Techniques for Maintaining Golden Otocinclus Fish in the Aquarium
Find some useful information and tips about maintaining golden otocinclus fish in the aquarium, from knowing their tank behavior and perfect tank mates, to the suitable tank size for a group of otos.
Golden otocinclus is a diligent tiny algae eater. For beginners, golden otocinclus is a perfect choice for your planted aquarium because even if you forget to feed them, they will naturally look for and eat algae. This species comes from the family of Loricariidae and the tribe of Hypoptopomatini. Besides being known as otocinclus, they are also commonly known as oto, oto cat, dwarf sucking catfish, and midget suckerfish. Here, you’re going to learn how to maintain golden otocinclus fish in the aquarium.
Natural Habitat
Compared to other otocinclus kinds, golden otocinclus has brown colors, mostly closer to gold. They natively come from the freshwater and lowlands from northern Venezuela to northern Argentina. They love the habitat with slow-moving, well-oxygenated water but clean with a bit of sand, driftwood, and of course, algae. Oto is mostly agile in the day and loves to spend their time in the shallows and close to the surface. In the natural habitat, golden otocinclus will suck aufwuchs or algae attached to stones, broad-leaved grasses, macrophytes, and roots.
In-Tank Behavior
Almost the same as its true nature in the wild, golden otocinclus fish in the aquarium shows many activities and characters during the day. Keeping them in a tank means having useful hands cleaning your aquarium from growing algae. They will cling to your aquarium glass and suck the stuck algae so that you can see the unique suckermouth motion. When they lack oxygen, you will see them swimming to the surface.
Tank Mates
Although maintaining golden otocinclus fish in the aquarium is quite easy, it isn’t that trouble-free in the beginning. One of the tricks is picking the right tank mates. Large fish with a high sense of food competition surely frighten your otos. In some cases, those kinds of fish might eat your otos as well. Some great recommendations for this species’ tank mates are boraras, cory cats, dwarf gouramis, rasbora, and neon tetras. Avoid housing golden otocinclus with goldfish, cichlids, Oscars, jack dempsey, and otocinc.
Aquarium Set-Up
The best water temperature to house golden otocinclus is 72-79°F (22-28°C) with pH 6.8 to 7.5. Make sure to fill your tank with fresh water and keep the water well filtered. To make sure that the water keeps its buffering capacity, conduct 25-30% water changes regularly. A sudden shift in water parameters or temperature can make your otos stress and even die. So, you should keep attention to it. Fill your tank with plans and sand below. You can also place decorations such as rocks or caves that can be used as a shelter when otos feel stressed.
Tank Size
Because the maximum size of golden otocinclus is 2 Inches, they will still feel comfortable in a small aquarium. If you wish to maintain a group of 4 to 6 otos, a 10-gallon tank is perfect. Add a couple of gallons when you add more companies to the group. One useful tip is the bigger your tank size, the healthier ecosystem you create.
We hope the information above will be useful for you who want to keep golden otocinclus fish in the aquarium. As long as you take care of them carefully, your otos will have bigger chances to be around for a long time.