Join me through the journey of introduction!

[AngelicScars]

I've noticed that they seem to produce a lot of waste. Do they produce more waste then clean the tank? It seems like the tank they are in gets dirty faster then the rest.

[LeahK]

Sorry to hear about your oto!
But it's good that there's one eating the algae wafer--usually if one manages to discover that something is food, the others will follow its lead.
Just out of curiosity--was the oto who's fins were nipped the same one that you say was a loner? I just ask because, otos can be pretty speedy when then need to be, so I can't imagine that one would hang out and get bitten if it was healthy, and it sounded like maybe that loner one wasn't doing too well to begin with.

[AngelicScars]

Well, I recently noticed (my hubby is the only that gave me the news about the Oto and removed the little guy before I saw) that the one with most of the fins missing is still in there. I think the one that died was the one that only had one nip in it's fin. I think the loner is still in the tank though.
Hubby said there are 4 in the tank, but I have yet to see the 4th one. I see 3 of them very active in there. I'm worried about the 4th because I want to make sure it's okay or not dead. :(

[LeahK]

Originally Posted by AngelicScars

I've noticed that they seem to produce a lot of waste. Do they produce more waste then clean the tank? It seems like the tank they are in gets dirty faster then the rest.

lol. I ninja'd your post.
IME, otos produce way more waste than a normal fish their size. When I first bought mine, I thought, ok, they're tiny fish, so it'll be a small bioload. I put 6 at once in QT, using a cycled filtered pad, and they still managed to cause a mini-cycle.
The thing is, because they're eating only algae and the microscopic biofilm that we can't even see, they have to eat a LOT of it to stay healthy. So basically they just eat and poop all day long

[LeahK]

Sorry to hear one's missing! But they are expert hiders. I lose track of mine for days. So he may still be around.

[AngelicScars]

All of their waste won't hurt the new female I'm going to get to put in with her will it?

[LeahK]

Nah, I don't think so. They're messy for a fish their size, but they're still pretty tiny. If anything, they'll make your nitrates rise more quickly than before, so you may have to do more water changes that you normally would on a tank with just a single betta, but nothing too crazy.
And, when I added my otos to my main tank, there was no mini-cycle. The bacteria will eventually catch up with the bioload.

[AngelicScars]

Should I do about two 50% water changes a week then?

[dramaqueen]

Who'd have thought such a tiny fish would be so messy!

[AngelicScars]

Yeah no kidding! They are so awesome to watch though. I think if I do decide to get another group of them, three will be my max. ;P