Ottos??

[fishymommy]

I have a diatom problem in my tank. Its covering everything and starting to climb up the tank walls from the floor. I know this is a common issue for relatively new tanks and that ottos will eat these plants but would it be bad for my tank to add a few of these cute little fish? I already am pushing the overstocking as it is.. so.. get some ottos or is there some other method of getting rid of the diatoms? (I've tried letting it kill itself by using up its resources but its been a month already!!)

All opinions appreciated :o)

TIA fishymommy :11:

[Commodore 64]

As long as you have good filtration, I would think you could handle a couple otos. They are so small, I have to think they impose minimal bioload.

[fishymommy]

ok thank you... i'll still think about it... idk if it would make my tank too busy

[terrapin24h]

i have 4 ottos in my 30 gal, and you rarely see them. They are almost always stuck to something sucking away, and yes the do eat my diatoms, but the diatoms seems to be low on thier list, in favor of other stuff they find(but i can't see) Do you use carbon in your tank? I have read multiple places that carbon tends to leech phospates into the water, which diatoms LUV. So if you pull the carbon, clean the tank, doa big water change, and keep your nitrate levels in check the junk should die off. About a week ago, i did just that and the level has gone down dramatically. Just a thought

--chris

[fishymommy]

I never thought of that and yes, I just carbon. I have a penguin filter that uses carbon cartriges.. So.. if I were to get some ottos.. how many do u suggest? I have plants that are coated with the diatoms withing two days of washing them. Its a 20g with the fish in my sig.. two swordtails, five neons, five harelquin rasboras, pleco, frog, and snail... I might get two more neons because two died recently to get them back up to 7...

[travie]

If you do get ottos, make sure you acclimate them through the drip method. And be prepared to feed the ottos after all the diatoms are gone through fresh veggies and wafers.

[fishymommy]

Ok the feeding would be fine because i already feed the pleco and snail zucchini and algae wafers

[fishymommy]

How do u acclimate by the drip method???

[terrapin24h]

i would suggest you start with 2, and go from there. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they are eating alot. If they are swimming around alot looking for food, that means you need to supplement with blanched veggies. I would also think you should try pulling the carbon, clean your plants etc off, then do a good size water change and see if they come back as strongly, i'd be willing to think not. They may come back, but at a lower tolerable level. I would think your snail and pleco would get the brown stuff, too.

--chris

ps: this is one of those cases where i am taking my own advice. My 30 gal has been good for over a week now, and i just did my wife's 6 gal frog tank last night

[Commodore 64]

How do u acclimate by the drip method???

I use a 2 way valve.

1. Attach airline to both sides.
2. Open valve all the way.
3. Suck on it and get some water flowing.
4. Crank down the valve until you get the drip rate you want.

[fishymommy]

that sounds like it would work.. i have a gange valve on my air pump I could temporarily use

as for the carbon.. do you know if there are cartriges you can buy that don't have it? I could use less of it but idk what happens if u don't use any of it...

[terrapin24h]

it really depends. The marineland filter carts i buy come with carbon and you can't get them any other way. On the suggestion of others(see my DIY filter media thread) i slit my used carts open and dumped out the carbon. I then cleaned the media in tap water, then rinsed in treated water. Then, i stuffed filter floss into the compartments where the carbon used to be. Seems to be working well. Prior to this, i just had a wad of floss in the frog tank, and flilter floss in my media tray in the big tank

--chris

[fishymommy]

Ok.. so its not the end of the world if there isn't carbon. I've always used carbon just out of habit. What does the carbon do for the tank anyway?

[Mvjnz]

I would not put ottos in a tank this new. The tank should usually have been running for about 6 months before you put ottos in it. They are fragile to begin with and putting them in an almost new tank which is near overstocked is like asking for trouble.

Diatoms are completely normal in a new tank, you don't need fish to get rid of them. If they bother you just wipe them off the glass yourself. You'll stop getting them in a couple months or so.

[terrapin24h]

Ok.. so its not the end of the world if there isn't carbon. I've always used carbon just out of habit. What does the carbon do for the tank anyway?

carbon is a highly reactive chemical filter. If there is a compound in the water (like anitbiotics) it will remove it. The problem is that in the process it can also leech stuff back into the water, depending on the quality of the carbon. Also, it can remove trace elements from the water that your fish need. There is a huge debate (ala mac vs pc or ford vs chevy) out there about the use of carbon, there are many who swear by it and many who don't. Like most things, i think it's a matter of looking at your circumstances and deciding what's best for you tank given your conditions. My tank has been up for 6+ months, and i'm still battling the brown crud, so obviously there is something about my situation out of balance. On a lark i tried pulling the carbon and things are looking alot better. You know how fast this stuff can regrow and in a week now i don't have any significant regrowth that i can see. It could take a bit for the stuff to come back but so far so good. hth

--chris