Zac Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Hey all, I recently purchased 5 otos for my 30 gallon aquarium. Right now they are in quarantine in a 10 gallon with shrimp and some Pygmy corys. I’ve had them for about 2 days now. Some of them seem to be glass surfing quite a bit still and I can’t really tell if they’re eating. I know they are more skittish fish but I just am not sure if it’s normal behavior, or how long it takes them to settle down. The shrimp cleaned almost all the algae out of the tank so I’ve dropped an algae wafer, green beans for a day, and I just put some zucchini in there. They’re not fat but they’re not skinny either. Is there anything else I should be doing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Grow algae and biofilm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Maybe put some plants or hardscape from the main tank into the quarantine tank so they have some biofilm to munch on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 I would feed them a sliver of cucumber, zucchini, squash, green beans or snap peas daily if there isn't a lot of algae. There is little chance they will eat commercially prepared foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 I agree with @Beardedbillygoat1975 it takes time for them to transition to commercial foods if they ever do- I've even had a hard time with most veggies (mine will only ever consistently eat English Cucumber (with the skin cut off). Biofilm and algae are the most important things for them to have access to when you first get them. Mine have eventually eaten Hikari Algae Wafers and some Repashy gel foods. But by no means do I want you not to try and feed them commercial food if you have it! Definitely try! Also possibly try feeding at night as I have found my Otos do most of their out and about eating then. I put food in a small bowl in my tanks, that way I can monitor food intake (and it's generally easier to clean) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponyoryx Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Will Oto's eat hair algae off plants? I've been considering getting a few for my planted 40gal. I have a decent amount of hair algae on the val, the tank has been set up for 7 months and there is a lot of surface area for biofilm. There is not much algae on the walls of the aquarium. I would love to grow more for them, but I'm worried if I turn up the lights to encourage algae, the hair algae will get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda4fish Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Mine love Repashy soilent green i have read that is because it has some protein from small insects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 @Ponyoryxthe only reliable hair algae eaters I know of are true Siamese algae eaters and Florida Flagfish. I’ve had a lot of SAEs over the years and they do a fair to good job on black beard as well as green hair algaes. Some keepers indicate they’ve had success with Amano and Neocaridina shrimps but I’ve never seen them make a dent but they can keep it at bay once you’ve done some manual removal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minanora Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Mine love zucchini squash. Also repashy of many varieties. Mine are also professionals at hiding. I have 5 in my 75... I'm going to add 3 more soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 On 1/17/2022 at 12:24 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: @Ponyoryxthe only reliable hair algae eaters I know of are true Siamese algae eaters and Florida Flagfish. I’ve had a lot of SAEs over the years and they do a fair to good job on black beard as well as green hair algaes. Some keepers indicate they’ve had success with Amano and Neocaridina shrimps but I’ve never seen them make a dent but they can keep it at bay once you’ve done some manual removal. Can SAE's do okay in pH in the high 4's and low 5's? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 @Mmiller2001ive kept them in the 6’s and I’ve seen a lot of competition aquascapers using them so I’d say 5s is quite probable but not sure about in the 4s. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 On 1/17/2022 at 12:30 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: @Mmiller2001ive kept them in the 6’s and I’ve seen a lot of competition aquascapers using them so I’d say 5s is quite probable but not sure about in the 4s. I'm tempted. Oto's make me nervous and are hard to feed, for me! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 @Mmiller2001the whole ethos of your scape is essentially to have as little algae as possible which may leave the otos scrambling for their meals. Whereas SAE’s will eat everything! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotTunaCartel Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 (edited) On 1/16/2022 at 2:54 PM, Streetwise said: Grow algae and biofilm. This is a great answer. With our 44g we couldn't wait but I believe @Cory had a video saying to do this exact thing by leaving lights on 24 hours in a qt tank to get the algae going quickly before getting the fish. Edited January 17, 2022 by HotTunaCartel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I also fret about my otos getting enough to eat. I have six of them in my livebearer tank that sits in front of an east-facing window: still not enough algae! I put a light on the tank, still no visible algae except for hair algae. Someone here recommended feeding otos in the same place every time--like putting the veggie clip in the same spot. I do feel like that made a difference for mine. I have seen them loitering in that spot on days when the clip is not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now