Diatoms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tasha said:
right, thanks, maybe there so tiny they wont be seen by your hungry fishies, LOL, Was it mr limpet that said his were eating the diatoms like crazy?? hopefully they'll do their job...
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I know the Amano shrimp are the best algae eaters...but honestly I don't really care for them. Hopefully some of these Otos survive and can put a dent in it. I can't believe what a high die off rate they have. I acclimated them forever, and they've obviously got plenty of food...so hopefully they'll do good.
 
I can't even tell the shrimp are in there. I can't spot them. I think I just wasted $20, lol. The Otos seem happy and are eating away though.
 
They sound like they are juvies. They will color up and get much larger. Patience ;)
 
eco23 said:
Red cherry shrimp. They are freaking tiny. I actually think neon tetras could swallow one. I got 20, so hopefully they'll be a few survivors. They're still in the bag, but I'm afraid they're about to become food.
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20? Yowza, that's an expensive meal if they get eatin lol. I paid 2.99 each for mine and I read where some go for 4.99 each.
 
Just a recommendation for the future: For shrimp and plants, always post a WTB in the classifieds section here. If someone has them available, they will usually let them go for next to nothing. When I have RCS or plants to get rid of, I pretty much give them away for the cost of shipping... as do many members. Sometimes no one has any, but some times you luck out!
 
The guy hooked me up and gave me around 20 for $20. He also threw in a bunch of java moss(?) for them to hide in.
 
Yeah, the guy works there but breeds them at home. Those Otos are awesome! They're tearing through the diatoms on the glass...and it hasn't even been an hour!
 
Sweet. I just watched a shrimp turn an entire piece of brown gravel back to white. Between these two... looks like they'll help keep the place clean. I was gonna pick up some Panda Corys while I was there, but they didn't look very active so I passed.
 
eco23 said:
I can't believe what a high die off rate they have. I acclimated them forever, and they've obviously got plenty of food...so hopefully they'll do good.
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why is that do you know? We had our first oto like 1 day, the next we did drip aclimation extra carefull, 48 hrs later dead as well. Like I said the corydoras are doing wonderfull and have been for a few weeks.
 
Tasha said:
why is that do you know? We had our first oto like 1 day, the next we did drip aclimation extra carefull, 48 hrs later dead as well. Like I said the corydoras are doing wonderfull and have been for a few weeks.
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Supposedly 99% of them are wild caught and are stunned with cyanide to catch them. Then they starve during shipping and are really sensitive to changing parameters. At least that's what I've read.
 
eco23 said:
Supposedly 99% of them are wild caught and are stunned with cyanide to catch them. Then they starve during shipping and are really sensitive to changing parameters. At least that's what I've read.
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Actually otos aren't caught using cyanide. The travel around in shallow streams in feeding balls of thousands of fish near the surface. Fish catchers just use a hand net and bag them all up for sale.

YouTube - Collecting Otocinclus affinis in their natural habitat
 
Crepe said:
Actually otos aren't caught using cyanide. The travel around in shallow streams in feeding balls of thousands of fish near the surface. Fish catchers just use a hand net and bag them all up for sale.

YouTube - Collecting Otocinclus affinis in their natural habitat
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I figured the cyanide thing sounded a little harsh. Do you know why they have such a large die off %? So far, all 7 are still eating away...hopefully they keep doing it.
 
They're tiny fish that have to travel around hundreds of miles in bags and come from acidic waters rich in food. It's a wonder how we can provide for them in the unnatural settings in an aquarium. Some fish were better made for aquaria than others.
 
eco23 said:
I figured the cyanide thing sounded a little harsh. Do you know why they have such a large die off %? So far, all 7 are still eating away...hopefully they keep doing it.
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Wild caught are hard to acclimate to tanks is what I was told. I have Cardinal Tetras from 2 LFS. The wild caught died off (2 of 7 left), were as the 3 farm raised are doing really good.
 
Crepe said:
They're tiny fish that have to travel around hundreds of miles in bags and come from acidic waters rich in food. It's a wonder how we can provide for them in the unnatural settings in an aquarium. Some fish were better made for aquaria than others.
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Im not providing the acidic waters...but it's definitely a food rich environment, lol. The shrimp, however, are yet to be seen today. Hopefully they didn't all become midnight snacks. My leopard danio and a red eye both took a nip at one yesterday. I think the shrimp are the fastest thing in the tank. I'm surprised there wasn't a tiny sonic boom when that thing went flying back to the java moss.
 
Good one! Let us know if they are present or accounted for....
 
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