Upsidedown Otto...

[crickit99]

As I was feeding my fish earlier, I thought I had a dead Otto. It was just floating on the top of the water. So I went to get a net....then realized it was just hanging out upside down, apparently eating something off the top of the water.

Any one else seen this behavior? I now recall I have seen it once before by another Otto in another tank. They are strange fish, LoL.

Christina

 

[lmw80]

I have never had any personal experiences with this, but yes, I have heard many times of ottos "playing dead".

Are you supplimenting the ottos diet with veggies?

 

[crickit99]

Lori,
I haven't been yet. The 55 gallon has a lot of algae, so I didn't think I should yet.
My 20 gallon is looking clean, so I am about to start doing that. I will probably see what happens in the 55 as well.

I have tossed algae tabs in both tanks, but none of the fish seemed interested.

I am paranoid about leaving food in a tank, but what is a good way to make sure the Ottos see the food?

Christina

 

[lmw80]

well, if they are getting enough food out of the algae, they probably won't be interested in the disks...but you may want to try putting them in at night, after the lights have been out for a bit.

 

[grimlock3000]

Otos are lazy like that If you have any algae in the tank, supplement it with real veggies (zuchinni works good) and do not worry about it. The Oto will eat when it wants too. All algae wafers are going to do is cloud up your water if the Oto does not eat it quickly. Zuchinni does not break down fast at all so you can leave it in for 12 hours without fouling the water. You can put in a piece during the night, and take it out the next morning without a problem after the Oto nibbles on it overnight. Do this a couple times a week, and you will have a healthy Oto.

 

[crickit99]

Should I blanch the veggie first? I know I have read to do so, since it will help soften them up.

 

[grimlock3000]

I toss my Zuc slices in the freezer and freeze them solid. Apparently, this causes the cell structure to break down a bit and be more digestible. Then put them in the tank (still frozen). I have had better luck with this than blanching. Either way should be fine though.

 

[Meredith]

what I do is blanch any fresh and thaw any frozen food. I would not put any frozen food directly into the tank. If they were to try and eat it while it was still frozen, think of how shocked they would be! After all, I doubt they would come across any frozen food in their natural habitat. zuchinni, spinach, peas (de-skinned) I even put in a brussel sprout. So long as their bellies are nice and round, and they are making waste, I would not worry about them.

 

[Mofo2713]

As I was feeding my fish earlier, I thought I had a dead Otto. It was just floating on the top of the water. So I went to get a net....then realized it was just hanging out upside down, apparently eating something off the top of the water.

Any one else seen this behavior? I now recall I have seen it once before by another Otto in another tank. They are strange fish, LoL.

Christina

My otos hang upside down all the time on the underside of my plants. It looks like they are hanging on to thin air. It looks pretty cool. I put my food in right before lights out. That way they see the food and once the lights go out, they attack it like crazy.