Otocinclus vittatus vs Reticulatwd Hillstream Loach

[Tyler LaZerte]

Alright! Poll time! Which algae eater would you put in a 16 gallon aquarium? 

Otocinclus vittatus 

Or 

Reticulated Hillstream Loach 

[Brandy]

depends on your temperature. If cooler, with some current maybe, the loach. If warmer and or stiller water, the otocinclus. However, both can be tough to feed once the algae is gone, so don't get a ton unless you are prepared to feed them. 

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Brandy I would probably get 3 at most. 

[Brandy]

For Otos, in my tanks, they need 10+ gallons apeice to have enough algae to eat. But you may have more algae, or plan to target feed--your mileage may vary.  I have 4 in a 40 gallon, and 3 in a 29. They are stripped completely of algae and I am putting in cucmber slices and repashy...

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Brandy I plan to make algae covered rocks outside of the aquarium and place them in the aquarium daily. Also am going to feed veggies. 

[RockMongler]

I have a single otocinclus with 4 beaufortia kweichowensis hillstream loaches in a 20 wide.  I use lots of repashy soilent green to supplement their general grazing diet.  I don't have too much algae, besides some small amounts of string algae growing off my spreader bar, and some dark green algae on some of my plant leaves (in particular, some flavor of hygrophila).  The oto goes for the algae on the leaves sometimes (and seems to really dig hanging around on the leaves some days), but no one seems to go for the long string algae on the spreader bar, so I just trim it back occasionally.  I also notice my loaches go for fragments of xtreme micropellet and other meatier foods when it reaches the cobbles they like to hang around on.  

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RockMongler Oh wow! So I know Otos like to be with more of their own kind. Can you keep hillstreams by themselves?

[RockMongler]

Just now, Tyler LaZerte said:

@RockMongler Oh wow! So I know Otos like to be with more of their own kind. Can you keep hillstreams by themselves?

I have a single pseudogastromyzon cheni loach in a second 10 gallon tank by himself (and some bladder snails) because he didn't get along well with others.  I think they can be perfectly fine by themselves, but I find their social behavior interesting.  The hillstream loaches will play dominance games with each other, basically, scooting around and trying to get on top of each other.  I've seen it referred to as "topping".  The big problem I ran into with the p. cheni loach was he recognized the others as possible rivals, but the other loaches saw him as a weirdo they didn't want anything to do with.  And he ended up chasing off everyone else when he got within line of sight of them (which meant they were pushed out of the open water part of my tank and into the deep hidey holes). 

Now, I see the others on a very regular basis, and they occasionally do some non-violent topping to establish the pecking order for who gets to have the preferred lairs for relaxing, but are seemingly perfectly happy with seeing each other exist in the tank. 

So, yes, I think you can easily keep a hillstream loach by themselves, but in groups, they do definitely have interesting social behavior to watch.  disclaimer: I don't keep Sewallia loaches, so they might end up being very different from my experiences.

[Tyler LaZerte]

@RockMongler That sounds SUPER interesting to watch! I will keep that in mind if I go with hillstreams. Thank you!

[Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics]

My understanding with Jill stream loaches is that you need one, three, or more in a tank. One in the 16 should be ok (I think). 
 

Otos prefer to be in schools and it is generally recommended that they be kept in schools of six or more. You would probably have to work hard to keep them fed. 
 

I have heard of hill streams eating pellets too. Check out Irene’s video. 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Mitch Norton

[Tyler LaZerte]

@Mitch Norton Okay thank you!