Otocinclus fish not eating?

[FoxRaid]

This is my first time having these little guys. I have three in counting and they appear to be happy but they arent eating. I do not have any live plants in my tank just decor because i do not like the mess. I feed them algae wafers and they never seem to notice or bother to go get it. They just suck around the whole tank not bothering to go get food. The rest of my algae eaters go for the wafers but they wont. Should I try boiling some zucchini and cutting a slice into the tank? They dont look sick but i dont want them to starve either.

 

[Phranque]

How long has your tank been set up? Not only do these guys require an established system with some algae growth, they unfortunatly also have a rather high mortality rate as they are very sensitive to changes, especially moving from system to system. They are also pretty sensitive to water quality, and don't do very well in higher nitrate environments. You can try some blanched zucchini, as some have reported luck with this.

I bought 4 for my system last year... did a couple large pwc's before picking them up (got my nitrates less than 5), and drip acclimated them for about an hour and a half. I lost the first one within a week, and then a second one a week later.... tried the zucchini, but they wouldn't go near it. The other two have been fat & happy ever since.....

Typically, if they make it in your system for a month, then they're going to do OK as long as you keep up on your pwc's.

 

[Zimmanski]

How long have you had them? I've never seen mine actually eat, just suck around the tank. But I have live plants so that may be the difference between our tanks. It is true that they are more sensitive than some, probably because they're all wild caught and I heard once they use a kind of cyanide to catch them but I don't know if that's true or not. If its only been a couple days then I would give it some time, if its been a while already and they seem to be thinning out then I would try every boil able veggie you can. Here's my biggest Otto that I've never actually "fed", pretty sure his stomach now keeps him from having his tail and face on something at the same time

 

[Phranque]

That's what mine look like..... if they're eating well, they will almost look bloated.

 

[reefdiver]

Try zucchinni

 

[Rivercats]

Oto's eat alot of bio-film and tanks are filled with bio-film so they usually have enough food. I have rarely ever seen an Oto eat any type of food that is put into a tank.

 

[GodFan]

I recommend driftwood. I have not ever lost one with driftwood in the tank that I can recall.