Otos for my algae?

Question
Hi, I have a 37 gallon tank that has been set up about a year now. It contains:
2 Angels
2 Gouramis
2 Bristlenose plecos

I siphon my tank every other week and the water parameters have been constant for a while now, but there is a small amount of brown algae growing in the corners, and cracks of the plastic plants. The BN plecos do a great job of keeping everything else clean, besides these hard to reach places.
I read about otoclinus catfish and thought they might be suitable for this problem, but I also read that they can be very sensitive and starve soon after introducing them to a new tank. So my questions are: 1)Do you think the chances of them dying outweigh the benefits that they would serve in my aquarium?
2)Would the small amount of algae growing in corners and cracks be enough for them to eat?
3)And would there be any problem with competition for food with the BN plecos? (or the angels bothering/eating them? They are fine with my BN plecos, but the otos are alot smaller)
Thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated.

Answer
Hi Beth,
One key point to remember here, is Otos may or may not eat the brown algae. Some fish simply don't like it and prefer to graze for the green or simply wait for the owner to put tastier fish food into the tank.

They are very sensitive when added to a new environment. The two important things to remember are -

* Make sure the tank is established (your tank has been setup for a year so no concerns there)
* Make sure to acclimate the otos slowly.
Setup a little drip system so they are acclimated to your tank for at least an hour. Create a siphon via some airline tubing and tie a knot in it so the flow is reduced to a drip per second or so. And allow it to drip into their transportation bag. This is much gentler on the fish versus just floating the bag in the water for 15 minutes. The drip method helps acclimate them to the water temp and the water's chemistry.

After about 45 minutes to an hour, gently net them out into the new tank. Some otos come into petstores quite weak and you may still lose some. So you might want to buy slightly more than what you planned for.

There may be some competition for food. But the main consideration is that all your algae eaters get enough to eat. Even though there may be enough algae to be grazed on. I would recommend supplementing every other night with a slice of zuchinni weighted down. Or some algae wafers.

Brown algae can be a difficult thing to get rid of. And you may have to resort to using a algae scrubber sponge to get into the corners and cracks of the aquarium.

Otos are a fun and very cute little species to keep in your aquarium. Make sure they are acclimated slowly, have clean water and plenty of food and they should thrive.

I hope this helps and best of luck!
Susan~