i think they stay on the ground?

[duyisalilaznboi]

anyone got any suggestions?

[Huzzah1981]

You can't find any Pleco you like? There's so many- like the Flash Pleco (stays ~5" small)...
http://www.questus.no/catfish/images/L204.jpg

Or there's the Snowball Pleco
http://www.plecofanatics.com/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=8659

Beyond that, you're not going to know if your angelfish will go after oto or not until you try... they're all a little different. I'm planning on picking up an angelfish as soon as some become available around here and I've got a handful of oto in my tank. Starting with a young, small pleco will help, as would having plenty of plants available should the oto want/need to hide.

[Blitzkrieger]

I love my otto, it is very large for what I have seen in LFS' 2+ inches. I think it would be hard for an angel to munch this guy up. My clean up crew in my 20 gallon tank consists of the otto, ghost shrimp and MTS. The otto keeps the "grass mowed" and the shrimp/snails eat everything else. It works fine for me then again, I have no predatory fish.

[Wheat]

A Parotocinclus sp. is another option. They are a little larger than ottos, but behave the same. They are available this time of year. I just picked up some. :)

Parotocinclus maculicauda
http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:inKJrzh_jyG1gM:http://www.aquanostalgie.com/Poissons/Images/Parotocinclus%2520maculicauda.jpg

[Hebily]

Wouldn't assasin snails be more likely to eat angel eggs than a pleco? Also, don't angels defend there nest very aggresively, to the point of killing anything that is stupid enough to get too close?

[Star_Rider]

in a word... no

Angels will try to defend the eggs.

but plecos are often armored and the feed at night.. the angels have a tougher time defending the eggs at night(which is why some breeders leave a light on outside the tank)

my angels +Otocinclus=food

I learned the hard way.. if it is small enough to fit in their mouth..they will try to eat it.


large snail are prone to being harassed by Angels.. MTS and ramshorns are left alone(till the ramshorns get big)

how big is this tank?
keep in mind when selecting Plecos..some do not feed primarily on algae.

[duyisalilaznboi]

the angels i see in the lfs arent that big yet, maybe about hte size of 1-2 inches radius so i dont think theyll eat the ottos? and the tank is heavily planted while the ozelot swords are HUGE! just trimmed it down so the ottos can hide...i think.... and its heavily snail infested too, thats y i considered angels since i heard they can take care of the snails( i know about the yoyo loaches but my mom seemed to think that yoyo's are ugly and this is a family tank so yea....everyone has to agree with each other) its a 35 gallon i think...and its pretty tall too, ill take a picture later if i remember. so the assassin snails r a no no then, any suggestions on any snail eaters that isnt loaches? and im considerting Wheat's suggestions of Parotocinclus maculicauda, but do they eat the angel eggs too? my dad is suggesting an angel only tank, but i want a good clean up crew too =(

[Star_Rider]

I can tell you about young angels that ate young oto's.

point is.. it is hit and miss with oto's and angels.

you can start with 3 angels.. if a pair forms you will need to remove either the pair to a breeding tank or remove the third wheel.
in any case a 35 is pushing it for 3 angels when they become adults. angels that are 1-2 " as juvies won't stay small for long if taken care of properly.

[duyisalilaznboi]

i only have an extra 10 gallon tank im saving for red cherry shrimp, thats where the otos are in right now with 6 cardinal tetra, im thinking after i get the shrimps im moving the tetras and otos into the 35, then add the angels in ( would the tetras and otos eat the shrimp? if they dont ill just leave them in there) and im thinking of getting 3 angels too but where am i gonna put hte 3rd wheel?

[duyisalilaznboi]

bump

[abcdefghi]

i only have an extra 10 gallon tank im saving for red cherry shrimp, thats where the otos are in right now with 6 cardinal tetra, im thinking after i get the shrimps im moving the tetras and otos into the 35, then add the angels in ( would the tetras and otos eat the shrimp? if they dont ill just leave them in there) and im thinking of getting 3 angels too but where am i gonna put hte 3rd wheel?

In a 35G tank I would not put 3 angels, if you could get hold of a known proven pair of angels, then you could put them in the 35G, but then you run the risk of the angel pair killing the cardinal tetra's and possibly the otos.

If it were me I would just get 1 angel, another 6 cardinal tetras and call it a day. If the angel does eat the oto's then get a small pleco, or look at some cory cats. I really would not put 3 angels in a 35G, it's asking for trouble. I had 3 in my 55G and had to buy a 29G for a pair as they were tearing the 3rd wheel to piececs (FYI they also were going after anything else in the tank while they were spawning).

I now have the 2 in a 29G with a BN pleco (he stays to himself) and 1 angel left in the 55G who shares it happily with 4 oto's and a bunch of tetras.