Excuse me for being a total noob but how do you tell the difference between a chinese algae eater and an oto? When they are both small, they look exactly alike.
Oto vs. CAE
- Thread starter fishguy1900
- Start date
Most oto's have very large heads in relation to the rest of the body.
The CAE will have a much more smaller head in relation to it's body, and it looks like a torpedo.
The coloration is similar, but really young fish, the oto's display much darker colors - IME.
The CAE will have a much more smaller head in relation to it's body, and it looks like a torpedo.
The coloration is similar, but really young fish, the oto's display much darker colors - IME.
definitly go with the ottos especially if you have brown algae. They love the stuff. You should also keep in mind that ottos stay small and are delicate. Figure to loose about 30%. Chinese Algae Eaters CAEs become agressive when they are older and also stop eating algae. I did a bunch of research before I purchased my ottos they are doing well. :dance2: Hope this helps.
I had two CAE for many years. They do not eat algae. Well not enough to make a difference. I don't think these two fish are hard to tell apart otocinclus is shaped more like a kite with the bottom portion being much longer and is flater, the CAE is rounder. I put three otocinclus in with my dwarf puffers two days ago because the diatoms are out of control. The amount they eat of this stuff is just unbelievable. 48 hours later everything is looking better.
I've also heard that cae sneak up on your fish and suck their slime coat. This leaves your fish more prone to disease. The older and bigger they get, the more slime they suck. From everything i've heard, cae are a hoax propogated by the per industry, and should never be bought by anyone.
I seen something horrifying at the Wal-Mart last night...
There was a tank with a bunch of angels and mollies with about 6 oto's.
The tanks are rather small (maybe 14" cube), and it looks like the otos cleaned out the majority of the algae in that tank - compared to some of the other tanks with sheets of algae in them.
The otos were sucking on the fish?!??!?! I could not believe it! I guess if the otos don't have enough food, they will suck on fish.
The mollies moved enough to get away, but the angels were very easy targets. The otos would sometimes gang up two or three on one angel and suck on it! I had to clear my eyes several times to make sure they were otocinclus cats! Angels were a little larger than a quarter. The otos were about 1" long. Sad sight...
There was a tank with a bunch of angels and mollies with about 6 oto's.
The tanks are rather small (maybe 14" cube), and it looks like the otos cleaned out the majority of the algae in that tank - compared to some of the other tanks with sheets of algae in them.
The otos were sucking on the fish?!??!?! I could not believe it! I guess if the otos don't have enough food, they will suck on fish.
The mollies moved enough to get away, but the angels were very easy targets. The otos would sometimes gang up two or three on one angel and suck on it! I had to clear my eyes several times to make sure they were otocinclus cats! Angels were a little larger than a quarter. The otos were about 1" long. Sad sight... 