experiences on getting otocinclus to eat commercial food and veggies

[venzi]

Hi.  I was curious on people's experiences in getting otocinclus to eat prepared foods (veggies, pellets, gels, wafers/pies etc).  I got a few otos recently and they don't seem interested in blanched zucchinnis, veggies wafers, pellets or gel food made from pellets (albeit medicated food).  I gave them a few days in a breeder box to see if they'd eat any of that stuff and the closest I was able to witness was a few otos sitting ontop of the zucchini (I never observed them eating it but maybe they did while I wasn't looking).  So I just gave up and let them loose in my tank which has tons of algae and biofilm everywhere b/c I didn't want to potentially starve them too long.  They took for the algae and still have plump bellies so they seem fine at the moment.

I heard that sometimes I need to leave the veggie in there for a few days b/c otos like a certain texture (the longest I left a piece of zucchini was like 2 days - other days I just swapped them out in 1 day). 

Anyways, just curious if anyone has tips on getting them to eat something other than the stuff they graze on the surfaces.  

[ange]

I have around a dozen otos and have had the best experience providing them with Soilent Green (SG) and blanched zucchini. Personally the blanched zucchini is more of an "ah crap I forgot to prep Repashy" than a true staple and I try to remove it before I go to bed for the night. Have you tried Repashy? I do a mix of SG set in candy molds and flat stones dipped in SG.

The only things that I've noticed my otos ignoring are Hikari algae wafers and spinach. I've never personally heard of otos preferring a certain texture in their commercial diet however that would make sense as they do tend to go for powdery diatom algae. I suppose I'm fortunate that they snacked on everything that my Caridinas ate back when I owned those 🥲 If you really struggle perhaps you could try mulberry leaves or other foods intended for shrimp (albeit without the calcium requirement)?

[Lennie]

For me, it was the pygmy cories. I had 16 pygmys and 5 otos and otos started to school with them. Following everything they do. Swimming as a school from one place to another. Taking an air gulp from the surface. And also, eating whatever they eat. 

 

That being said, since pygmys also consume animal protein rich foods  as well, It was not super ideal and I had a bloating issue on one oto after a couple months and I think maybe it was due to such diet of eating with pygmys. 

[nabokovfan87]

For Otos, I pretty much start / stop my efforts with repashy.  Soilent green is the one I prefer to feed them and you can also try bottom scratcher. 

I have seen them eat it, but most otos can be extremely nocturnal.  They will hide up on the glass where they feel safe all day, then you catch them shoaling at night or at dusk/dawn as the light changes stages. 

They have gone for things like the hikari wafers for me, but my otos tend to really, really stick to just eating algae and going off surfaces in the hardscape/glass.

cc @xXInkedPhoenixX may be able to point you to photos of their homegrown Otos eating prepared foods or other foods as well!

[beastie]

I did my best to provide some staple of food in the beginning, had a quarantine full of diatom algae and when I feel like they were not eating enough, I put out my oak leaves that I had submerged in a closed jar filled with water for few weeks. The leaves have the super slime on them that the otos will munch on.

Otherwise yeah, repashy, even sprinkled I guess, lots of driftwood, broad plants ( mine sleep in anubias, they use the leaves as a hotel, everyone on a different floor).

After some time they are stable enough and eat whatever. If they ae hungry I see them going in for pellets that I put in for other fish, so will ocassionally dump some algae/spirulina stuff in at night, some vegetables, blanched leaves like mangold work too, green beans. But unlike usual advice, you have to leave that vegetable in the tank for 48 hours. They dont pay attention to it when it is still hard.

I do not know what my otos eat, but my glass is spotless, they hang out around driftwood and munch on that, there are leaves all over the tank and I thought I lost some of them but the other time I saw 7, and I was under the impression I only had 4. Alas, I no longer would buy them or recommend them to anyone. The quarantine/feeding/acclimation losses are still 60% even if you try your best and 90% if you dont.

 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

My otos started with Hikari Algae wafers and I raised fry by crushing said wafers so it's still one of my favorite staple foods to feed them. I have also found my Otos and other bottom feeders in that tank (Julii Cory, Albino Pleco, Mystery Snail) actually go NUTS for Super Green Repashy. I do feed Soilent but alternate it. I also often mix in Community Plus since the addition of other fish besides the Otos (I didn't feed community plus before when it was just the Oto tank). They also really like Xtreme Bottom Wafers. I've tried veggies too but they just don't seem to go nutty for them. Cucumber was the closest I got and only had luck with ENGLISH style cucumbers. I just don't bother anymore to be honest since everyone eats what I've mentioned above.

[venzi]

Thank you all for the feedback.   Love this community.

On 11/10/2023 at 1:28 AM, beastie said:

But unlike usual advice, you have to leave that vegetable in the tank for 48 hours. They dont pay attention to it when it is still hard.

Cool.  Good to know you have had this experience.

On 11/10/2023 at 12:55 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Soilent green is the one I prefer to feed them and you can also try bottom scratcher. 

I have seen them eat it, but most otos can be extremely nocturnal.  They will hide up on the glass where they feel safe all day, then you catch them shoaling at night or at dusk/dawn as the light changes stages. 

I'm a little hesitant in using gel foods as a staple due to potential issues w/ clouding the water, but yeah, soilent green will be on my list to try.  I guess I'd only feed them soilent green like once or twice a week so it wouldn't be that bad?

My otos so far have not been too shy fortunately.  I have 5 total and typically a group of 2-3 of them are on my front glass or side glass moving about.  I have yet to see all 5 moving together, but I'm sure I"ll catch a glimpse of this as the weeks progress.  These fish are total clowns (in the best way possible) and I love their movement patterns.  

 

On 11/9/2023 at 11:25 PM, ange said:

however that would make sense as they do tend to go for powdery diatom algae.

yea that's a great insight.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:55 AM, venzi said:

I'm a little hesitant in using gel foods as a staple due to potential issues w/ clouding the water, but yeah, soilent green will be on my list to try.  I guess I'd only feed them soilent green like once or twice a week so it wouldn't be that bad?

Nope!

We as humans eat X meals a day, and we tend to put that mindset onto what our fish or pet needs are.

In the wild it's a very different situation and some animals will constantly graze, some will gorge on meals if they are available, and some will constantly/aggressively feed.  Neocaridina shrimp, for instance, have been studied and found to be able to starve for 14 days without any long term impact. I tend to feed mine every other day, some people feed daily, and some breeders can feed as much as 4x a day to really grow the shrimp quickly. Fish can handle less meals than we think and it is actually a big avenue for research when it comes to things like aquaculture and optimal growth.  I believe that otos fall into the category of constantly grazing and being more of the gatherer type of eater.

I think repashy 2-3x a week is an excellent diet for them and they may not even eat it during all of those feedings. You can also try small meals once a day or even feed it as a powder food and let it land on the surfaces that the otos naturally graze on. It won't cloud the water or ruin water quality of it is a repashy food.  I have heard stories and seem the home batches fog a tank though.

[venzi]

What would be some examples of powered foods to sprinkle into the tank?  I heard of pure spirulina powder. 

[Guppysnail]

On 11/10/2023 at 3:07 PM, venzi said:

What would be some examples of powered foods to sprinkle into the tank?  I heard of pure spirulina powder. 

Sera micron. Northfin fry, hikari first bites, Kens high protein fry green .1mm and.2 mm

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/10/2023 at 12:07 PM, venzi said:

What would be some examples of powered foods to sprinkle into the tank?  I heard of pure spirulina powder. 

I just use repashy but don't turn into a gel. You can use a spice grinder and powderize basically anything as well.

 

[Sherry]

I started my six Otocinclus in a quarantine tank with lots of algae. (Got them in early August) They made me rather nervous with how quickly the cleaned it up. I treated them with the med trio - I think they had worms before because their appetite settled down after the medications.

I haven’t lost any and their favorite food is Xtreme Bottom Wafers.

It’s bed time now.

[Comradovich]

My most recent batch have slowly learned to eat Repashy Super Green and Bug Bites Algae Crisps. I have to crumble the crisps up a bit so they can compete with the amano shrimp. I've tried zucchini with limited success. I do think the key with prepared foods is to have another species in the tank to teach them what to eat. I also kept pygmy cories with a prior batch of otos and they also palled around with the little guys. A lot of the smaller corys and otos practice mimetic schooling with like patterned fish. (Like Hastatus with Serapinnus Kriegi, Aphyocharax Naterreri, and Hyphesobrycon Elachys).

Barring a similar school of friends, the other thing you can try is preparing your foods in a way that the otos recognize as a normal food source. What I mean by that is that otos hang out on rocks in the current or just off the current. They'll suck up aufwuchs from there as they go, grazing on whatever is in the general area where they're at. They only really get brave and explore the rest of the tank on their own after lights out. If you've got a blue light setting on your tank, you may notice that they only really stick to the glass where you can see them if the blue light is on but the room light is off. An oto isn't really going to check the bottom of the tank for pellets, crisps or gels unless it's either dark, or their school buddies are looking for food there. So you might want to try feeding just before it gets dark in your tank. On one or two of Cory's livestreams he had a throw away line about painting his rocks with Repashy for his otos. I've actually tried this, and it may be the most aggressive I've ever seen my otos eat. Green stuff stuck to a rock seems to bring out the little sharks in my otos. Once they got that the gel was food, I noticed them more interested in competing with the other fish when I dropped cubes of Repashy into the tank. I've not tried a side by side comparison between Super Green or Soilent Green yet. I have noticed that the Algae Crisps must taste enough like the Repashy that they're also on the menu, though. They definitely know what to do with these now. They'll also go for fish flake after awhile, but the high protein can make them bloated.

My current batch of Otos palls around with some Pitbull Plecos/Otos and a few habrosus corys. As long as these fish are eating, the otos will at least check out the edges of the feeding zone. They've learned that whatever these fish are gobbling up is probably worth snacking on.

[venzi]

Quick update: So it's been about a month of owning these otos and no deaths.  I've seen the otos nibble at cucumbers now.  I leave them for like 3-4 days and suction it out w/ a turkey baster.  Interestingly enough, my female bettas are eating the cucumber as well.  I've been sprinkling the nano fish food every few days and leaving a wafer in the area they hang out, but I have yet to see them go after the wafer (typically the baby platies and bettas devour it before the otos get to it).  There's still a ton of algae in my tank so I'm guessing there's still plenty of other stuff to graze on.  Fingers crossed. 🙂

[beastie]

Good news! 🙂 I had yesterday my oto on a banana in the tank :)) They are not too picky sometimes

[Tlindsey]

On 11/29/2023 at 2:59 AM, venzi said:

So it's been about a month of owning these otos and no deaths. 

Great update.