Isabella

Hey Everyone

Just wanted to tell you that I've just bought 4 Otos - very unexpectedly. I was shopping in the city this evening, and I saw a crappy-looking pet shop, so I stopped by to have a look at the fishies. To my surprise, they had Otos (never seen Otos in any pet shop so far). Considering they may not have them again for a long time, I bought 4 Otos already today. Will have to run in a few minutes to acclimatize them in my Q tank (will do it for 3 hours). And did I mention how incerdibly cute and tiny they are!? Please pray that all goes well with them (they're wild-caught).

As for the true SAE (as mentioned in the other thread), my local pet shop did not have them yet. They said to check again next week, and the week after. I really hope they'll have it soon.

OK, I am off to acclimatizing my Otos. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! (scared they may die, knowing how delicate they are)

jsalemi

Congrats on your find! It's great when you come across something that's not common to your area (though every LFS around here has tons of otos). I felt the same way when I found panda corys at two local stores.

I've had 50/50 luck with otos -- no mater how many I buy at a time to date, 1/2 lives fine, the other half doesn't last the month. They're just that way sometimes. Here's hoping yours do well!

Isabella

Hi Joe Well, the acclimating is done. Yes, I also worry that some of them (if not all) will not make it. But I am hoping for the best, of course. Though the good thing is that the owner of the pet shop didn't add any pH adjusters to his tanks and his water is around neutral, as is my water in my Q tank, so maybe they won't feel as big a shock associated with the transfer to a new home.

I have these foods ready for the Otos: Hikari Tropical "Algae Waffers", TetraMin "Variety Waffers", and TetraMin "Tropical Tablets". Plus, zucchini and spinach of course. Will Otos eat regular fish flakes and other foods that fall to the bottom (such as brine shrimp and blood worms)? If they will, add these foods to the list as well. Is that a good enough variety/diet? Or is there anything else I should be feeding them with?

That particular fish store had German Rams too Though I couldn't buy them yet - they're the last fish to be added to my tank. I have a question: Are "German" Rams the same in appearance as "German Blue" Rams? Or is there any difference? I wanted German Blue Rams originally, but not sure if this is the type the fish store had. If yes, I'll buy the Rams soon from them too.

COBettaCouple

congrats on the F0 otos! i hope they all make it & do really well for you.

Neville

Butterfly

Yep German Rams are the same as German Blue Rams
carol

jsalemi

I'm pretty sure I've seen my otos snacking on the Omega veggie flakes I give the fish in the 10g every so often, but I can't recall ever seeing them touch any regular prepared food other than the algae wafers. I also use the Hikari sinking wafers, but the corys devour those before the otos even know they're in the tank.

Isabella

Thanks all for your replies The Otos are still alive today (and hoping they'll stay so a month from now and beyond). They're actually very lively, active, and extremely fast as for such small fish! They all swim in their group, which looks so cute

Anybody has any idea how old they may be? My young adult Harlequin Rasboras are about 1" (or maybe a little bit less than 1 ") in size. And the Otos seem about the same length as compared to the Harlequins. Based on this info, how old do you think they are? They'll grow to 1.5" right? How fast do they grow?

So, the diet I have for them is OK, right? Or is there anything else missing from it?

COBettaCouple

i wish i knew how old they are, but i'm guessing less than a year. i could be totally wrong though.

Isabella

That's OK Dave, thank you very much anyway

COBettaCouple

no problem.. anytime you need a wild, unfounded guess - i'm there for ya!

Isabella

LOL, that's great to know! A "wild unfounded guess" LOL ...

armadillo

Hi Isabella. Congrats on the otos. They're awesome fish.

You mention zucchini, so I thought I'd butt in to say: it's a good idea to keep a slice of zucchini there at all times (refreshing it with a new one every day). That way, you're 100% sure they're never going without. With otos, it's tough to know whether they're getting the food or whether their tank mates are, and they're not really good at going without.

Isabella

Thanks Armadillo As a matter of fact, there is a zucchini slice in the Q tank right now + veggie waffers. I put a lot of food in there to make sure they eat. I'll be siphoning out uneaten food every day and adding fresh water every day (1 or 2 gallons). All this to make sure they make it (since they're reputed to be so sensitive).

Here are some photos (I'll aslo post them in the pictures board.)