Otos: Hard To Keep Alive?

[ally86ozzy]

ive heard that Otocinclus affinis r hard to keep alive in an aquarium. is this true or false? hav 3 in my 10gal w/ 2 mosquito fish and theyre healthy. wut do u think?


P.S. 2 of my otos r fat. is this egging up (if thats possible), bloat, or just being that they r fat in general? and how do u tell their sex? ty.

 

[Ficious]

ill never buy them again because i heard they were hard to keep, bought one to try it out and he died right away. boo

 

[shortymet55]

I have 6 and there all fine. No deaths. Ive read most people think there so not hardy, because they put htem in there tanks, and figuring there so small dont need to be fed, because theres something in the tank to eat, but then they starve.

 

[paul_219]

LOL of course if u bought 1 ottos it will die. They are shoal fish they need to be more then 6.

 

[Nick16]

i have 6 and have never had any die. keep feeding them veggies!

 

[rocknurworld2006]

the hardest thing about them is feeding them really.

 

[Corleone]

Very finicky eaters. I tried a lot of things when I got my six. They wouldn't touch most of it. After a couple weeks, two of them finally started eating zucchini, but the other four never started eating, even when I grew algae in buckets outside, and eventually died.

Once you see them eating, they're probably good forever because they don't stop eating.

Edit: They get fat normally. A healthy well-fed oto will have a fat belly.

 

[silkiechicken]

Oddly enough, despite the "hard" level of them... I didn't think they were any harder to raise then guppies. Of course I've only had them for a few months. Started with 6 and when I was out of town, one just disappeared?!? Other than that, they are fat and happy. The tank isn't new and it does have lots of plants.

 

[ally86ozzy]

i feed them algae wafers that sink 2 the bottom. they LUV them. they also eat the algae and 'invisible food' (they suck on the glass and ornaments but there is nothing there lol.) they like to hid in a cave and under a rock. theyre adorable. should u really keep them in groups of 6? i read that u should hav at least 3. -heart , ally86ozzy

BTW:

and how do u tell their sex?

 

[ally86ozzy]

hola?

 

[NonstickRon]

3 or 6 probably depends on how hardcore of a fishkeeper you are. Its my observation that some people recommend 3 as a minimum for schooling fish, some people 4, 5 and 6.

 

[Corleone]

Now how hardcore you are, but how comfortable the fish are in their situation. If you've only got a mix of small schooling fish, they might be ok in smaller groups. Add a larger fish as a centerpiece, and they'll be less comfortable unless they're in nice sized shoals. You can't make a situation less stressful, only make a less stressful situation.

 

[ally86ozzy]

and how do u tell their sex?

 

[connorsbala]

You will find that they are already starving whenyou buy them. Wholesalers and the LFS's themselves usually dont feed them, so they end up starving already and by the time you buy them, theyre long gone
LFS dont leave any algae on the glass or anything for them to eat, as it looks unattractive...and theyre main aim is sadly to sell fish, than to make them happy in the tank theyre in as they wont be in there long.
The way to keep Oto's nice and healthy is have more than 3, feed them algae wafers, cucumber and offer them some algae in there diet. Do this by leaving one side of the aquarium algae infested or grow your own algae rocks, by leaving a rock in a jar of water in direct sunlight for a couple of weeks.

When you work at a LFS, you see how fish like these die just like that when thye come in from wholesalers with sunken bellies and all that stuff

 

[ally86ozzy]

and how do u tell their sex?

HELLO?!