ph for otocinclus

[kmlong]

Does anyone know the ideal ph level for otocinclus fish? I got three of them on sunday and couldn't believe the second i put them in my tank they were frantically looking for algae! And i had some for them too!! They have done an incredible job and it sure beats cleaning the plants off by hand. But monday night one was dead already! I didn't see any signs of struggle either. One hour they were fine, the next i found him dead. The other two oto's are fine so far. I lost a rasbora as well last week but his tail was completely missing which is obvious what killed him! Water is fine but ph is 7.6. I've been in the tank alot in the last 2-3 days making changes and running underwater tubing for my airstone which is undergravel now. I always rinse my hands and arms before going in but would that raise my ph and keep it up for a couple days? I'm due for a water change so i will test after that and see where my ph stands.

[mitche8359]

This topic has sure been popping up a lot lately. Otos are notorious for being fine one minute and dead the next. Otos are captured in the wild and shipped to your lfs. I say otos aren't a very hardy fish, but at least one other person disagrees. Tank Girl mentioned that the fish don't have a lot to eat during shipment and by the time they find a food source their system is out of whack and can't digest food. Sounds like a reasonable explanation as any.

I recently lost an oto after a week of normal behavior. I checked my params which were all fine. The last time I tried otos, I lost all four after a month. Makes me wonder if I have the right algae that the otos eat or if they cleaned it all out.

One idea that has been suggested is to buy the largest otos that the lfs figuring that the largest has the best chance to survive.

Here's a link to some info that includes PH
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/oto-affi.htm

[dud]

I also read that otocinclus show tolerance across a wide range of pH (5.5-8.0), so it's probably not the pH that killed your oto. As mitche suggested, it was one of those otos that were eradicated of their gut bacteria b/c of starvation or whatever stress they were under during shipment.

I enjoyed articles on otocinclus from skepticalaquarist (http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/doc...atfishes.shtml - search for 'otocinclus') and from wetwebmedia (http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/otocinclusart.htm).

And of course, oto's are so cool they have their own webpage! http://www.otocinclus.com

[mitche8359]

Good links. I'd found otocinclus.com a while ago. Waiting for the 'common species' page to be completed.

I figured out where one of the otos were hiding in my tank. The smallest guy blends in with the gravel and he's hard to see. The other remaining two are large enough that they stand out wherever they are.

[SwerveDriver]

My pH is about 7.5 and my two Otto's are doing fine. I had an established tank before I bought them so it helped to have plenty of algae for them to eat. Initially all they did was suck my tank walls but bow they have discovered other treats. Such as my driftwood and so far they are enjoying some blanched broccolli. So far it has been two weeks since I bought them.

They have a tendency to crap a lot it seems, so watch those water changes.