Otocinclus Catfish - Otocinclus
Otocinclus Catfish (Otocinclus spp.)
The Gentle Algae-Eating Specialist
Looking for a peaceful and hardworking addition to your freshwater tank? The Otocinclus Catfish, affectionately known as the “Oto,” is a small, social algae eater that plays an essential role in keeping your aquarium clean and thriving.
Native to the streams and rivers of South America, Otocinclus are known for their gentle nature, tight schooling behavior, and tireless grazing on soft algae. They are an ideal choice for community tanks, especially in planted aquariums where their small size and non-destructive habits are a perfect match.
Key Features:
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Excellent algae cleaner—especially fond of soft green algae
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Peaceful and social—best kept in groups
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Perfect for nano and planted tanks
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Safe with shrimp and other peaceful tankmates
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Active and entertaining to watch
Care Notes:
Otocinclus thrive in well-maintained aquariums with stable water parameters and plenty of natural surfaces to graze on. Supplement their diet with algae wafers, blanched veggies, and fresh greens if natural algae levels are low. Ensure good oxygenation and gentle flow, and always acclimate them carefully, as they are sensitive to rapid changes in water quality.
Bring balance to your aquascape with the charming and diligent Otocinclus Catfish—a must-have for any freshwater cleanup crew!
The Otocinclus Catfish, commonly known as Otos or Oto Cat. These little Loricariidae cats are one of the smallest you can find in the hobby and does a fantastic job cleaning algae in an aquarium. Even aquascaping experts love the cleaning ability of the Oto as they are safe for planted aquariums.
Size is about 3/4" to 1".
Max size: 2"
Minimum tank: 10gal
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Quick delivery, 1 fish was dead
1 of the 6 fish was dead and partially eaten by the time they arrived. Otherwise, quick shipping and delivery. The other 5 are healthy and active.
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Oto Cats Attack!
The algae in my tank doesn't stand a chance thanks to these guys. The arrived fast and got right to work cleaning his. Thanks so much PetZone!
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live fish order: otocinclus catfish
always been hesitant to order life fish on internet. so glad i did- Pet Zone delivered. quick turn around, arrived healthy, doing well in my tank. will definitely use them again.
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Otocat
So far, so good! Arriving in a warm box and looking very healthy, our three little algal eaters are thriving and eating up the overabundance of algae accumulated in our tank. They only arrived two days ago, so hopefully this positive trend will continue!
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Otocinclus Catfish
A notoriously difficult fish to ship and care for. All 9 of my fish arrived fat and healthy! All have survived. I am very impressed with the care they were given before they were sold and shipped to me. I believe that made all the difference. WELL DONE!
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Otocinclus catfish
Ordered 3 got 4. One was sick. So ended up with 3 anyway. Arrived fast and packed well. Would order again.
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Second Order was Terrible
My first order experience was great, it shipped 3 days after I placed my order, the box clearly stated LIVE FISH. All the 3 arrived live and are still thriving months later.
However, my second order NOT GREAT. While it did arrive even faster (the day after I placed the order), Nowhere on the packaging did it say LIVE FISH it only said Perishable which made my front desk put it in in the fridge thankfully I picked it up the moment I got the notification so they weren't in there long. When I opened the box 1 was dead, the other 2 where alive but they had this red blotchiness on their underbellies my other Oto's did not have. I put them in a quarantine tank and treated them with a little Primafix thinking it may be a fungal infection but another one took a turn for the worst shortly after and the I'm not hopeful for the last one.
Overall this is a real hit or miss it seems. -
Otocinclus Catfish
Ordered the 3 pack and received them the next day. They are the cutest little things! We offered them blanched cucumber and were happy to see that they began eating right away. We had read that it is very important to get them eating as soon as possible. They are doing great so far! Will be ordering more for our other tanks.
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Oto cats
My fish came very well packaged and all alive and healthy looking. I will buy from here again. Very happy!
