Otocinclus Catfish, Otto Cat

[greydragon]

the last time i had Ottos i put 6 into the 20 gal tank and when i went to sell them i had 7

[BallAquatics]

Here's a quick update on my PetSmart Otocinclus.  They have been eating Repashy "Soilent Green" and fattened up very nicely.



Did a 50% water change with some fresh cool rain water during one of the recent storms and found 2 fry this morning.  I'm hoping to see more in the next few days.



Each spring for the past couple of years I've though about setting these guys up for some spawning and things finally came together.  Needless to say, the water is very soft with a low tds.  Temps are around 78F.  In addition to the Repashy, I have been rotating Anubias plants from other tanks for a bit of algae removal.  They have been sharing a tank with my breeding group of Danio roseus, but I removed the Danios a couple of weeks ago because I was afraid they would eat any Oto fry.

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Nice, dennis.....chow hounds too....LOL

[BallAquatics]

Well the little darlings finally moved to the end of the tank where I could get some photos.....









Dennis

[Mugwump]

Wow, nice pics !!!!.....

[BallAquatics]

Thanks Jon.  I love Otos and hope I can raise enough to have some in all my tanks.  It will also be interesting to see how tough tank raised Otos are in comparison to the store bought variety.

Dennis

[Ron Sower]

One of our long time GSAS members has opened a store a fer piece north of where I live.  I went up on his opening weekend to support him and was asking about Otos for my diatoms.  He said they were really good for that ailment. so I brought back 4 of them and they have really kept the tank nice. 

One thing he told me is that a lot of people lose them after the algae is gone, because they need a lot of the green and they starve for it.  He suggested HBH Algae Grazers which are wafers which list, in order, spirulina algae, dehydrated alfalfa meal, pea powder as the fist three ingredients, meaning the highest concentrations of course.  Other brands usually begin with fish meal.....etc. 

Right now I have a tank with Clown loaches and rainbows which is laden with green algae.  I'll be getting a bunch this weekend if I find a trusted source, and see what they can do with it.  Plenty of hiding places and plenty of algae.

I appreciate the informational post on the little guys, Jon. Thank you.

[PaulineMi]

Those are great pictures Dennis.

[BallAquatics]

Thanks Pauline!

Dennis

[shatanka]

Your "little darlings" are adorable! That is so cool they gave you 2 little ones! I hope you get lots more from them! Very neat!

[b125killer]

Wow that's cool.

[BallAquatics]

I found new fry hatching out today!  This little guy was up in the corner on the silicon so the photo is not as clear as the others.  He must be from a new batch as he hasn't absorbed the yoke sac completely.

I'm starting to wonder how many there could be in the tangle of anubias and crypts???  Very exciting for me as I'm not know for spawning catfish.....

Dennis

[BallAquatics]

Got a chance to do a quick head-count today. Looks like the first spawn result was just 2 fry - they are around .5". I did however see 5 others that are around the .25" mark! Practice makes perfect... LOL   

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Super, the parents must be getting the hang of it too......that helps..