Tiger barbs and Otocinclus
I just brought home 3 Otocinclus and 1 twig catfish for my 29 gallon tank containing 4 tiger barbs.  The tigers are ganging up on the Otos and chasing them all over the tank.  I am worried that the stress will kill them!  They have not spotted the twig cat yet but I have just read that the twig cat is easily harassed.  These are the fish that were recommended by the aquarium store (Old Orchard Aquarium in Skokie, Illinois) knowing that I have the
barbs.  I was going to buy a clown Pleco having read up on them.  The guy in the store said they were not good algae eaters and to get the twig cat instead.  I am ticked!  I don't want these fish to suffer but what if the store won't take them back tomorrow?
<Hello, Tiger Barbs sure can be terrors.  If you provide plenty of cover and dark hiding places they should be ok.  Live plants are great.  If the tiger barbs do not ease up on them after a while you may want to consider removing the Otocinclus.  Please be sure that there is enough food to go around for the Otos and the twig catfish.  Have you checked out the article below, good stuff.  Best Regards,  Gage
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/otocinclusart.htm>Otocinclus
I just got a little Otocinclus which I planned to put in my 25 gallon aquarium. The aquarium has 2 goldfish, one a solid 5 inches long and the other smaller, maybe 4 inches long but most of which is a fan tail. I put the little Oto in, and got quite worried that they might eat him. This morning I found him in an impossibly small corner, just barely under water, where they could not get him.  My question is, should I take him out and keep him elsewhere until he is larger or will this always be an issue. Alternatively, will he be a good hider and I will be able to stop worrying.
<The Oto really isn’t a good fish to go in with Goldfish. The goldfish like cooler temps than the Oto and the Oto stays small enough that him getting eaten is always going to be a concern. Your best bet is going to be to put the Oto in a separate tank or return him to the store.>
Also, the pet store said that one Oto would be fine, but I read this morning that they should be kept in groups. What is your advice? Thanks! Carol
<They are much happier if kept in groups. Ronni>

Firemouth Bit Off More Than He Could Chew
I tried throwing some Oto's to clean up in my cichlid tank. A few days, all was well, but yesterday morning I see a tail sticking out of my Firemouth's mouth. Nothing I hadn't seen before, except that the tail end was still sticking out last night, and this morning as well. I just got home from work and he still hasn't been able to swallow it down. I thought of netting the Firemouth and trying to pull it out, but I figure that I can end up tearing up his throat. He doesn't seem overly stressed about it, and has even kept up his harassment of a larger jack Dempsey in the tank. I believe he was even eating some of the flakes I threw in earlier.
Having been at least 36 hours, what should I do? Keep waiting and hope he eventually gets it down, or try and pull it out even though I may do a lot of damage?
Anyone else have this kind of problem before?
< Unfortunately, Oto's like most catfish have stiff spines that they use for protection from predators. I would take him out and get a good look at the mouth. I would be tempted to take a pair of small scissors and cut the spines on the Oto and extract the body. Then use tweezers to extract the spines. If you can't pull them out then I would push them through and pull them out from the other side. Not often but it happens.-Chuck> 

Otocinclus question ... plants/comp.    3/18/06
I have several Otocinclus catfishes in a 46 gallon freshwater tank with 2 Gouramis, a couple of tiger barbs and 2 clown loaches.  Just last
weekend I purchased several nice Amazon plants and to my dismay they seem to be getting little holes in the leaves, about the size of the
Otocinclus' mouths!
<Ah, yes>
  Could they be the culprits, I haven't seen any other of the fish hanging around the plants?
<Could be... but also the barbs, loaches... however the Otos are most likely at play here>
I found reference to them needing plants around but I wasn't sure if that was for hiding places or to eat.
<Mmm, both and more. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Olivia

Otocinclus and Comet DON'T MIX! EMERGENCY  07/21/06
Hi, love your website, thanks for it, but I have a huge  problem!!
<<Hi, back. You're welcome. Let's see what we can do. (Tom here, by the way.)>>
I woke up today to find my Comet munching on my Otocinclus! Actually, what I mean by that is that the Oto was lodged in his mouth with about 25% of it sticking out. He doesn't appear to be choking because he is still breathing.
<<I assume you're referring to the Comet because the Oto doesn't sound to be in good shape.>>
I got two new Oto's a couple days ago and since then they've both been lethargic with clamped fins, each was tiny, 1 inched guys and my Comet (Harry, don't ask) is about 4 inches long excluding his tail. He's always been greedy and  
I think what happened is the Oto died and the Comet finally could catch him and did.
<<Not unusual for Goldfish to do this. They tend to be "opportunistic" feeders and your Oto gave Harry the chance he was waiting for...unfortunately.>>
No search engines helped me at all!
<<In fairness, it's not the typical inquiry.>>
At this point, Harry is moving slowly and keeps sucking or blowing his mouth, I can't tell which. This is a major problem and one way or another might solve itself before you answer back, but right now my main concern is lack of ability to eat or transfer air in the swim bladder, and of course lodging it in more and choking!
<<As long as he's moving water over his gills, he's not "choking". He may not be very comfortable but he won't suffocate.>>
Just in case he lives and for future references please help! I tried using metal tongs and I grabbed the protruding tail but I couldn't get it out, I'm sort of nervous of pulling too hard. How do I dislodge it, or can he digest the head soon enough and eventually pass it through?? (I seriously doubt it though.)
<<I seriously doubt it, too. Goldfish are primarily "vegetarians". Their systems aren't developed for dining on other fish. Likely the dorsal rays are getting caught in Harry's mouth as you try to pull the demised Oto out. You might try twisting the Oto one way, or another, to get the rays to "release".>>
And should I remove my other Otocinclus and my (very lively and quick) Algae eater?
<<First, if by "Algae Eater", you're referring to a common Plecostomus, I wouldn't worry about this. Harry isn't likely to be interested in a "lively and quick" tankmate. My concern here, without getting on a soapbox, is that many Otos are "captured" in the wild by the use of cyanide. I have no direct knowledge of these fish being bred in farms, though it's entirely possible that they are. In any event, the fact that both of yours showed signs of lethargy and clamped fins indicates, to me, that it's possible that they were taken with cyanide, a chemical that will, unfortunately, stay in their systems. Otos, regretfully, show an inordinate amount of "infant mortality", meaning that they often die within hours, or days, of being introduced into the tank. Fish that feed on the dead fish are going to be ingesting cyanide if the deceased fish contain this in their bodies. My recommendation is to get the Oto out of Harry's mouth regardless of what it takes and remove the other Oto from the tank. Easier said than done, I know, but you must do this.>>
Thank you for your time, and sorry my email is so long. This is my first major goldfish problem and I'm very anxious.
<<Not to worry. You're more than welcome and I completely understand. Tom>>