Eating or just sucking on stuff?

[PlatyLady]

How do I know if my otos are eating? I've had 3 of them for just over a week now. It turns out that the brownish algae I have isn't terribly exciting for them, and they are sure taking their time with it.

They seem to be busy making their way nibbling on everything, and I've dropped in some algae wafers too. Problem is, I've only ever seen my other fish eating the algae wafers - I've never seen any otos find them.

I obviously don't want to starve them, but I've seen them poop, so they must be eating right? Any helpful hints from oto owners out there? Thanks!

 

[grimlock3000]

If they keep pooping, they are eating. Try looking around in the tank at night with a dimmed flashlight to see what they are doing when the lights are off. If you want to feed them, drop in half a wafer during the night so the other fish will not pay attention to it.

 

[myriam]

Totally agree with grimlock.

My otos don't seem to eat much when the lights are out. I feed the other fish their food when it's my dinner time. Before I go to bed, I'll drop a broken-up algae wafer into the corner where they hang out by the driftwood. The lights are off by then and the otos and the cories both go for the wafer pieces. I'll also drop a broken piece on the opposite side of the tank, to distract the livebearers who also like the wafers.

 

[TankGirl]

Good advice. When they are on the glass and you can get a good look, if they have nice round "puppy bellies" they are eating. Feed 'em after lights out.

 

[PlatyLady]

Okay, I'll give it a try again. The other night, I dropped in a wafer after lights-out. In the morning, it was still pretty much where I left it, but with my rosy barb picking at it. I'll try breaking it into a couple of pieces - that might increase the chances of the little otos finding it.

 

[malkore]

If your ottos appear to have a full tummy, they are definitely getting plenty to eat. A full tummy and a bloated tummy are pretty easy to tell apart.