The Puffer Forum

I have one oto cat with my F8 and I want to upgrade to like 3 or 4 more

I am running a fully cycled 20 semi planted gallon (will be full "planted" when i get my silk plant order in) aquarium

my research shows that this would probably safe however my f8 is violent! he totally mangled a massive mystery snail but has left his minnow buddies alone.. i removed most of the minnows today and will remove the rest later as I only had them in there for cycling.

That cat is not a BW fish.

well then. ill have to see how he fares in my snail tanks then

the oto seems fine so far but I don't know what the SG is.. i haven't gotten a refractor yet

You're still gonna stress him out & shorten his lifespan, if you force him to live in salt.

Generally, South American cats must not have salt in the water. That also goes for Otos. Oto is a rather sensitive cat, so you have to give it the right conditions, and keeping one in BW will make it die pretty quickly. Besides Otos are also to be kept in groups, and not one alone.

i agree with the salt. catfish in general dont like salt. cories, otos, plecos + salt = slow demise

i dunno about the otos needing to be in groups. i know they prefer it, but the dont stress out being alone the way cories do

Planet Catfish has this to say about Otocinclus affinis (this is an oto that's rare in the trade, all though most LFSs and suppliers claim that this is the most common oto. Almost all otos sold under this name, is another species. But the reason why I use this as an example is that what is said about this one, is the same for the other otos):
"Keep in groups (preferably at least six) with any small to mid-sized community fish."

Fishbase has this to say about the same fish: "Aquarium keeping: feeds on plants and roots; in groups of 5 or more individuals"

And as a last proof, have a look at this video.

ok ok ! I will move it to the larger snail breeding pit and get him a few buddies;p