The Accidental Oto Keeper

[Chris]

Between your betta thread and this one, I'm really having a hard time waiting to keep expanding my fishroom! I'm trying to give my wallet (and my back!) a break, SHEESH! 😂

It seems I may be setting up an Otto-only tank in the near future... thanks a lot, @xXInkedPhoenixX! I need another tank like I need a hole in the head 🙄

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/21/2022 at 6:53 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Accidental Oto Tank

So this morning everyone is doing well. One little ones found the bowl (at least that I witnessed).

The spot where the suction cup was holding the coconut hut on the wall is now scraped clean by the baby Otos. Generally everyone has been very active since being put in the Accidental tank- this is good to see. 

I made an error in my count. This is how hard it is to keep track of these little buggers- especially since my phone died along with the app I used to use to keep track of my tanks/stock. THERE ARE SIX, not five as originally reported- and I remember it was because one had to be separated for a while since they were much smaller and they got big enough I moved them over to add new Otos. 

Speaking of new Otos....

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank:

So yesterday while switching over the 6 I removed the Large ACO Sponge Filter from the Accidental tank (I put it there because as you might remember I had 60 or so Otos in a 10 gallon, now it was just overkill) to the Parent tank and did a bunch of cleaning. Part of that was moving the now smaller/newer batch of babies over to the bigger floating breeder box. Most of these now were caught in the last week or so- but there are a couple that have at least a few week start on them. This is why putting them in the larger box was a neccessary move- the bigger ones tend to (accidentally) smack into the very little ones and cause death. So far, since the move- no deaths. I've counted 11 total (again these buggers are hard to count they move often and quickly). I tend to try and count them every day because at this stage it's not unusual to lose some. So in cleaning up the food every morning is when I discover them (I'm about to clean it after I finish this entry). Anyhow, no deaths today, no way you can see them all, some are very,, very small: 

I did an inspection of the tank walls for more newbies. I have at least 1 other. They are in an unreachable spot for now, and rather transluscent- so I'm ok if they stay in the tank another few days as they are harder to catch this small and rather delicate. Though if they give me the opportunity I will still try: 

Of course that's just one, you also see the reflection. Anyway. Here we go to clean!

Out of interest, why do you remove the babies? Is it because of tank-mates?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Chris, hahaha, whoops sorry buddy. I honestly never expected I'd have an Oto only tank. I also never expected my Otos to spawn- in fact as stated really early in this journal, picked them (and the Rasboras, even the Nerites and Mystery snails that I had in the beginning) just BECAUSE they wouldn't. The fish had other plans. 

@TheSwissAquarist- They are safe in the Parent Tank because there are only Otos in it, but, realistically I can't keep letting them breed and let the babies stay- there would soon be too many and the gene pool would not be good. It's easier to catch the babies now as they IME stay along the top of the tank for the first couple of weeks of life- making them easier to catch. Once they are past that they are not catchable. Plus the Parent tank is heavily planted. I wouldn't dare try. I didn't originally think I would keep all of the original spawns either but the idea of a species only tank grew on me and I decided that every baby caught from this point forward will go to other fish keepers that have Otos too- I'm hoping that my tank breds will go on to mate with other fish keepers' Otos and create more. Maybe creating a stronger strain of Oto. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

No pics today as I had to act quickly but I caught 2 little ones- bringing our floating breeder count up to 13 babies. This is the biggest spawn I've had for a while. I'm not sure if I caught the 2 I mentioned in the last couple of posts or yet more. One was very very new so I sucked it up with a lab dropper as it was on the front glass and plopped it in the breeder. The other was a little more solid and I got it off the back wall of the aquarium. We'll see what shakes out tomorrow! (Everyone in the Accidental Oto Tank is doing well too)

Edited October 23, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 10/23/2022 at 5:25 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

No pics today as I had to act quickly but I caught 2 little ones- bringing our floating breeder count up to 13 babies. This is the biggest spawn I've had for a while. I'm not sure if I caught the 2 I mentioned in the last couple of posts or yet more. One was very very new so I sucked it up with a lab dropper as it was on the front glass and plopped it in the breeder. The other was a little more solid and I got it off the back wall of the aquarium. We'll see what shakes out tomorrow! (Everyone in the Accidental Oto Tank is doing well too)

Have you spotted any more fry?

What are you thinking of doing with them once juvenile/ adult?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

Caught one more this morning, mostly transluscent. that makes what? 14? I think there are at least a couple more. 

 

@TheSwissAquaristthey'll stay in the floating breeder until they're big enough to graduate to the divided tank. Once they're big enough there I'll be looking for local fish keepers that may want them, preferably those who have Otos and hopefully they'll spawn in their tanks too. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

Well 4 more babies caught tonight...so 18 or so? Oh boy! Took pics of 2...the other two a little more translucent so I just put them in the breeder with the net.

[DaveO]

On 10/25/2022 at 8:05 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

Well 4 more babies caught tonight...so 18 or so? Oh boy! Took pics of 2...the other two a little more translucent so I just put them in the breeder with the net.

Just wanted to share. First time I could get a good shot of all four of my cocamas together.

Edited October 29, 2022 by DaveO

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

That's awesome @DaveO! They are such great fish! Is that zucchini I see?

[DaveO]

I'm glad you like these guys, @xXInkedPhoenixX. After all you are the one that turned me on to them.😁 That is zucchini you see. They seem to really like it. I do boil it so it sinks. These guys remind me of oto/cory hybrid in the way they eat. They love rapashy community blend, peas, green beans, Xtreme nano pellets and krill flakes. They seem to rummage on the sand like corys and scrape glass and wood like regular otos. Very fun and interesting fish.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

So it looks like I'm standing at 20 babies in the big floating breeder. They are all doing well. I clean their area every day with a pippette and put in new Repashy and/or Hikari wafer pieces and they are eating well. 

This morning in the little breeder I keep floating in the tank there was an adult- who apparently took it upon themselves to hop over into the box. It didn't seem happy about having trapped itself. The prior day had another adult trap itself between the large breeder and the tank wall. He or she was a bit red- who knows how long they'd been there when I was able to release them. They went frantically about the tank for a bit but soon disappeared hopefully they will be ok. I did get a pic of the early morning small breeder box entrapment though: 

Meanwhile in the Accidental Oto tank I have a few babies that are in the grow out. I thought I had six but at most in the last couuple of weeks I only count 5. One of them doesn't seem too well, it's not swimming right and sometimes lands upside down. He/She doesn't appear sick other than this behavior, nothing outward when they're not moving- So this is going to delay their sale and I'll need to keep an eye on everyone- I don't believe it's infectious though so I'm holding off on pulling that one. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: A New Hope

Good news today! So first a correction (I touched on it last post), my oldest babies, I thought I had 6 but because they are so fast and you never see them all at once (and my phone crashing and my aquarium app disappearing forever) didn't help my count. Ultimately I had 5. Sadly one of the little ones isn't doing great so I pulled them and put them in a small floating breeder back in the Parent Tank and hope they recover. They just don't seem to be swimming well and land upside down often- just as often as landing right side up. Belly looks full, no other visual issues so hopefully it's swim bladder that with time and fresher water in the Parent Tank will resolve. I'm hesitant to medicate them because they are so small but I might change my mind later. I'm treating a CPD for what I suspect is swim bladder issue so I could plop them in there at some point. Here's the little one that's being isolated: 

On to the GOOD NEWS! So I'd determined the four I had left were big enough and ready for a new home. I was going to sell them as a set. Yesterday I went onto the local aquarium club forum and posted them, saying I'd prefer them to go to a home where they had Otos or were planning to add Otos so we could see if they would spawn in other's tanks- I'm hopeful because this week I was helping a friend of mine with a sick Molly and they'd mentioned that they found an Oto baby (from some I'd given them!). I mentioned this in my post. Several people expressed interest. Within an hour (which included me going on a walk after posting- about 20 mins) I had them sold and arranged to meet the buyer this morning. They have a 125 gallon tank with 3 Otos (they lost a couple when they added them- which is not unheard of as we all know)- this is their new tank:

They use ferts so that's ok my Otos are used to higher Nitrates (consistently 40ppm) and they don't use a heater which I think is especially helpful as I suspect the temp flux in an unheated tank is a spawning trigger. So off I went this morning to meet the new buyer- for those of you who also follow my Colossal Idiot thread I used Purple Dumbo Girl (now known as Zaggi)'s Betta cup to transport these 4 little ones: 

They sat in my cup holder for the 20 minute drive to their new, grateful keeper. They are excited to see if they will spawn in the 125 and asked to be notified later for more- they will keep me posted on their well-being and any spawning. Also sent me a message after the transaction to thank me again. So I'm really excited to find buyers that appreciate my little ones. I get it- I still don't know anyone who has successfully raised Oto babies- wouldn't it be cool to have my babies go out in the world and start a wave of Tank Bred Otocinclus- a small natural miracle. I got home to update my "pending sale" post to a "sold" post and found yet another message. So I advised the 6 people who expressed interest would get first dibs on the 20 up and coming babies- of course that includes my buyer. Woo hoo!

Edited November 11, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX
Typos are lame

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/11/2022 at 8:04 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

think is especially helpful as I suspect the temp flux in an unheated tank is a spawning trigger.

Useful! 😁

[Minanora]

Ord. That's so great! I'm happy you're getting some bigger spawns. I know there was a minute there that they weren't spawning much. Still amazed that they spawn at all. I love it!

Your tanks aren't heated? Are any of them? What temperature ranges do your tanks stay at?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Minanora my tanks range anywhere from 72 to 81 degrees depending on time of year and temp of my house. The only tank I have heated is where my Betta Koianu is. Keeps the tank at a minimum of 79, as Bettas I have learned require humidity to breath and heat to live optimally. 

[Minanora]

I had a feeling you were going to say you heated the Betta home. How is Serket handling the lower temperature?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Minanora actually the Flex9 is running at 79 today without a heater and in the summer it gets in the 80s. Koianu is the only Betta I run a heater for so far because I think little Serket is in a good temp tank without one, it may flux a degree or two down or up. 

[Minanora]

On 11/12/2022 at 5:30 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@Minanora actually the Flex9 is running at 79 today without a heater and in the summer it gets in the 80s. Koianu is the only Betta I run a heater for so far because I think little Serket is in a good temp tank without one, it may flux a degree or two down or up. 

That's impressive! You must keep a cozy home. 😀

The 40B got to 58 without a heater. Even with a 100W heater, and canister, it gets to 71 at night. Heater set to 75 now. If I set it to 77, it's  69 at night.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Minanora it probably helps that my tanks are smaller- the Flex9 is probably only about 7 gallons of living space, an internal pump that likely gives off at least some heat, and a pretty good fitting lid (I also cover the feeder hold with a 3D printed door in the winter)- this keeps the temp up. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

Today did a headcount of all the Oto babies- I've not recently found any deceased which honestly I'm surprised just based on the sheer number of baby Otos in this floating breeder. All 20 are accounted for. The one that I couldn't sell and is in a floating breeder by themseslves seems a lot better. At least I haven't found them on their topside or swimming funny lately so hopefully they are over whatever was going on with them. They will go in with the 20 when they are all big enough to go into the Accidental Oto tank. There are some good diatoms forming in that tank since I still have it divided. Here were the babies today after a box cleaning and food dump:

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITTATUS: The Parent Tank

You know, you could look at the Parent Tank and see not one Otocinclus. There's a few places I look for them and usually do see a couple- mostly the pre-filter sponge and the regular sponge filter. There are a couple more. However I know what I'm looking for- most people walking by think it's the most boring tank I have. But that's because they don't have the opportunity to see them in the evening and early morning hours when they move the most. Short google video, the "moonlight" function is on, so there is some glare from ambient light, my apologies: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/c1WAqTegbZLQRVkc9

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Odd Duck]

Otos are zippity zooming everywhere!  😆 ❤️ 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Zoomies indeed! Love my otos.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

OTOCINCLUS VITATTUS: The Parent Tank

So, mystery maybe some of you can speak to. For a little context, I was gone for 4 days in the last week. Of course I prepared my tanks, leaving a couple of cucumber slices and a little extra bottom feeder food but not a lot (1 banquet block and some Repashy). A day after I returned I found one deceased Oto and one struggling one who later died. There were NO physical/outward signs that were obvious illness.

This morning I found 4 more. Same thing- maybe their stomachs were a little deflated but I'm not sure if that happened after death. Otherwise they looked OK. 

I used ACO test strips- 0 ammonia (as my Seachem Ammonia Alert says), Low Nitrate, no Nitrite, my water is "very hard" but it has ALWAYS been, low KH and low PH (6.8).

All I can think to do is raise PH/KH as maybe it's affecting them? So I added a little Alkaline buffer until I can do a large water change and add more crushed coral to the tank. But here's the mystery to me:

ALL 20 babies are still alive (even as I type this) they were also left Repashy and a Banquet block when I was gone. The only thing the adults had access to that the babies didn't was Cucumber. In case that is something I'm not feeding anymore off that cucumber (organic English, that I cut the skin off of). 

There's always a chance this is "natural" I suppose but not 6. It's weird. 

[Guppysnail]

I’m so sorry for the loss. Could it be that adding extra food caused a spike at first that the tank processed while you were gone as normal? Not seeing excess nitrate in a heavily planted tank after a spike is not uncommon. 
I use zucchini because my tanks dislike cucumbers. I get spikes or clouding every time I use them but even large chuncks of zucchini do not affect my tanks.