Odd Otocinclus habit

[Wishful]

The last couple evenings I was suprised to see my six otos join up with my five zebra danios and school closely with them, swimming back and forth in the open area of my tank. Has anyone else experienced their otos 1) swimming out in the open in a school or 2) schooling with other fish?

[monkey_toes]

1) swimming out in the open in a school?
Yes, but not often.


2) schooling with other fish?
Yes, with my cories, but also not often.

[dorkfish]

I've had mine school with the zebra danios, so 1)yes 2)yes.

[Wishful]

As much as I love my cory's, these five little otos are fast becoming favorites.

Lately they've taken to ganging up on the CAE (yeah, he's still in the tank--can't catch the miserable little snot) to force him into hiding. When pushed, they certainly show as much moxie as their bigger relatives. Nothing like watching a row of 3/4" fish force a 2" CAE into turning tail and running!

And they seem to really enjoy snuggling up against my new rubbernose pleco. Not so sure HE enjoys it of course...

[RockabillyChick]

i love my 3 otos but i have never seen them school. at least two of them are always hanging out together while the third is off elsewhere. i rarely see them swim unless i'm stirring up the tank rearanging it and i disrupt them

[Wishful]

My otos are constantly out and about the tank scooting over leaves and hardscape. I don't think I've ever looked in the tank and not immediately been able to spot at least 2-3 of them. My pleco, who I was told I'd never see again once I put him in the tank, routinely rests in full view and isn't particulary skittish about movements around the tank.

My aquascaping,though, is more about creating a good environment for the fish rather than showcasing the plants (though I try to do that as well).
Ditto for lighting, hardscape etc. So I have a wild messy thicket of rotala that the corys pile into during the day, my gourami has several sheltered areas he can tuck himself into and I try to keep a good mix of open areas, shaded areas, and leaf surfaces. So far my wild-life oriented terrestial gardening habits seem to be translating well in my aquarium efforts.

Fish are remarkably similar in their habits to birds when it comes to designing habitat that keeps them comfortable and performing natural behaviors while still keeping them in reasonable view!