FinsandWhiskers
Hey all! I recently joined after looking through a few threads on otocinclus breeding and finding the whole process to be incomplete with information. Breeding otocinclus is still an uncommon feat, and the more experience we have the better, so I thought I would share mine day by day in hopes of gathering more information for an entire video I will be making, and to help others in attempting this as well. I would love for there to be more otocinclus breeders, all things considered.
I've been an aquarist since I was a kid, but I have been raising otocinclus for only nearly 2 years. They quickly became my favorite fish in the world. A lot of people use them to get rid of algae, or as peaceful tank mates, but I fell in love with the species as a whole. I wanted more, and I wanted to know more. When I learned how they are caught in the wild, I knew I was going to try and try again to breed these fish. I used to keep them in a 10 gallon with a betta, so I didn't bother trying to breed them at the time. Well, nearing 2 months, I transferred them to a 25g planted tank. Great, breeding has already been on my mind for this tank... just not with Covid19 interference...
So as you guess, this was accidental. I only transferred the plants that looked like a jungle in the 10 gallon to the 25 so besides adding a few more nursery plants, it definitely has a lot of loose spaces, and I only had 6 otos when the plan was to add 15 for when it would be heavily planted, and then I would start the attempt to breed. Obviously, nature's plans came first. However since I have been thinking and researching this for a while, I quickly knew what to record, keep in mind, and go forward with. So let's start! Bear in mind, the fry are currently only 4 days old, so I will be updating you all from the present! We can go through this together.
Two weeks ago, I fed frozen daphnia to the 6 otocinclus–3 males, and 3 females. Some people say live food is the answer, and I did have that in mind, but it was because I needed to make room for frozen veggies since I'm stuck at home, and the daphnia didn't fit anymore. So I popped those in two of my tanks. The otos did chow down on the daphnia, but no mating calls were initiated. Fast forward to April 3rd, last Friday, I noticed two of the otos dancing up and down the sides of the glass. I pulled out my camera so fast, I didn't even think I knew what was actually happening, but my instincts did. Then they started the mating process. So here's everything I did the day before: A 40% water change in the morning. A bacteria bloom had occurred after I put in a large piece of new wood, and then also decided to put two algae wafers right before bed like a mad man so that the otos could have a chance with the endless snails. A calculated mistake...? I tossed in purigen, added an air stone, and did a 40% water change the morning I woke up to it because I was scared of anything happening. I usually only do a water change once a month, but considering this is only a one month cycled, running tank, things had to be different for a bit. A bacteria bloom is common for having this tank for just one month, it could have been a lingering factor and those events just played out the bloom. I have read many accidental spawnings after a medium-large water change, so I really do think that this is an important factor in breeding them. It isn't uncommon for tropical fish to need a fair wc to trigger spawning. I used water straight from the sink as chlorine and chloramines are not present in our tap water. It was cold for a fair amount of time, and then it got hot after racing to pour the water from plastic bottles into the tank while the other bottle filled up. Majority of the water was cold though, and this lines up with some experiences as well.
It's important to note that I do not run a heater in that tank. It's always running at 75f for most part, but when the sun hits harder during fall-winter with the blinds up for my land plants, it only ever reaches 78f at most. I use two sponge filters and a small wave maker for a natural current to mimic their natural environment a bit. I have turned off the wave maker since the fry. My pH is between 7.5-7.8, but tomorrow I will get the accurate reading for the video to come.
So here's the TLDR; timeline:
April 2nd - 40% water change
April 3rd - Otocinclus Mating & Spawning
April 4th - Noticed egg-looking spheres on wood but I think they turned out not to be the actual eggs, so they really did do a good job of hiding them from me
April 5th - 3 visible Otocinclus Fry
April 6th - 6 visible Otocinclus Fry
April 7th - 8 visible Otocinclus Fry
The tank:
All the living creatures in the 25g: Otocinclus, Ramshorn Snails, Malaysian Trumpet Snails, Bladder Snails, Nematodes, Copepods
Since the eggs I have started up a 3.7g solely for infusoria culture. The new wood had a lot of biofilm but now it is little because of the adult otos and snails. I am also trying to make green water in a jar, but any tips on that would be greatly appreciated, since this is a timely matter. As you can see in the recent photo, they have basically consumed their yolk sacs, and it is a crucial time for me to control their environment. I am sure microbes are already present in the tank but I don't know if it is sufficient. I also don't know if they can yet go for the worms like the adults. If they make it to the later stages, I have freeze dried brine shrimp, chlorella flakes, algae wafers, and veggies.
I will continue to update this (hopefully to the last stage), If you read this all, you're probably crazy about otos like me. Wish us all good luck!
I've been an aquarist since I was a kid, but I have been raising otocinclus for only nearly 2 years. They quickly became my favorite fish in the world. A lot of people use them to get rid of algae, or as peaceful tank mates, but I fell in love with the species as a whole. I wanted more, and I wanted to know more. When I learned how they are caught in the wild, I knew I was going to try and try again to breed these fish. I used to keep them in a 10 gallon with a betta, so I didn't bother trying to breed them at the time. Well, nearing 2 months, I transferred them to a 25g planted tank. Great, breeding has already been on my mind for this tank... just not with Covid19 interference...
So as you guess, this was accidental. I only transferred the plants that looked like a jungle in the 10 gallon to the 25 so besides adding a few more nursery plants, it definitely has a lot of loose spaces, and I only had 6 otos when the plan was to add 15 for when it would be heavily planted, and then I would start the attempt to breed. Obviously, nature's plans came first. However since I have been thinking and researching this for a while, I quickly knew what to record, keep in mind, and go forward with. So let's start! Bear in mind, the fry are currently only 4 days old, so I will be updating you all from the present! We can go through this together.
Two weeks ago, I fed frozen daphnia to the 6 otocinclus–3 males, and 3 females. Some people say live food is the answer, and I did have that in mind, but it was because I needed to make room for frozen veggies since I'm stuck at home, and the daphnia didn't fit anymore. So I popped those in two of my tanks. The otos did chow down on the daphnia, but no mating calls were initiated. Fast forward to April 3rd, last Friday, I noticed two of the otos dancing up and down the sides of the glass. I pulled out my camera so fast, I didn't even think I knew what was actually happening, but my instincts did. Then they started the mating process. So here's everything I did the day before: A 40% water change in the morning. A bacteria bloom had occurred after I put in a large piece of new wood, and then also decided to put two algae wafers right before bed like a mad man so that the otos could have a chance with the endless snails. A calculated mistake...? I tossed in purigen, added an air stone, and did a 40% water change the morning I woke up to it because I was scared of anything happening. I usually only do a water change once a month, but considering this is only a one month cycled, running tank, things had to be different for a bit. A bacteria bloom is common for having this tank for just one month, it could have been a lingering factor and those events just played out the bloom. I have read many accidental spawnings after a medium-large water change, so I really do think that this is an important factor in breeding them. It isn't uncommon for tropical fish to need a fair wc to trigger spawning. I used water straight from the sink as chlorine and chloramines are not present in our tap water. It was cold for a fair amount of time, and then it got hot after racing to pour the water from plastic bottles into the tank while the other bottle filled up. Majority of the water was cold though, and this lines up with some experiences as well.
It's important to note that I do not run a heater in that tank. It's always running at 75f for most part, but when the sun hits harder during fall-winter with the blinds up for my land plants, it only ever reaches 78f at most. I use two sponge filters and a small wave maker for a natural current to mimic their natural environment a bit. I have turned off the wave maker since the fry. My pH is between 7.5-7.8, but tomorrow I will get the accurate reading for the video to come.
So here's the TLDR; timeline:
April 2nd - 40% water change
April 3rd - Otocinclus Mating & Spawning
April 4th - Noticed egg-looking spheres on wood but I think they turned out not to be the actual eggs, so they really did do a good job of hiding them from me
April 5th - 3 visible Otocinclus Fry
April 6th - 6 visible Otocinclus Fry
April 7th - 8 visible Otocinclus Fry
The tank:
All the living creatures in the 25g: Otocinclus, Ramshorn Snails, Malaysian Trumpet Snails, Bladder Snails, Nematodes, Copepods
Since the eggs I have started up a 3.7g solely for infusoria culture. The new wood had a lot of biofilm but now it is little because of the adult otos and snails. I am also trying to make green water in a jar, but any tips on that would be greatly appreciated, since this is a timely matter. As you can see in the recent photo, they have basically consumed their yolk sacs, and it is a crucial time for me to control their environment. I am sure microbes are already present in the tank but I don't know if it is sufficient. I also don't know if they can yet go for the worms like the adults. If they make it to the later stages, I have freeze dried brine shrimp, chlorella flakes, algae wafers, and veggies.
I will continue to update this (hopefully to the last stage), If you read this all, you're probably crazy about otos like me. Wish us all good luck!
