Otocinclus Advice

[Cincala]

Hi everyone, I just purchased 6 Otos and am waiting for them to ship. They are tanked raised and will ship overnight. I have read so many opinions on how sensitive they are.
What I want to know is should I quarantine them or not! Some say yes and some say no. 
They are coming from a respectable dealer and are costing a small fortune to ship.

My main tank is ready for them and parameters are good. I have a 36 gallon bow front with a persistent algae problem. 
I really would hate for them to die soon after they arrived!

All help and advice is appreciated!!
 

[nabokovfan87]

Take a piece of wood from an established tank, (or wood + rock) and that gives them everything they need for QT.  Yes, I would QT every single time you can.  You will want to give them a week (maybe 2-3) to recover, then go for a deworm on them at minimum.

[Sherry]

I ordered six otocinclus in early August. I let my 10 gallon tank (quarantine tank now) get very full of algae before I ordered them. They went crazy when I put them in it, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with them soon. They had nice round bellies when I got them so that was a plus. I let them eat for a few days before I started the quarantine medications (the three recommended by ACO). As the treatment went on I noticed that their eating slowed down, so I'm guessing that they must have had worms when I go them.

They are now in my main tank and still doing good. I have tried Repashy Solient Green, Xtreme algae wafers, and green beans and haven't seen them interested in them, but there is still algae on the sides and back of the tank, and they eat off the sponge filters so sometimes I purposely soak an algae wafer or the powdered version of Solient Green and use a turkey baster to put the slurry I have made right by the filter so I assume most of it gets sucked into the filter. Their bellies are still round little pearls.

Just note that if you use the med trio, you need to do a second dose of Paracleanse two weeks after the first dose... to kill the worm eggs that have hatched since. Let them soak in the medicated water for 7 days as before. Wormers only affect adult worms, not the eggs.

Good luck.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Sherry
misspelling

[_Eric_]

Depends -
 

do you have an established QT tank or setting up new?  If setting up new, even with a seeded sponge filter, there is a risk of having ammonia spikes etc.  if you have an established qt tank for them to go into, I don’t see a reason not to put them in.

 if you don’t have an established qt tank, then you have to make a judgement call.  higher risk of losing some of the new otos with a new qt tank and higher risk of losing some of your existing fish if you don’t QT.  Can be a tough call sometimes. But if you test the qt tank for ammonia / nitrites and change water if needed that is probably the safest.  

[JettsPapa]

On 9/10/2023 at 8:51 PM, Cincala said:

Hi everyone, I just purchased 6 Otos and am waiting for them to ship. They are tanked raised and will ship overnight. 

Since you said they're tank raised, I assume they were raised by a hobbyist?  If yes, I don't think I'd bother with quarantining them since they're less likely to be sick or have parasites.

On 9/10/2023 at 8:51 PM, Cincala said:

 I have read so many opinions on how sensitive they are.

Much of that sensitivity (or maybe all of it) is due to most, if not all, of the ones available in stores being wild caught, and they often suffer irreversible damage to their digestive systems before reaching the store.  After that they're just about bullet proof (or at least have been for me).

[Cincala]

On 9/10/2023 at 10:29 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Take a piece of wood from an established tank, (or wood + rock) and that gives them everything they need for QT.  Yes, I would QT every single time you can.  You will want to give them a week (maybe 2-3) to recover, then go for a deworm on them at minimum.

The wood and rock is a great idea. I can take that from my main tank. 
But, I might not have enough time to set up the quarantine tank.

 I can use a filter from my shrimp tank, I am still running 2 filters in there. 
Also have atm blue shark colony and Mardel maracyn, Fritz Para Cleanse, Ich - x. and Fritz Zyme turbo start 700.

 

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 1:39 PM, _Eric_ said:

Depends -
 

do you have an established QT tank or setting up new?  If setting up new, even with a seeded sponge filter, there is a risk of having ammonia spikes etc.  if you have an established qt tank for them to go into, I don’t see a reason not to put them in.

 if you don’t have an established qt tank, then you have to make a judgement call.  higher risk of losing some of the new otos with a new qt tank and higher risk of losing some of your existing fish if you don’t QT.  Can be a tough call sometimes. But if you test the qt tank for ammonia / nitrites and change water if needed that is probably the safest.  

My GT tank is not set up yet. My main tank is well established for years. 
I am leaning on the side of a plop and drop. 
I bought them from Aquatic Arts, they are tank raised, and they suggest that. 
They quarantine their fish before shipping.

Don’t think I will have enough time to set up QT tank. I do have ATM Blue Shark Colony and FritzZyme Turbo Start 700. Also have Maracyn, Ich-x and Paracleanse.

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:03 PM, Cincala said:

They quarantine their fish before shipping.

QT could simply mean they are in a tank by themselves.  It may not mean anything beyond that.

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:23 PM, JettsPapa said:

Since you said they're tank raised, I assume they were raised by a hobbyist?  If yes, I don't think I'd bother with quarantining them since they're less likely to be sick or have parasites.

Much of that sensitivity (or maybe all of it) is due to most, if not all, of the ones available in stores being wild caught, and they often suffer irreversible damage to their digestive systems before reaching the store.  After that they're just about bullet proof (or at least have been for me).

I ordered them from Aquatic Arts and they quarantine before shipping. They recommend plop and drop, which I think I will do, because of their sensitivity and they will not feed them for 2 days before shipping. This is overnight shipping and they will send an email when they ship, so I will be ready for them the next day. 
I have heard some horror stories about trying to keep these catfish.

On 9/11/2023 at 5:08 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

QT could simply mean they are in a tank by themselves.  It may not mean anything beyond that.

This is true, but if I can’t set up QT tank in 2 to 3 days, I will have to plop and drop!

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:11 PM, Cincala said:

This is true, but if I can’t set up QT tank in 2 to 3 days, I will have to plop and drop!

I have a 10G I have on hand for major issues.  Worse case, I use a 5G bucket, but it's best to have something you can visually see into.  I take media (preferably ceramic) from an existing filter and add that to the QT setup as a QT tank or I have a small HoB I can run.  I add new media to the existing, cycled tank to re-populate with bacteria and that will not impact that tank whatsoever.  Then you add a piece of wood to the tote/tank/bucket and fill it with water.  When I am done, I break it down and clean it.

I understand it's not perfect because it hasn't been running for months, but you can setup a cycled, reliable, stable QT setup in minuted, not days or weeks.  The longer you have it running, the better.

[Lennie]

I agree with @JettsPapa. Especially considering otos are herbivores and the ones you get are tank-raised. I would instead observe them. Quarantining otos and keeping them well fed in a fresh new tank is problematic. Introducing objects to give them grazing spots won't last long enough considering quarantining fish takes weeks. 

You can find horror stories about anything online. I haven't lost a single oto myself and they were not even tankraised. And I introduced them to a hard water high kh 8.0 ph tank.

The only thing I specifically done was drip acclimating mine slow and long like I do with shrimp. Or even longer. But I got mine from lfs and not shipped to me so no clue about drip acclimation of shipped fragile fish. This topic is always open for discussion and without being a science guy, I don't wanna say anything that may mislead.

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 9:50 AM, Sherry said:

I ordered six otocinclus in early August. I let my 10 gallon tank (quarantine tank now) get very full of algae before I ordered them. They went crazy when I put them in it, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with them soon. They had nice round bellies when I got them so that was a plus. I let them eat for a few days before I started the quarantine medications (the three recommended by ACO). As the treatment went on I noticed that their eating slowed down, so I'm guessing that they must have had worms when I go them.

They are now in my main tank and still doing good. I have tried Repashy Solient Green, Xtreme algae wafers, and green beans and haven't seen them interested in them, but there is still algae on the sides and back of the tank, and they eat off the sponge filters so sometimes I purposely soak an algae wafer or the powdered version of Solient Green and use a turkey baster to put the slurry I have made right by the filter so I assume most of it gets sucked into the filter. Their bellies are still round little pearls.

Just note that if you use the med trio, you need to do a second dose of Paracleanse two weeks after the first dose... to kill the worm eggs that have hatched since. Let them soak in the medicated water for 7 days as before. Wormers only affect adult worms, not the eggs.

Good luck.

I have a QT tank that’s not set up. I can set it up using ATM Colony or Fritz Zyme Turbo Start 700. I do have Maracyn, Ich-X, and Paracleanse. 
I have a seasoned sponge from my Red Cherry shrimp tank, but I don’t know if that would be enough. Also have wood and rocks from my main aquarium.

 I use Repashy Soilent  Green for my shrimps and I do have algae wafers.

 I am leaning to a plop and drop! Can’t decide!!

 

On 9/11/2023 at 5:22 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I have a 10G I have on hand for major issues.  Worse case, I use a 5G bucket, but it's best to have something you can visually see into.  I take media (preferably ceramic) from an existing filter and add that to the QT setup as a QT tank or I have a small HoB I can run.  I add new media to the existing, cycled tank to re-populate with bacteria and that will not impact that tank whatsoever.  Then you add a piece of wood to the tote/tank/bucket and fill it with water.  When I am done, I break it down and clean it.

I understand it's not perfect because it hasn't been running for months, but you can setup a cycled, reliable, stable QT setup in minuted, not days or weeks.  The longer you have it running, the better.

I have seen her video., but the only seasoned filter I have is from my Shrimp tank. I don’t know if that is enough.

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/11/2023 at 2:29 PM, Cincala said:

I have seen her video., but the only seasoned filter I have is from my Shrimp tank. I don’t know if that is enough.

If you're running any HoBs you should be able to pull media from those and just replace it. (or a portion of it)

The other trick people use it squeezing out a sponge in the QT tank and then let that run.

You can always set it up and decide not to use it, but if you're undecided, just set it up and decide later.

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 5:23 PM, Lennie said:

I agree with @JettsPapa. Especially considering otos are herbivores and the ones you get are tank-raised. I would instead observe them. Quarantining otos and keeping them well fed in a fresh new tank is problematic. Introducing objects to give them grazing spots won't last long enough considering quarantining fish takes weeks. 

You can find horror stories about anything online. I haven't lost a single oto myself and they were not even tankraised. And I introduced them to a hard water high kh 8.0 ph tank.

The only thing I specifically done was drip acclimating mine slow and long like I do with shrimp. Or even longer. But I got mine from lfs and not shipped to me so no clue about drip acclimation of shipped fragile fish. This topic is always open for discussion and without being a science guy, I don't wanna say anything that may mislead.

They sent me instructions for a plop and drop. They said to take a good look at the bag they come in and if they look good and healthy to do it.

 I have enough algae in the tank to feed them, algae wafers and Repashy Soilent Green. 

I thank you for your help, even if your not a science guy!👍

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 5:44 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

If you're running any HoBs you should be able to pull media from those and just replace it. (or a portion of it)

The other trick people use it squeezing out a sponge in the QT tank and then let that run.

You can always set it up and decide not to use it, but if you're undecided, just set it up and decide later.

You’re absolutely right, I will set up the tank anyway, using one of the 2 sponge filters in my shrimp tank, and just put a new one in the shrimp tank. Whether I use the QT tank or not, better to be safe than sorry!

Thanks for your help!

[Cincala]

On 9/11/2023 at 9:50 AM, Sherry said:

I ordered six otocinclus in early August. I let my 10 gallon tank (quarantine tank now) get very full of algae before I ordered them. They went crazy when I put them in it, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with them soon. They had nice round bellies when I got them so that was a plus. I let them eat for a few days before I started the quarantine medications (the three recommended by ACO). As the treatment went on I noticed that their eating slowed down, so I'm guessing that they must have had worms when I go them.

They are now in my main tank and still doing good. I have tried Repashy Solient Green, Xtreme algae wafers, and green beans and haven't seen them interested in them, but there is still algae on the sides and back of the tank, and they eat off the sponge filters so sometimes I purposely soak an algae wafer or the powdered version of Solient Green and use a turkey baster to put the slurry I have made right by the filter so I assume most of it gets sucked into the filter. Their bellies are still round little pearls.

Just note that if you use the med trio, you need to do a second dose of Paracleanse two weeks after the first dose... to kill the worm eggs that have hatched since. Let them soak in the medicated water for 7 days as before. Wormers only affect adult worms, not the eggs.

Good luck.

Thank you Sherry for all your help and advice! I am going to set up the quarantine tank just in case! I will let you know what happens with them!

On 9/11/2023 at 2:23 PM, JettsPapa said:

Since you said they're tank raised, I assume they were raised by a hobbyist?  If yes, I don't think I'd bother with quarantining them since they're less likely to be sick or have parasites.

Much of that sensitivity (or maybe all of it) is due to most, if not all, of the ones available in stores being wild caught, and they often suffer irreversible damage to their digestive systems before reaching the store.  After that they're just about bullet proof (or at least have been for me).

Thank you for all your help and support! I will post the outcome!

On 9/11/2023 at 1:39 PM, _Eric_ said:

Depends -
 

do you have an established QT tank or setting up new?  If setting up new, even with a seeded sponge filter, there is a risk of having ammonia spikes etc.  if you have an established qt tank for them to go into, I don’t see a reason not to put them in.

 if you don’t have an established qt tank, then you have to make a judgement call.  higher risk of losing some of the new otos with a new qt tank and higher risk of losing some of your existing fish if you don’t QT.  Can be a tough call sometimes. But if you test the qt tank for ammonia / nitrites and change water if needed that is probably the safest.  

Thank you Eric, appreciate your help and advice! Let you know how it turns out!!

[Cincala]

Otocinclus just shipped and will arrive tomorrow morning! 
I called the company and they said they are in favor of quarantine when ever possible.  
I don’t have a quarantine tank set up yet. I was doing it this morning, thought I had more time before they shipped. They said even though the fish are healthy, the stress of overnight shipping can stress them out. Thinking Ich.

 I am forced to do a plop and drop! What is the best way to acclimate them to my show tank or,  set up the fastest quarantine tank ever?

All help appreciated!

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/12/2023 at 11:14 AM, Cincala said:

I am forced to do a plop and drop! What is the best way to acclimate them to my show tank or,  set up the fastest quarantine tank ever?

Method 1.

open the bag and add 1-2 drops of dechlorinator.  Move that to a bucket or specimen container.  Add an airstone as soon as possible, then you drip acclimate like shrimp.  (you can do this with an airline and a pretty quick flow with most fish)

Method 2. 

You cut the bag open, they go into a net, into your tank with good parameters and adequate aeration.