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GIANT OTO'S

Well this is kind of interesting… I had a big thick layer of bio film growing on this drift wood… really nasty… today while I was as outside someone or maybe a couple, cleaned up about 1/4 of this wood… both the giant, and the red, are both close by, so no idea if one or both, went to work on it????
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This is the biggest of the giants, that was put into a 10 gallon holding tank, that all the glass surfaces were completely covered in heavy algae… this long side is nearly clear, and the other long side is 1/2 clear

Now that I know they are getting along, I’ll probably move this one, in with the other two, once this tank is algae free…
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Yep… this one will likely make it… working that biofilm covered wood…
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I’ve been starting to a little more digging into these fish, and ran across this….
aquaticarts.com

Giant Otocinclus Catfish (Hypoptopoma gulare)

The Giant Otocinclus Catfish is a true rarity, but its extra large size, peaceful disposition, and algae eating prowess make it a highly desirable fish for the community planted aquarium!
aquaticarts.com
The issue I have with this info or species profile, is the size range… of the 3 I have, only one is small enough to fit the sizes this info has… so it’s possible it’s another species or subspecies, that get bigger…
My question, how big will these get??? , as one was 4 inches, one of as 5 inches, and one was 6 inches, when received… the 2 bigger one have been more of a tan / gold color, so it’s possible their color changes slightly, as they get bigger, or mature, or I actually have a couple different varieties???
 
Species profiles can be outdated as soon as they are written. I had a book on the fishes of the south-west of WA and it said Salamanderfish grew to 6cm. I went collecting and the first one I caught was 7cm.

When it comes to unusual fish, not many people have kept them and the information that is available is probably not as correct as it could be. By having 3 of them, you have an opportunity to learn about them and maybe add some useful data about them to websites that have info on them.
 
the seller lists these as Hypoptopoma thoracatum... however Planet Catfish list's those at aproximately 3.1 inches long... however gulare read as aproximately 4.1 inches... going through all of them, none are listed as big as the ones I have... must be a mutant???
 
This week, I’m completing my 2nd week of heat treatment for Ich, on the tank, for some of the tank mates of the Giants… the Giants survived and tolerated the 86 degrees required for 2 weeks, with flying colors… and as they have displayed that they get along with baby Cory’s, and baby pleco’s, I’ll be adding the 3rd bigger one, that I was keeping in a holding tank, into this tank with it brethren… pictures later ( just for Captain )
 
Today I moved the biggest Giant into the main tank with the others look how much bigger this one is
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They look similar size in these pictures, but the smaller one is at the front of the tank, and the bigger one at the back
 
I couldn’t get this to focus well, but look how low their eyes are mounted, compared to like a pleco… I bet these guys can actually watch things going into their mouths… replaced the blurry picture…
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BTW… I’ve noticed the giants seem to prefer the vertical wood sticks, that I put Repashi on… the other day I found a u tube video of them mating, by searching under there Latin name… the writing was in characters ( like Chinese or other Asian ) and the female was depositing eggs on a vertical wood stick about the same size as mine, and the male was side by side with her, and fertilized them each, after they were laid…

That was as on my work computer, so I’ll have to try to find it again…
 
One word… omnivore

Eating bug bites off the bark…
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I haven’t posted anything on these guys for a while… Sid the biggest one, has begun to color up ( well, if black is a color ) they are all doing well, they are apparently omnivores, as the clean the glass, and hard scape but also get excited at feeding time, and try to suck up as much fish food as they can… a couple pictures of Sid, sporting his new look hard to catch, but he has highlights on his tail and dorsal fin…
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