How to feed otocinclus fish !

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melissa1977

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
178
Location
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
How do you guys feed you otocinclus pellets ??

Do you put it directly on the gravel or do you try to put it close to where they usually hang out (on a bogwood, on plants) ??
 
sitck zucchini on the side of the tank overnight with a veggie clip and let them eat it. sticking pellets or sinking wafers in the tank usually just pollutes the water before the oto gets to it.

many otos will not actively take food in my experience.
 
I microwave a slice of cucumber in a little bit of water for about 30 seconds so it will sink and then place it in a terracotta saucer that I sink into the gravel. They just seem to know that it their 'feeding place' now. My otos won't eat the wafers, and like grimlock said they are very messy.
I haven't tried the veggie clip, but I think it would make it easier for my betta to get to it. And he is a big enough piggy....hehe :wink:
 
I feed algae wafers, in little pieces. I just throw them in and wherever they land, that's where they stay. Sometimes they eat them, sometimes not. I also feed zucchini, cucumber, or broccoli.
 
I've never had a problem with mine eating algae waffers. They love them and their tummies are nice and full. I use to try and stick the waffers where they hung out most, but I found just dropping them in randomly works just fine. I feed half a waffer to each oto approx. every 2 or 3 nights when I turn off the lights.
 
I put spiralina tablets , blanched spinach or raw patatoes in the tank when I turn the lights off . Just drop them in your tank & your ottos should find them sometime during the night . I do it at night so that the ottos don't have a lot of competition for the food .
 
I guess I am lucky! I have had my oto's in my tank for almost 4 months and have never actually attempted to feed them. I make sure not to clean the glass on certain areas of the tank and there is always algae growing on my decorations that they are munching on.

I am lucky because the oto's never get anything I put in there anyway. Drop an algae wafer (even in the middle of the night) and the yo-yo loaches are on top of it. Break it into 8 pieces and still my 3 yo-yos claim all 8! Every time I put a cucumber slice in, my pleco claims that. Poor oto's! That's why I make sure there is always a little algae and I don't clean it up! :)

Paul
 
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