Will Oto’s crowd my tank?

[Amelia]

I have started my first planted tank in a 36 gallon bowfront with 9 platys . I will add 3 angelfish this weekend. When I started fertilizing I got a big growth in algae and am thinking about adding some Oto’s to help balance things while I fine tune lighting and fertilizer . I dont want to overstock but I’m not sure that they count the same as other fish because they primarily stick to the bottom and sides! I do have a few nirite and mystery snails as well. Would appreciate any help/ thoughts on the subject! 

[swivvr]

I don't think the otos will overstock the tank as long you do your regular water changes. What type of algae did you get? If you just got your plants, keep the ferts low and turn down the lighting time or intensity for a week or so to see if that stops that algae a little bit. Once the plants start growing, increase the lighting and fertilizer

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by swivvr

[Patrick_G]

My experience so far is that Otos pretty much stick to themselves (and literally stick to the snails). 
Amano shrimp will also help with the algae and don’t really add much waste to the tank. 
 

 

[gardenman]

Otos tend to disappear in tanks. I have one that I only see every three months or so. (Mind you the tank is very heavily planted.) Otos are little guys who won't contribute much waste. I wouldn't worry about them overcrowding the tank.

[Amelia]

Thanks for the advice. I would love to have some but I want to make sure I don’t create a problem!

[Amelia]

Swivvr, I have green algae on the sides and starting to see some brown algae on the plants. I’ve never gotten overly excited about algae but I want to keep the plants healthy and don’t want to get overrun with it. I have adjusted the lighting down a bit and am backing off the ferts too - by the time I get Oto’s quarantined I’ll probably already have it under control lol but I’d still like to have them 

[Gator]

Amelia;

I wouldn't worry about the number of Oto's, but I would worry about adding Angelfish in with them. Oto's stay small but Angelfish will eventually get big enough to eat them.

In the wild, Oto's school in groups numbering in the thousands, there's safety in numbers.

I recently moved 6 Oto's into a 10G tank in which I had encouraged patches of algae to grow by placing algae wafers into the tank and leaving everything alone, the city water here has a lot of Phosphates in the water so that helped. Maybe a separate tank for your Oto's may be something you may wish to consider.

I think I can add 6 more Oto's to this tank without stressing the tank or the Oto's, I do have a lot of live plants in all of my tanks.