Otos :)

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok thank you guys so much for all the help! I am just gunna get a few different foods and try them along with the algae wafers and try to get some of that gel stuff and hopefully they will have little round bellies

[brunettebaby4571]

Also one more thing...where can I get this gel food? Would I have to order it?

[Coursair]

Originally Posted by brunettebaby4571

Also one more thing...where can I get this gel food? Would I have to order it?

Yes. It's new. Someone on TPT is selling it. You can check the Rapashy web site for vendors or just use Romaine and Zucchini.

[brunettebaby4571]

Ok I am just gunna get a few different things and see how it goes if they eat the stuff or not. If they dont seem to be eating the stuff I will try other options Thank you guys again!!

[laoski]

i bought 10 otos to clean my tank. i have a brown algae bloom, hopefully they can control it or better - eat them all!

i was a actually a little suprised - they are so smaller than i think! lol im much more worried that the angel might gulp them all away rather than not surviving in a not-so-matured tank lol.

[JokerWx13]

10 otos is quite a lot o-o how many gallons is your tank? they're gonna starve after the brown runs out...and as soon as it runs out, they probably won't come back to an established tank again

[siva]

Originally Posted by brunettebaby4571

Ok so I have been wanting otos for over a year now but I kept telling myself to wait a little longer til I knew a lot about them and til the tank had been set up for a while. So I finally decided that I am going to get them within the next few days and I was just trying to find out some helpful hints to hopefully keeping them all alive. I have been purposely trying to grow some algae I have some in my tank on a few big rocks and on the driftwood and a wee little bit on some plants. I know I will probably have to get some algae wafers and/or some veggies. Does anyone have any advice before I get them? Thank you!

That's great you've been waiting. If you can get your hands on healthy specimens, they should do well for you because your tank has been established for this long. Make sure you stock no more than 1 per 5 gals. Most don't touch prepared foods, but I've had some luck with blanched zucchini and shelled peas. The easiest and cheapest way to supplement them with something they will surely eat, is to keep some stones in a bowl of tank water in a sunny place until they are covered with algae. Then add them to the tank.

[brunettebaby4571]

I have been trying and trying to grow algae!!! AH!! lol I still havent got the otos I am way to scared they wont have stuff to eat. I have had the rocks out in the sun for close to a week and stillll nothin...GR!!!! I even tried putting some flourish in it...Like I said I have a few different types of algae growing in the tank so I will probably give it another week or two and see if I get any algae growing in the cup! Any tips on that?

[brunettebaby4571]

And ya I dont want otos to treat any algae problems I just want them because I love them! Its been a very long year...Everytime I see them I just melt a little haha...I almost got some a week or so ago because they had had them at the pet store for over two weeks butttt my boyfriend wouldnt let me :/

[siva]

I just use a clear glass bowl on a window sill that catches a good amount of sun during the day. During the grayer seasons I've used a desk lamp with a CFL (highest watt it will take) right over like a half gallon bowl. Works pretty good.

Be prepared for deaths, even if you do everything right. I've been very lucky with oto's, but that is not the norm. I think most hobbyists lose a percentage of them prematurely. Some higher than others. If you can get them from a source that QT's their fish prior to sale, you'll probably have a better chance getting healthy specimens.