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Caresheet for otos
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The main body of the caresheet was prepared by Armadillo.
The caresheet was standardised and editted by Armadillo.
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Introduction
Hi everyone. I read of a lot of people's otos dying after a couple of days, so I figured I'd write here some of the do's and don'ts about them that I know to hopefully avoid unnecessary casualties. Am not specialist, but I have a couple, and I've read some about them. Please add whatever advice you have on otos in this thread too so would-be oto owners can have a good basis before they get the fish home.
Alright, here comes:
Special precautions
- They are really poor acclimators. This means that they dislike changes, a lot! Changes in temperature, water parameters, transport, etc. When you've just got them from the shop, there are several critical stages. The first 24h are critical, then the first week, then the first month. If you still have them live and kicking after a month, then there's a good chance that the'll live to a ripe old oto age. It's super important when you first get them that you drip acclimate them. This will increase their chances. It basically consists in gradually adding drops of your tank water to their bag (which is floating on top of the water to get them gradually used to the temperature of the tank) over about 2 hours or so. You can use a syringe to slowly drip water water into their bag
- They like to be left alone. I don't mess with anything inside the tank aside from once/twice a week cleaning. [MamaM]
- I recommend you quarantaine them for 2 weeks [MamaM]
- They like extremely clean water. Please ensure there is not a trace of ammonia or nitrite, and that your nitrates are really low.
- They like clean water. I clean once/twice a week [MamaM]
- They like to school. The more otos you have, the more secure they feel.
Food
- They need a really REGULAR food intake. Some can be condemned if they dont' get food in as little as 12 hours. Always leave food out for them if you're low on algae.
- They need a lot of algae, so do consider setting up an 'algae farm' outside in your garden, or close to a window. All it is is a clean fishbowl covered with a clear top (to let the light through on top as well), and you put a couple of (clean) glass jars in there to grow algae on. When your jars are covered in algae, you can drop them in the tank. After a while, you can rotate your algae-covered jars from outside with your algae-cleaned jars from inside.
Do not forget to seed your algae farm with some waste matter by rinsing filter a filter in it. If you don't do it, algae take ages to grow. If you do do it, algae can grow in a couple of days buuuut, don't overdo it or all your ornaments will be covered in algae-poo.
- Always leave a long strip of cucumber or zucchini (give them as big a surface area of the vegetable as there is space for, so they find it easily). Do remove it after 24hrs or so to avoid a nitrate spike from the vegetable rotting. I pretty much constantly have a slice in the tank, and constantly have an oto on it! Buuut, it took a while for them to get it. (well, a while, a week or so I think).
- They're not averse to the odd algae wafer, although this shouldn't be their staple diet. In case they dont eat it, put it in a bowl inside the tank (not a plate, or it might fall in the substrate anyway). That way, if they don't eat the wafer after 24h, you can easily find and remove it (uneaten algae wafers can easily pollute the tank, sometimes causing nasty nitrate spikes).
- Some are not so good at locating their food, or identifying something as food. Don't despair and keep trying (e.g. with cucumbers) by putting large chunks of the food always in the same place. They'll eventually get it. I always add my algae wafers in a little plate they've got in the aquarium. Now they know to check the plate.
- I do add a frozen spinach leaf for something different (freeze the bag of baby spinach, then take one out & thaw a little and stick it in with a veggie clip to weigh it down...they LOVE it!). [MamaM]
Advantages of otos
- They have a negligible bioload
- They are extremely cute
- They're awesome algae eaters. They'll devour your brown algae quicker than you can say oto, which will soon make you want to GROW enough algae for them to eat!
- They don't mind a brightly lit tank, so you can leave your lights on for, say, 13h a day, non-stop, and that'll encourage algae growth
Normal behaviour/appearance
- You can see them dash around and it's nothing to worry about. It doesn't necessarily have to mean that they're stressed. However... If they do it ALL the time, then it might be time to provide them with more otos to school with, or more cover (plants, etc.)
- They'll rest on stuff (propped on their front fins, not quite touching the surface) and at times you'll even wonder if they're alive. They can just rest and do nothing, not even sucking the surface or anything.
- Red gills: a lot of otos have a reddened area around their gills because their skin is so transparent. It doesn't have to be alarming although do keep a very close tap on your water parameters
- Rounded belly: a nice, plump belly is a good sign on an oto. Also, they should be pretty much constantly pooing.
Signs to watch for
- paleness. Paleness in an oto is a sign of stress. A lot of people report death within 24h of first noticing the discoloration. Stress can be caused by many factors including: excessive tank disturbance by humans, aggressive tank mates, not enough hiding places, not enough other otos, water parameters, temperature, etc. Buuuut, they are quite transparent fish, so if they are in brightly lit conditions against a white background, don't panick! Just look at them under normal conditions (natural light) to see if their stripe is nicely visible. If it is, then they're not alarmingly pale.
- sunken belly: it is imperative that they get a constant source of food. An oto with a sunken belly may already be on the way out.
Mating and breeding
- They'll kind of 'smell' each other like dogs, and then the female will rest on a surface and the male will intertwine his body with hers. He's fertilising her eggs.
- She'll lay her eggs all around the tank, not in one big clump. The good eggs are transparent with a bit of dark inside, the bad eggs are fluffy white. Do get rid of the bad eggs with a turkey baster as they're covered in fungus which could be
- The male will defend the eggs, which is really cute. He just kinda stands watch around them.
- If you want oto fry, you'll need to get rid of any fish in the tank that could potentially eat the eggs of course
- After a couple of days, the eggs will disappear and you'll see some tiny wrigglers. If your wrigglers make it past a week, you have a good chance that they'll survive. The fry survival rate is really low.
- A week or so later, she may lay more eggs.
- The fry will eat the same as the parents (in my experience). I don't give them fry food as they'll not find it and it'll just pollute the tank
Temperature
- They prefer coolish water. Ours is around 25C.
Tank setup
- They love a heavily planted tank
Last edited by armadillo; October 15th, 2007 at 03:36 AM.
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