Otos :)

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brunettebaby4571

brunettebaby4571

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Messages
596
Location
WV
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!
 
Clean water....sounds corny but that is the best. A tank that is cycled and can handle the extra addition of the oto's. Test your water a lot slight changes in Ph, ammonia or Nitrites can harm them. like you said, you can always supplement algae with algae wafer and veggies if need be.
 
if your tank is big enough, i'd suggest at least 3 otos and you would have to feed them boiled zucchini since algae wafers have some meaty content in it. in your fish store always ask them how long they've had there otos and what they've been feeding them. if they say flakes or anything other than actual veggies, go elsewhere. you should always buy them a few weeks after they come in so the strong ones survive, they're very weak in the early weeks because of the stress of capturing them in the wild.
 
Thank you guys! I have a 40 gallon and I usually do 2-3 water changes a week (I'm a bit OCD lol) and I was told to get either 6 or 8 otos. I only have a petco around me sadly. But the one guy that works there is really great and really helpful and when I was just starting out and had no clue about cycling or anything other than how pretty the fish were lol and he was very helpful with everything from the very beginning. What kind of algae will they eat? I have some hairy looking algae and some dark colored algae on stuff and on the sides of the tank glass. Will they eat this? Also what other kinds of veggies will they eat? I was reading about cucumbers and spinach also. Most people say it really jsut depends on different otos taste and all that.
 
im pretty sure they eat only brown algae and yes, some otos may like different veggies, so you'll have to experiment. its just that most oto owners talk about how much they love zucchini lol. if they don't eat it, you could just eat the rest and get a different veggie xD
 
Ok thank you guys. I put a cup outside with some rocks and some flourish like a lot of people had said to grow some algae but I haven't gotten any yet. I have even been leaving the lights on a little longer in my tank in hopes of getting some algae haha crazy I know most people want to get rid of it and here I am trying to grow it lol :) but it seems all that wants to really grow is the hair algae and some other algae on my glass (not sure if they will eat that or not) But I am going to try and get some diff. veggies to try when I get them. So now what about the algae wafers? Everyone said to feed them...Should I not? Or only sparingly?
 
i wouldn't get algae wafers, if you look at the ingrediants, you'll notice some meaty contents that otos will never touch, like shrimp meal and the brown algae you are looking for probably won't grow in a tank that has already had them, leaving your lights on will only make other unwanted algae grow so there's no need to turn your lights on, to supply the brown algae, leaving it out in a clear container with rocks and water is a good way of doing it
 
JokerWx13 said:
i wouldn't get algae wafers, if you look at the ingrediants, you'll notice some meaty contents that otos will never touch, like shrimp meal and the brown algae you are looking for probably won't grow in a tank that has already had them, leaving your lights on will only make other unwanted algae grow so there's no need to turn your lights on, to supply the brown algae, leaving it out in a clear container with rocks and water is a good way of doing it
Click to expand...

Quality Algae Wafers like Omega One have Spirulina as the first ingredient. A little meat WON'T hurt them. Rapashy makes a new gel food that Otos LOVE. Soilent Green or Vegan Green are both good.
 
How long are your light on for? Put it for 12 hours and you will have some algae. Also I dint think ottos eat hair algae. It would be best to just remove it if you don like it. Also the algae wafers are fine I have three different types made by one company, all with different ingredients.
 
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 :)
 
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!!
 
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.
 
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
 
brunettebaby4571 said:
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!
Click to expand...
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.
 
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?
 
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 :/
 
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.
 
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