# this is pissing me off



## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i have 3 discus and with those discus i have 4 otto cats and *** noticed one of them if they all arent doing this but the one tried to latch itself onto the discus is there any type of algae eater i can put in my tank that wont latch onto my discus


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

an otto is trying to latch onto your discus? well thats something you dont hear everyday, if i were you just feed the ottos more lol.


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## Donfish (Dec 24, 2007)

Just a guess since Discus secrete slime to feed their young their slime coat my be especially attractive to sucking biofilm eaters even when they don't have young.

I have Otos with Angels and never see this, I didn't add the Oto's till I had good algae coverage and growing plants, diatoms they will eat clean in a few days and if nothing else is there they will get mighty hungry.

In my experience they don't eat wafers like SAE's and Plecos do.

ADD; Check the Otos bellys, they should be rounded if not they are starving.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

On discus forums, this is very well known and the reason most discus keepers don't recommend oto's with discus.


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## FLGirl1977 (Jul 24, 2007)

Most algae eaters can't be placed with discus safely IME. The only type I've found are fine with discus are corys (best, peppered corys). I highly suggest getting rid of your ottos. Eating the slime coat off discus is too tasty for ottos, sae's, plecos, etc. to resist and too stressful for your discus... not to mention it will weaken their immune system. Even if you don't see it happening, they will usually do it at night while the discus are resting.

Good luck!


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## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i think it might be becuase they havent been fed for a while so im gonna feed them and see if it continues


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

AnDyF_27 said:


> i think it might be becuase they havent been fed for a while so im gonna feed them and see if it continues


It is VERY common for Ottos to learn this trick and once learned, I've never heard of them stopping.

Hope that helps.


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## DiscusQueen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hi.. In my experience Ottos and discus are always iffy. 
Twice I had to remove ottos from my planted discus tanks. There always seems to be the possibility of a rogue otto that no matter how well they are fed, gets a taste for discus slime and that "habit" can't be broken. It is very bad for the discus.. Get the otto out.. Most of the time you have to take them all out as once you try and capture the "evil" one they move so fast and look so much alike you can never find the same one again.. I never had this happen with the angelfish and ottos but discus and ottos is a nono.. There are always several threads on this if you look here or go to simplydiscus..
I use bns in all my tanks and have never had a problem with them. I know a lot of breeders also keep bns in their discus tanks even the bb ones. HTH Sue


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

weird, i have never heard this before, not with otocinclus anyways, chances are they arent getting fed enough and they find slime coating oh so yummy...


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

I have heard of plecos and SAEs doing this but this is the first I've heard of ottos doing it. I think I'd remove the Ottos.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Slightly off topic, but do people actually feed thier oto's? I've never specially fed mine, they just continually graze through the plants and driftwood. They will eat some of the algea wafers or fresh veg I drop for my plecs, but I've never specially fed them.


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## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

just cucumbers or zucchini


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## ryansmith (Apr 10, 2003)

I keep albino bristlenose plecos (Ancistrus) with my discus and I haven't had a problem. I have seen the ABN's go after weak/dying angelfish so they are probably opportunistic, but if the fish are healthy and active the ABN's usually ignore them. Give them some caves or plants to hang out in/on, feed them well, and they should leave the discus alone.

Otos go both ways. Some people have never had an issue, others can't get their Otos to leave the discus alone. Once the Oto has a taste for discus slimecoat, chances are it's not going to just quit harassing them. I'd ditch them.


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## AnDyF_27 (Aug 7, 2008)

i havent seen the ottos try to attach themselves onto the discus so far anymore but im not watching at night time so thts when they could be doing it


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## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

DeadFishFloating said:


> Slightly off topic, but do people actually feed thier oto's? I've never specially fed mine, they just continually graze through the plants and driftwood. They will eat some of the algea wafers or fresh veg I drop for my plecs, but I've never specially fed them.


I feed my otos daily. They get crushed veggie pellets, sliced cucumbers or zucchini, sometimes peas or lima beans. They are in a 15 gal. tank with 300-400 red cherry shrimp and not a spec of algae.

The otos spawned 7 or 8 times this year.


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

how many do you have peterl?


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## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

jack lover said:


> how many do you have peterl?


How many otos?

I have four adults. I think I have 2 males and 2 females. At one point in late summer I had at least 20 fry. I think I lost a lot due to lack of suitable food. With the shrimp in the tank, there is no algae nor aufwuchs for the fry.

The tank is really heavily planted. Interestingly, today during water change, I picked up a BIG mat of some sort of java fern (back left corner) and gave it a good shake. I thought I had only two juvies left, but after the plant shake, I saw at least five.

If they start spawning again, I will set up a ten gallon tank just to grow algae. I'll move the fry over when I see them. I will also start feeding them rotifers or some other sort of microfood every other day.

This is the tank on December 1st.


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