Help with Otos

[scollin14]

Hi,
I need some advice on my oto. I just bought him today because I wanted to give my betta someone to be around. So far so good. My bowl holds only 1/2 gal. and I have no algae, and the person working at the pet store didnt think that this mattered. He cant stick to the side of the bowl very well, and I dont want to buy a plant to have to take care of also. Is the best thing besides giving him things like cucumbers and carrots to get him those algae pellets? I know he cant live if he doesnt have algae. What should I do?:cry:

 

[Pearl]

Hello Scollin,

I'd be surprised if your betta will thrive in a 1/2 gallon fishbowl or if the oto will survive for more than a few days. Perhaps you could return the oto to your local fish store, then set up a 5 gallon tank for your betta.
Good luck.

 

[LeahK]

Hi Scollin,
I have to agree with Pearl. A 1/2 gallon tank is tiny for a betta, and adding a second fish is not a good idea.
Plus, otos are shoaling fish--this means that they are social, and they need the company of their own kind. When kept alone, they tend to be stressed, which can make them prone to illness. It is often recommended that, with shoaling fish, you should keep a minimum of 6, for a healthy group.
Also, otos are notoriously delicate and difficult to keep alive. Many cannot be trained to eat anything other than algae. They may not accept veggies or wafers. If you do not have a reliable supply of algae in your tank, otos are not a good idea. I'm sorry that the person at the pet store gave you bad advice--but many people here, including myself, can speak from experience about the difficulty of keeping otos.
Here are some good articles:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Otocinclus
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/otocinclusart.htm
Also, note that bettas and otos have different temperature requirements: "Most people keep their tanks far too warm for Otocinclus, which come from cool, fast-flowing streams and want something in the 20-25 degrees C range rather than the usual 24-28 degrees C most people maintain standard community tropicals at." --http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/otofaqs.htm
Now, many people keep their otos in warm tanks, but 20-25 C is 68-77 F, and bettas prefer their water to be at least 80 F. Although, many people do keep otos with bettas successfully. The problem in your situation is really that the 1/2 gallon tank is just too small to keep otos in. Like Pearl said, you should return the oto to the store, and if you want to keep the betta with other fish, you should get a bigger tank. A 5 gallon tank would be fine for the betta alone. In a 10 or 20 gallon tank, you could have a betta and a small group of 6 or so cory catfish. Dwarf cories or panda cories would be good. Cories are totally cute, and are much easier to keep alive than otos.
Again, I'm sorry that the store employee put you in this difficult situation. But the internet is full of info. You can always research fish online before buying them, and that will save you a lot of grief (and a lot of return trips, believe me, I learned the hard way )

 

[lookit]

:iagree: with Leah. Otos need to have an established tank, and a 1/2 gallon bowl with no algae doesn't qualify. Also, otos need places to hide, which your guy doesn't have. You need to take your oto back, otherwise it will die. Once you get a 10-gallon (minimum) tank with heater and filter, get it cycled and well established (and set up hiding places), then you can add an oto and have a chance at it living. I have three otos in one of my tanks and hardly ever see them unless I am specifically looking in their known hideouts.

 

[Rbishop]

Welcome to AC!