Am I overfeeding?

[Scaperoot]

    I have a new Betta in a 5 gallon with 6 Otos. I've been feeding him 3-5 of the Xtreme 1.5 mm sinking pellets every day. He goes through them pretty quickly. I tried giving the Otos a couple algae wafers, and they basically dissolved and ended up covering my plants and stone. I had to manually remove what I could over the last couple days. Last night I tested the water and had a Nitrite spike of 2.0. Ammonia was 1.0. Nitrates were less than 10 ppm. I did a 60% water change. This tank was cycled weeks ago prior to adding the fish. The sponge filter has been running for over two months and was brought over from a different tank. I have a couple stem plants, a couple crypts, a tiger lotus, and several Anubias on stone and wood. I've removed any dead leaves from the frog bit that isn't doing well. I added Fritz Zyme 7 with the water change and Prime dechlorinator. 

[Tlindsey]

On 7/26/2024 at 9:26 AM, Scaperoot said:

    I have a new Betta in a 5 gallon with 6 Otos. I've been feeding him 3-5 of the Xtreme 1.5 mm sinking pellets every day. He goes through them pretty quickly. I tried giving the Otos a couple algae wafers, and they basically dissolved and ended up covering my plants and stone. I had to manually remove what I could over the last couple days. Last night I tested the water and had a Nitrite spike of 2.0. Ammonia was 1.0. Nitrates were less than 10 ppm. I did a 60% water change. This tank was cycled weeks ago prior to adding the fish. The sponge filter has been running for over two months and was brought over from a different tank. I have a couple stem plants, a couple crypts, a tiger lotus, and several Anubias on stone and wood. I've removed any dead leaves from the frog bit that isn't doing well. I added Fritz Zyme 7 with the water change and Prime dechlorinator. 

It's definitely the uneaten wafers causing the issue. If you don't notice the Ottos eating the wafer you may need to try another brand. I suggest doing a water change and don't feed for a couple of days retest your water parameters. @Scaperoot

 

Edited July 26 by Tlindsey

[johnnyxxl]

It's just the wafer did that.  I deliberately over feed just a little for my bottom dwelling friends, Cory cats and kulhi loaches.  My otocinclus catfish graze on all of the surfaces.

[Lennie]

You cant sustain 6 otos in a 5g tank. These guys need to feed all the time to keep their gut bacteria alive, otherwise once they lose it, it is a ticking bomb that they die even if they eat after.

 

If you have a bigger tank, move otos there