"Hong Kong Oto"

webcricket

webcricket

(So chill.) No wonder it's freezing
Mar 22, 2006
1,481
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Syracuse, NY
My LFS just placed an order for these guys, and this is what the breeder has them listed as...any idea what they are? Normal otos? The fish store owner had no idea as that is the first he has seen them listed that way. I've been looking for some company for a lone oto for weeks to no avail.

Edit: Well, did some digging and they may be Beaufortia kweichowensis. Per http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball, Flounder.htm the Borneo Suckers are sometimes called Hong Kong otocinclus. Cool fish, but not an oto.
 
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:eek: What creepy looking little guys!! Remind me of a halibut.......
 
they are indeed related to halibut, both being in the flatfish order Pleuronectiformes. I have no idea why they would call them "oto" though :huh:

Webc, don't they need brackish water as they get older?
 
plah831 said:
they are indeed related to halibut, both being in the flatfish order Pleuronectiformes. I have no idea why they would call them "oto" though :huh:

Webc, don't they need brackish water as they get older?
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Achirus ssp. are, but the 'Hong Kong oto' are Beaufortia ssp., a mountain stream loach and not realated at all to halibut.
 
Don't know about the brackish water, but I'm not really planning on getting one. From reading, the only reason I can see to call them an oto versus a pleco or loach (they also go by Hong Kong Pleco and Hillstream or Butterfly Loach) is that they stay small, around 2.5" to 3". Really nifty fish, but I have no room for one.

I may run out to the LFS when they get the shipment in just to see...I'm still hoping they might be actual otos...I feel bad for the one I have alone. :( The only place I've recently seen otos around here was Petco, and they had about 10 tanks "under observation" for a massive ich outbreak.
 
Toirtis said:
Achirus ssp. are, but the 'Hong Kong oto' are Beaufortia ssp., a mountain stream loach and not realated at all to halibut.
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I did not know that. Thanks for always getting my ID's and classifications right, Toirtis :D
 
That page was a bit confusing, as it had just the one mention and photo of the loach.

Hillstream loaches all require cooler temperatures, current, and high oxygenation, making them unsuitable for most home aquaria.
 
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