How can I get my otos to eat prepared foods?

[bunnybunny]

Hi all,

Two days ago I brought home 6 otos to QT. Everybody's lively and energetic, but the only things they seem to be rasping from is a small resin cave covered in brown/diatomaceous algae and the aquarium walls (which don't appear to have anything on them to rasp.) They're pooping a lot, so they must be eating something--but they're running out of brown algae. I've given them algae wafers, I've given them shrimp pellets--nobody seems interested. The only thing I have left to try is some frozen food that I'm hoping might be a good conditioning diet for just getting acclimated(San Francisco Bay's Freshwater Multi-Pack:http://www.sfbb.com/Freshwater-Multi-Pa ... %A2_19.php) and I'm trying to figure out how to feed that without causing a huge mess (if I just drop them in they dissolve and spread out before reaching the bottom. I've been told that maybe I should dissolve a cube, suck up the food with a turkey baster and inject it exactly where I need it in the tank. But is there a better way that works?)

I don't want to loose these fish and the big tank doesn't have anything else with algae on it. Suggestions would be so *wonderfully* appreciated!

Thanks so much!
bunnybunny

[Bas Pels]

Otocinclus only eat vegetable matter.

Ideally algae, but this will not be possible. I would try Cougette / also knowm as Zucchini. It floats, so you better fixate it on the tank floor. Once on this forum I saw a picture of a kitchenfork through the courgette in order to make it heavy.

Don´t try thawed froden dead animals - they are not good for Otocinclus, and in case they would eat from them, they will certainly die

[Valb68]

I've had good luck with repashy super green in a feeding dish, they will happily eat the skin off zucchini, there is also some info on this forum about making a pebble farm to grow algae on rocks to later place in aquarium.

[bunnybunny]

Thanks for writing

I wish zucchini would work, but I've never had a fish that would eat it. I'm checking in on pebble farming. Meanwhile, any suggestions on how to get them to accept algae wafers? The only other thing I can think to do is maybe pick up some spinach to blanch.

[Valb68]

Thanks for writing

I wish zucchini would work, but I've never had a fish that would eat it. I'm checking in on pebble farming. Meanwhile, any suggestions on how to get them to accept algae wafers? The only other thing I can think to do is maybe pick up some spinach to blanch.

My otos won't eat the zucchini if its on the bottom of the tank, but I've had them eat the skin right off a blanched piece hanging on a clip situated below the outflow of the canister filter, not sure if its the slight current they are attracted to or the fact that its at the top of the aquarium and they aren't being pushed off by other tank inhabitants..........
Try clipping an algae wafer up high and see what happens, I don't feed algae wafers so have no experience to offer about them. I would think spinach would do nicely, others also feed shelled peas with success.

[bunnybunny]

Clever, Val68!

I have a couple forks just for the fish, so I'll curve one handle into something I can hook over the rim. I'll set one up with zucchini (maybe with an algae pellet stuck into it) and the other with blanched spinach. I might also hook up a light for a few hours/day to encourage some algae...and, of course, there'll be algae farming on all kinds of weird things, lol!

I read somewhere that many otos are still wild caught, so they may not recognize these other things as foods. So it's just a process of trying things, like with little kids of all species, until they get the hang of it.

Thank you all so much for your tips--they are *so* appreciated