New To Otocinclus (Nervous New Oto Mom)

[FLFishChik]

So, I purchased 2 oto’s from my local Big Box pet store. They have been doing a great job at eating the brown algae, but I’m worried about what else to feed them to make sure they stay full and healthy and don’t die! Can some of you who keep these cuties give me some tips?

[Minanora]

Mine like blanched zucchini, repashy, and every now and then they'll come out to eat the xtreme bottom feeder wafers.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Food tabs and spinach work fine, but normally they don’t need any dedicated feeding.

[Minanora]

On 8/17/2022 at 6:15 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Food tabs and spinach work fine, but normally they don’t need any dedicated feeding.

I think this can be true but it's very dependant on the tank and stocking.

I have my otos in a 75g. I have 5. There are two large pieces of wood that they hide in/under and feed on. But I also have snails, neocaridina shrimp and Amano shrimp. My tank is well stocked with fish and plants as well. But I have very little algae and other films to feed to otos reliably.

I feel like offering them foods is a good idea in general.

Also mine love blanched green beans.

[Patrick_G]

In my community tanks I have trouble finding any prepared foods that don’t get eaten by my other fish before the Otos get some. In quarantine they seem to love Hikari algae wafers, but in the community tanks they seem to be subsisting on mostly the natural algae film. I bet they’re getting the occasional bit of flake or bite of algae wafer, but I’m not seeing it happen. They do have nice fat little bellies so I’m not worried, but I might have to try some skewers of veg and see if they go for those. 

[FLFishChik]

On 8/17/2022 at 9:47 AM, Minanora said:

I think this can be true but it's very dependant on the tank and stocking.

I have my otos in a 75g. I have 5. There are two large pieces of wood that they hide in/under and feed on. But I also have snails, neocaridina shrimp and Amano shrimp. My tank is well stocked with fish and plants as well. But I have very little algae and other films to feed to otos reliably.

I feel like offering them foods is a good idea in general.

Also mine love blanched green beans.

This is my worry. At some point they’ll consume the algae and they’ll need something else to sustain in between. 

[John Henry]

@Patrick_G is right about feeding algae wafers.  Mine would bump noses with cories to get a bite of Hikari algae wafer.  Drop 1/2 wafer in at lights out and see if anything is left by morning.

[anewbie]

How establish is your tank - if it has been setup for years then it will have plenty of biofilm. If it has been setup for hours then feeding will be problematic. They can be extremely picky eaters; others will eat zuc or repashy soilent green; others won't touch prepared foods. I tried to have a conversation with them one day on why some were picky and others weren't but it ended up being a one sided discussion. 

[nabokovfan87]

Mine tend to eat most as dusk (lights on) and after lights out.  During the day they stick to the glass and mostly just hang out in the flow.  They do eat off plants, stuff like S. Repens, anubias, etc. with a little bit bigger leaves they can eat on easily.  You have wood in the tank, that's a great thing for then to be able to hide on and eat off.  Rocks as well.

I feed them a rotation of spirulina flake, repashy soilent green, vibrabites (yes, they do eat it occasionally), and mostly use that along with the tank algae and aufwuchs.

[anitstuk]

Repashy Gel food and brussel sprouts every now and then just to maintain a mixed diet. If there isn't a lot of algae in your tank, put in some algae blocks. 

[PotatoFish]

They can be finicky eaters. Grab a good-sized rock and put it in a clean tank that will get lots of sun. Let it grow algae and then swap it in for a rock in your current tank.

Make sure to watch the oto tummies to make sure they have a bulge like they do in your pictures above (EXCELLENT job, btw!).

Another thing I had heard of but never tried was "painting" Repashy Gel food onto a rock or driftwood (preferably the underside if it has one), letting it dry, and then adding it to the tank.

[FLFishChik]

On 8/17/2022 at 1:19 PM, John Henry said:

@Patrick_G is right about feeding algae wafers.  Mine would bump noses with cories to get a bite of Hikari algae wafer.  Drop 1/2 wafer in at lights out and see if anything is left by morning.

Is 1/2 tablet enough with 6 Cory’s and 2 oto’s?

On 8/17/2022 at 6:59 PM, anitstuk said:

Repashy Gel food and brussel sprouts every now and then just to maintain a mixed diet. If there isn't a lot of algae in your tank, put in some algae blocks. 

Thank you, I’ll look into algae blocks! I’ve never seen them, but I wasn’t specifically looking either.

On 8/18/2022 at 8:35 AM, PotatoFish said:

They can be finicky eaters. Grab a good-sized rock and put it in a clean tank that will get lots of sun. Let it grow algae and then swap it in for a rock in your current tank.

Make sure to watch the oto tummies to make sure they have a bulge like they do in your pictures above (EXCELLENT job, btw!).

Another thing I had heard of but never tried was "painting" Repashy Gel food onto a rock or driftwood (preferably the underside if it has one), letting it dry, and then adding it to the tank.

I have a coconut hut in the tank I was thinking about painting with Repashy! They’ll have to wrestle with the Panda Cory though… maybe paint some rocks as well!

Edited August 18, 2022 by FLFishChik

[_Eric_]

Mine eat repashy morning wood and soilent green as well as Hikari algae wafers.  
 

With otos it is easy to check their bellies since they hang on the glass a lot.  If they are looking nice and plump you don’t have to be concerned.  I like giving them extra stuff anyway though.  The repashy block usually is big enough to have leftovers after other bottom guys are done so they have a chance to get as much as they want before I pull it out. 

[PineSong]

The food I’ve noticed my otos really go to town on is Repashy Soilent Green. I just sprinkle the powder over my anubias and once it has settled they come and Hoover it right up. I also use Hikari algae wafers dropped in after dark. And steamed zucchini; they seem to like the peel so I put a kind slice peel-side out in the veggie clip.