Sliceofnature Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 All of my Oto’s are on the round side, but i noticed today that one of them has suddenly ballooned. Im hoping that shes a female packed full of eggs because i would love for them to breed! Have any of you bred Oto’s succesfully? And if so do you have any tips? Its my understanding that they dont breed in captivity very often. Ive tried searching for info about breeding them but it seems like theres really not much out there. Does anyone have any info on why no one seems to be breeding them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 @Bentley Pascoe and @Dean’s Fishroom made this video about breeding Otos, maybe it'll have some useful info for you 👍 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 So I was successfully spawning the black otto's a while back, see the video above. I found the biggest key was to have a fat and happy female. This of course involved feeding the oto's and not just having them forage for leftovers. I did colony or group spawning in a 10 gallon tank and found that it was very similar to corydoras spawning. Once well fed, did a cool water change at night and was rewarded the next morning with eggs all over the glass, plant leaves, etc. I rolled the eggs off with my finger and put them in a tumbler where they hatched in a few days. Right from the start they fed on live baby brine shrimp and Sera Micron. Growth was about the same as corydoras fry. 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 What's a good food for otos? I've been feeding them repashy super green (not soilent green, don't know the full differences). I also have the hikari algae wafers that I put in a lot of tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 30 minutes ago, StephenP2003 said: What's a good food for otos? I've been feeding them repashy super green (not soilent green, don't know the full differences). I also have the hikari algae wafers that I put in a lot of tanks. when I had the black otos breeding I was frozen brine shrimp, zucchini, green beans (from a can), as well as the algae wafers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyBundy Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Got lucky with Otos as well. Had about 40 fry all over my glass. But I only see about 20 now actively swimming. I followed Dean's advice and so far so good. They seem happy. The last pic is when I first notice these little transparent things on my glass. The other 2 pics was today about a week and half old now. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 2 hours ago, JerseyBundy said: Got lucky with Otos as well. Had about 40 fry all over my glass. But I only see about 20 now actively swimming. I followed Dean's advice and so far so good. They seem happy. The last pic is when I first notice these little transparent things on my glass. The other 2 pics was today about a week and half old now. They are cute little fry! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Thanks @MickS77and @Dean’s Fishroom for the info. It makes sense to me that breeding them would be similar to corydoras because they school with my julii corys alot and even eat their food regularly. My Corys just spawned for the first time so hopefully Oto’s are next. Ive been feeding italian zuchini, sweet potato, cucumber, repashy community. My Oto’s wont touch the algae wafers tho for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 On 8/11/2020 at 10:51 AM, JerseyBundy said: Got lucky with Otos as well. Had about 40 fry all over my glass. But I only see about 20 now actively swimming. I followed Dean's advice and so far so good. They seem happy. The last pic is when I first notice these little transparent things on my glass. The other 2 pics was today about a week and half old now. Thats so cool. What have you been feeding? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 On 8/5/2020 at 4:16 PM, StephenP2003 said: What's a good food for otos? I've been feeding them repashy super green (not soilent green, don't know the full differences). I also have the hikari algae wafers that I put in a lot of tanks. My Otos love veggies. I peel strips off of zuchini, sweet potato or cucumber and i microwave one piece for a few seconds to soften it and hang it from the side of the glass with a suction cup clip. They didnt know what to make of it the first couple times i tried it so you may have to be patient. Now they chow down on that stuff till they look like little balloons. Mine also munch down on meaty sinking pellets from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave23 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 I woke to some crazy oto activities one morning. I think they were breeding. I took some video i wish i could share. I tried to google oto breeding and didn't find any video of them in the act. The male wraps its self around the females head. its rather crazy. here is a still shot of my plump happy female and the 2nd is what i think is otos in the act. I could be wrong but i think that what i got on video. if there is a way to share the video id be happy too. i just don't know how. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Upload it to YouTube. If you don't want it to be public, just select "unlisted." Then post the link here and it automatically embeds the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave23 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 https://youtu.be/u7mtr7ru9V8 OK never posted to you-tube, hope this works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave23 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 This was first thing in the morning when the lights just came on. I have never seen anything like this in my tank before so i grabbed my phone and took some video. From what I have read i think this is there breeding. Never found egg or saw fry, but wow i thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 47 minutes ago, Dave23 said: https://youtu.be/u7mtr7ru9V8 OK never posted to you-tube, hope this works You actually made it private, which means only you can see it. There's an option between public and private called "unlisted" which allows viewing only by people who have a link to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave23 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 OK! I'm learning something new today. Hope I got right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Yes, works now! That's pretty cool. I have some happy otos but nothing as big as that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyBundy Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Sliceofnature said: Thats so cool. What have you been feeding? Zucchini, Cucumber, Repashy Super Green , Spinach, and whatever Algae grows in the tank. There looking healthy. I cut slices of cucumber or zucchini and use the extra airline holder suction cups. Push the cucumber on and place on the side of the glass. Spinach i just stick the stem in the gravel . Not all at once. I switch it up every other day. I usually leave it in for 24hrs. Then I remove before it makes a mess. Edited August 25, 2020 by JerseyBundy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 39 minutes ago, JerseyBundy said: Zucchini, Cucumber, Repashy Super Green , Spinach, and whatever Algae grows in the tank. There looking healthy. I cut slices of cucumber or zucchini and use the extra airline holder suction cups. Push the cucumber on and place on the side of the glass. Spinach i just stick the stem in the gravel . Not all at once. I switch it up every other day. I usually leave it in for 24hrs. Then I remove before it makes a mess. I havent tried spinach yet. Ill give that a shot soon. You just put it in there raw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sliceofnature Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 2 hours ago, Dave23 said: https://youtu.be/u7mtr7ru9V8 OK never posted to you-tube, hope this works “Oto’s Gone Wild” LOL I love the title. Thanks for posting the vid @Dave23. Definitely looks like some spawning to me. That head wrap move is pretty crazy, but i guess its sorta like the T shape move Corys are supposed to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyBundy Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 8 hours ago, Sliceofnature said: I havent tried spinach yet. Ill give that a shot soon. You just put it in there raw? I put a lil bit of water in a small plastic container, put in microwave for 30 sec to a 1min. Take out once done and i let the Spinach sit in the hot water for 2 min. Let it cool off and it take a while before they notice its there. But after a hour or two, I always find a few on the the Spinach. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 13 hours ago, Dave23 said: https://youtu.be/u7mtr7ru9V8 OK never posted to you-tube, hope this works Oh my goodness, that video is so cool! Thanks for sharing it. Glad you were able to catch them in the act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Gosh, I think I might be blushing now. And to think that this used to be such a family friendly forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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