Oto Cat

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Hungriee

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Jan 24, 2008
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NYC
Can a Oto Cat die of overeating Algae?

My tank has lots of brown algae on the leaves of plants and glass. I bought two Oto cats; and one of them died with a bloated stomach. I'm thinking he ate too much algae.
 

Hooked Newbie

Today will be yesterday tomorrow
May 25, 2007
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62
Georgia
Real Name
Len
I doubt it was over-eating that did him in. The bloating is a common symptom in dead Otos and they are somewhat fragile. How long has your tank been established? I'm not certain of it, but I don't believe Otos feed on Brown Algae.
 

Marinemom

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Apr 8, 2006
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Oh yes otos feed on brown algae. In fact it is their favorite thing to eat and in a lot of the cases it is the only thing they will eat. Once they are out of brown algae to eat some of them will not eat anything else and will actually starve themselves to death. As far as the oto in your tank, if this is one that you just got I doubt very much he died because he ate too much. Chances are he may of been sick when you got him or he may just not of made the necessary adjustment to your tank. They tend to be a bit fragile especially in the beginning. I do want to stress though that they will do much better in groups ot three or more. Having just one or two many times(but not always) is not such a good thing. They play much better when maintained in groups.

Marinemom
 

Hungriee

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Jan 24, 2008
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NYC
My tank has been established for about 2.5 - 3 Months. Water parameters are good; as no signs of stress from the rest of the fish. I wasn't sure I needed groups of 3+. I picked them up recently at petco b/c I had a hard time finding SAE's or Otos from my LFS so I picked up two and tried them out. One of the two (the one alive) was more active. I could be sure they feed on brown algae since my leaves were really brown; and they wiped all the leaves off my moneyworts clean over night. I have pebbles and they had brown algae on it and it was cleaned up too; leaving some streaks left. My pennyworts were brown; and now its super green again. I love Oto's since they suck on glass ; leaves; wood all day. Too bad; one has already left me. I'll go pick up some more this week to get my oto more friends. Would 3 be enough for a 20g Long or is a larger group be better?
 

Marinemom

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Apr 8, 2006
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I would get at least three of them but if you think you can fit a few more of them that would be great. The more the merrier.

Marinemom
 

trigiver01

Follow HIM and be fishers of men!
Dec 16, 2008
231
2
18
Alachua County, FL
I have a 10 gallon tank with 6 otos, a red-clawed crab, two platies, and 4 neon tetras. I over-filter and it's well-planted, so my water quality is pristine. I would get as many oto's as your system can take. Feed them algae wafers if they seem to be going hungry.
 

trigiver01

Follow HIM and be fishers of men!
Dec 16, 2008
231
2
18
Alachua County, FL
They love plants, by the way. They like to eat young algae off of the leaves. They don't harm plants, either!
 
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