Oto Questions (hope I have the right forum...)

[moonbunny]

Hi,

I hope I have the right South American Catfish spot for otos...
[Mod edit: Moved to the Loricariidae section -- Mats]

A few questions:

There's a chat going over at Badmans re: Oto health and I was just wondering...Does anybody know of a Oto or cat specific health/illness page? One of the main reasons...choosing healthy fish to bring home. Of does anybody here have any tips?

What's a good number of otos to keep in relation to tank size? For instance, in a 20L?

I've seen my one oto make great friends with 2 bn plecos--Do otos do well mostly with other otos or do they enjoy the company of any catfish?

(btw, not oto related, but I've found unfertilized, fungus-ed, eggs in the pleco tank--one bn has about 1 mm bristles, just a few, and the other, smaller fish (smaller by about an inch) has more bristles, about 2-3mm long. They live in a 20L with lots of broken clay pots for homes, temp about 78, Aquaclear 70 (adjustable uptake rate makes comfortable environment), 20% water changes weekly, Hikari algae tabs + tank algae, veggies, good quality driftwood to chew on--I sure don't have room for a ton of pleco fry, but am I missing something that would help them if they want to have kids?)

Thanks!

[Bas Pels]

The problem with Otocinclus is, they need to eat almost allt he time, vbut nothing is available during export. Thus the imported fish are very weak indead and many die form intestine problems

However, if you manage to find healthy fish (not meager, feeding well) they are quite hardy. So best you buy oto's which have been at the shop for over a month

As they are algea feeders, the amount of algae determines how much you can keep, not the amount of water (none in case on lighting, for example) but they do like each others company

They are, however tiny, and many catfish would bully them. But catfish which will not, such as Corydoras, are a good combination

[apistomaster]

Are there any other fish in your tank other than Otocinclus and common Ancistrus?
The eggs may be from the Otos if they are placed randomly about the tank on the glass or broad plant leaves. They would be colorless and small compared to BN eggs which are large, yellow and in a clump(s) if they were ejected from the spawning cave. Normally, BN eggs are placed in a clump inside a cave and often difficult to see. Usually their fry just "appear" about ten days to two weeks after spawning.
If you have any Corydoras the eggs are placed as described for the Otos and are usually initially clear but infertile or dead eggs turn white.
Otos do spawn fairly often but not so often as to be considered really common so having your Otos spawn is something of an accomplishment.

Otocinclus do best in large groups so for your 20 gallon I would recommend no less than six specimens.

[moonbunny]

Wow! I appreciate the knowledge--Thanks! Do they do that to all petstore catfish? No wonder the fragile little otos (the canaries in the coalmine) have the hardest time, esp. with their super-fast metabolisms...and now I *truly* appreciate how lucky I was to get my bn plecos from a big-hearted fish-lover and not a petstore (they're so healthy!)

If I go with otos, would you recommend I QT them, feed them a good assortment of foods and wait at least a month or so before adding them in with my other two otos? Or, since they're most likely mostly starved, would it be best to add them right into the big tank so they don't have to acclimitize twice? Are there realy fish stores out there that keep otos a month before selling them?

I'm up for a diverse asst. of catfishies, too, though, as long as everybody's small enough to enjoy the smaller (20L) tank I have. My happiness is knowing they're happy, you know? And after seeing how well my eldest oto has gotten along with the bn plecos, it seems do-able. In fact, it's she (or, at least, I've always called her "she") who's captured the heart of my female bn pleco...even though there's about 2" or more difference in size! (The bn cat who I think's a male has litle bristles.) The eggs I'm finding are peach colored and opaque, a little fuzzy looking, about 1mm in size, and are usually found on the outside bottoms (although a few inside) of the halved clay flower pots the bn cats live in.

Would I be better to try for a small shoal of otos or should see if the little cats would like living with corys? (I'm just looking to keep all the cats as healthy and happy as possible...although I have had a "bad" habit of rescuing the fish who need homes the most )

Heartfelt thanks Bas Pels & apistomaster!

[Sandtiger]

I have found this site to be quite useful for information on otocinclus. Should be able to answer many questions.
http://www.otocinclus.com/