otto catfish

[corydoralover]

Im intersted in keeping those small algae eater like catfish but i dont know much about them. Any importants things i should know?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Otto's are great little algae eaters.
They need a mature, planted tank.
Groups of three or more.
At least a 10g tank
Clean water
That's about it

 

[corydoralover]

Ive heard they need diatoms to eat. How do i get diatoms growing?

 

[Scottyhorse]

They eat most algae's and biofilm on plants. As long as you have some algae and enough live plants in your tank, you should be OK.

 

[corydoralover]

Do they need zuchini or cucumber like plecos do?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Generally they don't eat any prepared foods. Mine have never eaten zuchini or cucumber, so I would say no.

 

[corydoralover]

Alright thanks

 

[Scottyhorse]

You're welcome

 

[GodFan]

IMO ottos need driftwood as well.

 

[Rivercats]

Oto's will often eat blanched zucchini or cucumber. It just depends on the individual. I got in a new group of oto's recently and they went for the blanched zucchini right away. I have other oto's that won't touch it. Same with algae wafers. Now in one tank the oto's go crazy over the Repashy superfoods, the two algae ones. Their main staple in a tank is bio-film but also will eat diatoms and green dust algae. Other algaes like hair, thread, black beard, and other algae they won't eat.

 

[Darkseid76]

I've had nothing but bad luck with these guys. My last batch I got at PetSmart. They were on sale for a $1 a piece.

I got there in time to get the last 4. They seemed to do well for the first 2-3 weeks and then one by one they just up and died. No apparent causes.

So I only have one left and he seems to be doing great. I know he's eating well because he has a nice rounded belly. Hate for him to be alone but ottos can be hard to find at a decent price.

Just be prepared to lose some OP because IME they've been very fragile.

 

[Samzter]

Once they've settled, I haven't had any problems. My tank is right next to a window, so they got a lot of algae. My BNPs just eat algae. I don't feed anything additional for them. But, my experience may differ from everyone else's

 

[sheilak]

ottos

there is a site called planet catfish there is a lot of info on them if you want too look

 

[corydoralover]

I will. Thanks

 

[Rivercats]

I've had nothing but bad luck with these guys. My last batch I got at PetSmart. They were on sale for a $1 a piece.

I got there in time to get the last 4. They seemed to do well for the first 2-3 weeks and then one by one they just up and died. No apparent causes.

So I only have one left and he seems to be doing great. I know he's eating well because he has a nice rounded belly. Hate for him to be alone but ottos can be hard to find at a decent price.

Just be prepared to lose some OP because IME they've been very fragile.

What few people know is a lot of the wild caught oto's are caught by using cyanide in the water to stun them which makes easy to collect. It doesn't kill most of them right away but the effects take their toll over time. Then all the various places and handling they go though before getting to someones tank is just too much for many of them.

 

[Rebel1970]

My oto's ate zucchini like it was going out of style. It took them a couple of days to realize that it was food, but after that they were hooked. I would blanch it then freeze it, and give it to them frozen with a weight attached to it. What they didn't eat the snails cleaned up for me.

 

[brunettebaby4571]

I also agree to feed zucchini and cucumber occasionally. But be patient if they don't eat it right away. Mine took a long time before they would even look at it but once they did try it they loved it. So just be patient and try it a few times if you decide to feed it to them. Mine also like omega one algae wafers as well (it also took them a while before they would try those as well) Another thing I do to try and make sure they always have food available is I don't scrape/clean the algae off the back wall and one of the sides of the tank to let the algae grow so they can eat that also. I absolutely love my otos. I was very nervous about getting them because lots of people and websites said they are fragile because of how they are caught and shipped and often are starved but once I got them and they got settled in my tank and ate they did great and are wonderful little guys so don't get discouraged. Best of luck!!