otocinclus loses

hiya all

my oto loss rate is really bugging me now

Im ashamed and bemused to tell you that I have bought 12 over the months
and only have 3 left,

6 of them were exposed to a mini-cycle
so that may account for that.

i thought i had it sussed that they needed
feeding as well as the natural algae
and started using blanched courgettes
which they do feed on

i think people (including myself initially)
just look at the tank and see algae and think
there is enough food, but they only eat certain types

but regardless of what feeding improvement I thought i had made,
i have 3 out of the last 7 i bought.

anyway, its p*ssing me off that i am losing these guys
and hate to be responsible for killing them

all water parameters are good, the tank is established
not overstocked by any standard, filtration is good,
oxegenation is good etc etc

i have transferred my surviving three
to my high tec, co2 planty tank last night
but fear that they will die, not for any reason,
just the difference in water with it being a co2 tank,
i acclimatised them very slowly,

i would now like three to put back in the original tank
but am afraid of losing the new ones

it is well documented that they often die soon
after buying them, but i have just had too many loses

i have noticed that they are always skinny when bought
and some of them never fatten up and some do

i have done lots of reading on this but any advice is welcome

btw, the tank in question has 7 silvertip tetras that
are in good health and always have been,
its just the otos im losing

any thoughts?

frustrated!

4

I have had the same problem with these lovely fish.I believe they're very bad travellers.I have seen them caught on a youtube clip,literally thousands into a bag,to be transported to vats at wholesalers,can't be good.I suspect,given thir size,that a lot that we see in the shops,could be in the advanced stages of life,with not much longer to naturally go,could be something to do with it.I bought 10 once,they all went into the same bag,6 or 7 dead within 2 days,2 lasted many months.Food,is of course something to consider,as with all plecs.A lot of people make the mistake that plecs,and indeed all catfish,will get enough food by scavenging leftovers,not true,you must target feed them the appropriate diet.
Just a couple of my thoughts.Others will hopefully post here there experiences.

Otto's dont like to be moved. You could have some in a tank for months and decide to move them to another established tank. Suddenly they go belly up.
The one's that fatten up are females. That is why some dont fatten up, they are males.
It can be tricky introducing them to a planted tank with the Co2 and the change in pH from lights on to lights off could be pH1. This is hard going for any fish.
For feeding i would suggest some of the prepared pleco tabs. Feed in the same place all the time. This allows you to monitor how much they are eating.
Using house hold food items can quickly pollute the tank. This is easily delt with in a normal tank but can have a negative effect on a high light tank with all the fertz. You could be increasing the Ammonia and phosphate beyond what the plants will use up if the food is left to long in the tank.
I would suggest using the not as pretty Hisonotus leucofrenatus. It is tuffer than the Otocinclus affinis but still a good algae eater.

thanks platty

i went for otos mainly for the small size
and that everyone seems to use them
suggesting they are a good choice

i understand your point about planted tanks
but as you probably know 95% of planted tank heads
keep otos and consider them the best there is

what about drip acclimatising, make any difference

i am not going to spend my life killing otos
but would still love to be able to keep some

any other small alternatives to the otos
thanks for the suggestion but they are a bit big for my liking

one of my otos didnt make it through the night in its new tank
as predicted, i found it this evening, strangely had an almost black belly
which i have not seen before and unfortunately i've seen many dead otos

rgds

4

The Hisonotus are roughly the same size/shape as the otto's. Some times called the brown otto. The biggest i have seen were still under 2".
Drip acclimatising is best for otto's or indeed most fish.
I agree you wont beat ottos for size and algae consumption. But i think the problem is either your tank is still to new or water quality. Weather that be from the fertz or the swing in ph.
I never had much luck with otto's and high light tanks. But i never had any trouble with them in an established tank.
The brown on the dead otto's belly could be a bacterial infection or it was dead a while.
I would give it a few weeks and try the otto's again. Make sure they are Otocinclus affinis. There are a couple of others that are very similar but a lot more delicate.

thanks platty

i will hold off and see what happens

btw the tank has been running for three and half months!

any thoughts on those pitbull plecs?

cheers

4

Pitbull peco's (Lda-25) are a great little pleco. The only thing i find with them is if there is some were to hide you wont see them.

50% mortality rate for me. I have not seen 1 of my 2 Ottos though I have quite a wilderness of planted tank - I only see one brave Otto cleaning up the algae's in my Anubias on the higher part of the tank (close to the surface)....