Fish eating algea wafers.

[Jweickum]

Hey so I have a small 10g tank and I have have some tetras and I also have a Otto catfish. When I drop a wafer for him, my other fish storm the wafer and they scare the Otto away fom eating it. Any ideas? I tried an isolation tank but my Otto gets so skittish he will turn white and frantically try and jump out of my iso tank.

Also I'm new to the aquarium community. So what's up?

 

[armymp327]

ottos do not generally eat algae wafers, they are more interested in the bio-film that grows in tank

hence why most people suggest putting ottos in mature tanks only say they have plenty of bio-film to munch on

 

[Zimmanski]

ottos do not generally eat algae wafers, they are more interested in the bio-film that grows in tank

hence why most people suggest putting ottos in mature tanks only say they have plenty of bio-film to munch on

+1. I've never once seen my oto actually eat, just sucking on plants, driftwood and tank glass. He's fat as can be too. Otos are one of very few fish that you never have to feed if you give them the right environment, at least in my experience.

Edit: and welcome to AA!

 

[Jweickum]

Ok that's good to know then. I wish petco would have told me I needed an established tank before selling me one. So far almost all their advice has been wrong. Thanks guys!

 

[Zimmanski]

Ok that's good to know then. I wish petco would have told me I needed an established tank before selling me one. So far almost all their advice has been wrong. Thanks guys!

Yep, that's usually how it goes. There are some people out there that know what they're talking about but the vast majority don't, that's why you should always do your own research before you make a purchase, but you already know that.

 

[Jweickum]

My tank is about seven to eight weeks old. Would that be long enough for algea to form and give him something to eat?

 

[Zimmanski]

My tank is about seven to eight weeks old. Would that be long enough for algea to form and give him something to eat?

Is that 8 weeks since you bought the tank or 8 weeks since your cycle completed? My thought would be to put at least one live plant in, it can be an easy one like java fern, and I'd half way grind some flakes in my fingers and put that in the tank, you still wouldn't see them eat but they might find it as it settles. There's an easy way to tell if you have some biofilm on your glass, you just rub your finger on it but I don't remember if its supposed to squeak or if its not supposed to squeak haha sorry

 

[kdklovesfish]

Is that 8 weeks since you bought the tank or 8 weeks since your cycle completed? My thought would be to put at least one live plant in, it can be an easy one like java fern, and I'd half way grind some flakes in my fingers and put that in the tank, you still wouldn't see them eat but they might find it as it settles.

+1 another thing you can do to increase how much algae you grow is leave your tank lights on longer. More light equals more algae... I learned that the hard way. Another thing I would do is add a few more of the otos. I know, weird advice since your tank isn't really "established" but I had a tank with just one oto before (didn't do research upfront...) and the poor thing was scared out of it's mind. I did some research, asked here and found out that they are one of those fish that do better with buddies. So I would add probably two more otos, and a plant for them to eat on. I kill anything green and growing (except algae, grr), so I tried one of those moss balls, and who would have guessed it... I haven't killed it! Plus I actually see my otos on the ball so I know they will eat that.

 

[Jweickum]

It's been about eight weeks since I bought the tank. The cycle hasn't even been completed yet. I had two ottos but one died so I was going to wait till my tank cycled before getting another.

 

[Zimmanski]

It's been about eight weeks since I bought the tank. The cycle hasn't even been completed yet. I had two ottos but one died so I was going to wait till my tank cycled before getting another.

Good idea, they do like friends but wait until about 2 months after your cycled like you said. Otos can be tough anyway because they're wild caught so just be really on top of your water changes and don't let your ammonia or nitrite get above .25ppm

 

[armymp327]

It's been about eight weeks since I bought the tank. The cycle hasn't even been completed yet. I had two ottos but one died so I was going to wait till my tank cycled before getting another.

adding to what zimmanski said, ottos are kind of hit or miss because during travel from were they are caught, to the store, and then to your tank they loose alot of "stomach flora" i think it is and are unable to digest any food. This is the reason why so many people lose ottos randomly and without cause.

so when picking ottos try to get the fattest looking ones since that is a sign they are digesting their food correctly

 

[Zimmanski]

adding to what zimmanski said, ottos are kind of hit or miss because during travel from were they are caught, to the store, and then to your tank they loose alot of "stomach flora" i think it is and are unable to digest any food. This is the reason why so many people lose ottos randomly and without cause.

so when picking ottos try to get the fattest looking ones since that is a sign they are digesting their food correctly

I think I read somewhere during my research of them that a type of diluted cyanide is used when catching them and that's why there's such high numbers of them dropping for no reason in our tanks, but I didn't research that further. I just know that the first time I put otos in they all died but one, now that my tank is well established and well planted I haven't lost a single one