Otos are at it again.....

[BallAquatics]

I was checking the tanks this morning and found a new batch of Otocinclus fry searching for food.  Must be a couple days old at this point.....

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Great pic......LOL...their own little love nest   How big is the tank?

[BallAquatics]

How big is the tank?

Just a ten gallon.  Anubias, water sprite, and some crypt wendtii in about 98% rain water.

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Remarkable.....a 'Garden of Eden'.....very nice...

[sschind]

Have you bred and raised these before?  I stopped carrying them in my store because all the one I ever got from the wholesalers died in droves.  It seems like nothing mattered, I couldn't keep them alive.  I would assume the TR one would be much hardier.

[PaulineMi]

Dennis is wonderfullly successful with these otos. 

[ilroost]

Great pict.

[BillT]

Cute little guys

[BallAquatics]

Have you bred and raised these before?

I'm just a year into this project and my $1 PetSmart Otos have been spawning since mid April of last year.

I still have a high mortality rate with the fry, but have 3 groups of fry now living with the original breeders.

Dennis

[b125killer]

Them are good pictures Dennis. I have a group of otos that I have tried to starve to death a few times. Mine don't eat anything but algae. How do you tell what sexs they are?

[BallAquatics]

Thanks Scott.  They are like cories with the girls being a bit larger than the boys.  LOL  They get really plump when fed good and full of eggs.

Dennis

[b125killer]

What do you feed them? The only thing I see them eat is algae.  I have tried different foods but they just don't seem that interested in anything I have. Mine cleaned a tank clear of algae and almost starved to death before I realized they weren't eating anything I was feeding them. I keep a close eye on the tank there in to make sure they got enough algae to eat and move them to new tanks when they clean the when there in now.

[BallAquatics]

What do you feed them?

Repashy gel, veggie wafers and sticks from Ken's.

They simply thrive on the Repashy Solient Green gel food.  Repashy now has Super Green which is completely vegetable matter that I hear is very good too.

They also do very well on Ken's vegetable wafers. http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/fish-food-feeders/kens-premium-veggie-wafers.html  I've been using foods from Ken's for many years now and have had good success with them.

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Dennis, are these parent raised somehow??.....has anyone artificially raised them?

[BallAquatics]

Dennis, are these parent raised somehow??.....has anyone artificially raised them?

No the parents pay them no attention.  One good thing is that since Otos are vegetarians, the parents don't try to eat the fry.

I've read about other hobbyists getting them to spawn, but it's just too much work for the farms to produce them commercially.  When you can buy wild caught at PetSmart for $1 each there's just no money in it.  I would imagine that there are hobbyists that would pay more for tank raised fish, but even then it would be very tough to show any profit.

Dennis