My Ottos Are Boring

[spankone]

not sure if they are i'll or if im not giving them what they need to be happy they spend all their time in the corner of my tank on the gravel. i've had them for i dont know 3 weeks now i try to supliment their deit with algee wafers but they dont seem to touch them and the snail finishs it off

 

[dave_gray2077]

http/www.otocinclus.com/behavior.html

Some the passage may explain the behaviour.

My 4 ottos tend to be more active at night and never eat algae wafers as well. So I don’t think there is anything amiss there. Mine seem to prefer to scavenge on the left over of the powdered tetra food I feed my cardinals with.

What else do you have in the tank? Im thinking that something may be bullying them perhaps.

 

[spankone]

cheers for that. the tank also houses a betta and 6 tetra but the betta leaves all of them alone

 

[nightlite]

mine seem be be active all the time...

 

[fishstick]

I think the age of the tank is quite important with otocinclus. I put some into a 4 month old tank but they didn't thrive. I tried again at 8 months and this time they are active and plump.

 

[Dave Spencer]

My Otos went in to a week old tank and have thrived. Maybe it is pot luck regarding what strain you buy. They are supposed to be delicate critters, but mine seem as tough old boots.

Plus, I have never seen brown diatoms until now, which have just turned up in my new 60l ADA Aqua Soil tank in which I am not yet able to add any Otos, due to the dodgy water chemistry at the moment.

Maybe they can be a bit boring, but they certainly earn their keep IMO.

Dave.

 

[sophos9]

My Ottos are nutters, always stupidly active and were introduced about two weeks after the tank was started with no problems at all...

Throw a slice of cucumber or zuchini in the tank, they will go crazy

HTH

 

[Eskielvr]

Mine spend most of the day laying on the stems of my Amazon Swords. They like to hide in them. I think Otos are more active at night, usually. They also like to eat a big piece of flake food I set under the water and let float to the bottom. I do that for my Corydora, but I've seen them eating it, too. (Even though there's plenty of algae in their tanks for them to eat.)