Otto or Flying Fox

Been looking into which ill get, for general algae control and plant cleaning. Leaning towards the flying fox at the moment for its hardiness and like of all/most algae, but personally prefer the look of Otto, and they stay smaller. Will eventually want a couple of plecos in the tank so I need to consider this too.

Whats your fav?

I bought a small bristle nose albino plec from seahorse the other day and he is doing a great job of cleaning the bog wood in my tank and eating algae off plants.
I am now thinking of buying another one. Very active little fellas during lights on even.

Greg

Cool, Love the bristle nose, defo getting a pair of those when i get the new set up under control.

jason i went for flyin fox as i would have always went for otto if someone asked me this uo till about a few weeks ago i have 1 about 4 SAE and about 8 ottos in my tank and also i have have 1flyin fox and i have to say the only one that does anything to the plants in the flyin fox anytime i look into the tank he is workin away and never stops i never have algae in my tank only small bits on the last once in a blue moon

but the flyin fox just never stops and the other dont seem to be doing much maybe if there was a lot more algae they would but for me they dont

also dont forget that a flyin fox and get to a good size so when he does start growing ill move him on and maybe get a few more small ones

just my 2cents

Sean

Hey Sean - Congrats on becoming moderator.

Any chance you can show me a pic of your flying fox, or give me a link to a google image. Ive found seriously conflicting info as to the ID of an actual flying fox. there seems to be a siamese flying fox as well as the siamese algae eater. There are some in my LFS but im pretty sure they are SAE, and not said flying fox / siamese flying fox

thanks mate

as for the flyin fox i have being doing s bit off readin up as i have always know them by 2 name as in a flyin fox/chinese algae eater aka CAE

www.aquariumdomain.com/forums/showthread...cheilos-aymonieri%29

that is the link to wat i am talkin about not many ppl like them/ keep them but i have to say they never stop wprkin around the tank

Sean

the flying fox is not the same as the chinese algae eater,it looks very much like the sae but noting like the chinese algae eater.I wouldnt have a chinese algae eater in with discus sean as they can suck the mucus off the discus.

I have 16 Ottos, amazing little Fish , Algae eating Robots of the planted Tank, constantly on the go but whenever they have a Time-out, they do it together in the same place, like a union meeting.... coolest algae eaters that won't disturb the most delicate of plants.

Kev.

@eire1978 when ever i see them in a few shops they are marked as flyin fox thats y i tot they where known as both flyin fox and CAE

i have heard that befor the about discus but also heard that they only do that when they are full size as in say when they are adult

thats y i said i would move him on and get another small one some worker i have to say and i know not many ppl like them but he seems ok for me

i have being watchin him with the discus and not once in the good few weeks the discus have being in has he gone near them

thanks mate

Sean

I have Ottos at the moment but had the foxes in the past. They are an extremely fast moving fish and are likely to spook the discus.

www.google.ie/search?q=siamese+flying+fo...sAQ&biw=1366&bih=643


Not sure this link is copied right but if you google siamese flying fox the first thing that comes up is images for them.
Hope it works

Otos are brilliant lttle fish and do a great job, however quality can be unreliable due to the way they are collected and shipped.

As for the flying fox, there are 3 different species that get confused. Flying fox, siamese algae eater and chinese algae eater. The true Siamese is the best for algae but is often confused/mislabelled as flying fox. The chinese is good whe young, but can get very beligerent as it gets older, so you need to be sure what you are getting and do lots of research

BlueRam wrote:

@eire1978 when ever i see them in a few shops they are marked as flyin fox thats y i tot they where known as both flyin fox and CAE

i have heard that befor the about discus but also heard that they only do that when they are full size as in say when they are adult

thats y i said i would move him on and get another small one some worker i have to say and i know not many ppl like them but he seems ok for me

i have being watchin him with the discus and not once in the good few weeks the discus have being in has he gone near them

thanks mate

Sean

Best of luck catching them Sean, they are the ICBM of the Aquatic World

Kev.

True Siamese Algae eaters are "Crossocheilus Siamensis" (Terrific algae eaters and very friendly)

Flying Foxes are "Epalzeorynchos Kalopterus" (Rubbish algae eaters and very territorial towards similar fish)

Chinese Algae eaters are "Gyrinocheilus Aymonieri" (Good algae eaters when young but when they get older watch out!!!! They suck the slime coat of other fish and are complete terrors to all other tank mates)

False Siamese Algea Eaters are "Garra Cambodgiensis" (Rubbish Algae Eater and very territorial towards similar fish)

It is actually said that "TRUE" Siamese Algae Eaters(Crossocheilus Siamensis) are actually hard to get and what is sold in shops is actually an extremely similar species called Crossocheilus Langei and passed off as Crossocheilus Siamensis....This said Crossocheilus Langei are equally as good at eating algae as Crossocheilus Siamensis and well worth buying for algae eating abilities

The thing to watch out for in True Crossocheilus Siamensis/Langei is the dark stripe down the middle of the body...It goes right through into the tail....In fake or similar species like the ones listed above the stripe stops where the tail begins......I must also mentione that True SAEs like the company of their own kind and its recommended to keep them in groups....For this reason i wouldnt recommend them for smaller tanks.....

As for Ottos! I love them....They work tirelessly to keep plants,glass and other surfaces clean...The downfall is transporting them...They are notriously weak from transportation and just seem to die for no reason even days after settling happily into a new home when all seemed fine......Try to buy specimens with fat bellies and that have been in the shop tanks for a few weeks.....That way the shop takes the hits on the weaker ones and the ones with the fat bellies you will know have been eating (Ottos commonly die from starvation during transportation and while in the shop tanks)

SAEs tough fish but grow big so tank size must be big to house a group!

Ottos notoriously weak but can be kept in small tanks!

Both are great algae eaters but honestly if algae is a real problem in your tank you need to look at your stocking levels,feeding regime and also at your water changing and gravel cleaning schedule...Overstocking,overfeeding and infrequent water changing routines are the real reasons for green tanks