ottos food

[Kittycat]

Do Ottos eat cucumber? When I bought mine, I saw a green ring in their tank with an eaten middle, and I asked the clerk if it was cucumber, she said yes, so I put some in my tank afraid that the algae won't be enough, yet after a day and a night the ottos apparently didn't touch it...

 

[Oddball]

First off how many ottos do you have dear? Secondly, was their any loach or plecos in this tank?
Ottos do feed on cucumber but they do prefer to eat algae, so they use it as a last resort, but this is better than tem nibbling your plants eh? With ottos i tend to find that they eat the jelly like bits first, whereas plecos are indiscriminate and loaches eat some of the jelly and eat outwards..............

 

[The-Wolf]

My otos won't touch cucumber either

 

[Kittycat]

I have 3 in a 10 gallon tank. They're still under quarantine, sharing the space with two dwarf gouramis and two bumblebee gobies (raised in freshwater). No loaches or plecos. There's still algae around, and the bellies look full.

Okay, how about algae wafers? Are they more likely to like these? They're a little expensive here, I don't want to buy some and find out they won't touch those, either, as I don't have any other algae eating or bottom dwelling fish...

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

I have 3xOto's in 20G(UK), and mine absolutely love cucumber! So much so they'd forget about the brown algae!

From my obeservations, and now experience, Oto's are OMNIVOROUS, and will eat both plant and animal matter.

Have tried algae tablets at the start, but its was an expensive waste of money. These tablets weren't even interesting for my Yo-Yo's or Peppered Corydora's.

My Oto's are still with me and are 'fat' and very active, so don't just rely on algae, algae tablets/wafers, or cucumber slices to help you out.

Good luck with yours.

 

[millym]

hi there
our new otos seem to love lettuce (romaine) blanched to soften then fixed to the front of the tank with a suction clip........both the otos were drawn to it like a magnet & spent hours on the leaf munching away......might be worth a try for yours. iceberg type lettuce isnt too good (too much cellulose ive heard) stick with romaine type.

 

[Kittycat]

Thanks! I guess it's partly trial and error to see what they like...

Part of my problem is that I don't eat veggies myself, so it would be such a waste to have veggies that they won't eat, after all. I'm also worried some may spoil before 3 ottos can eat through the whole thing. Anyway, I'll try those you guys mentioned.