# Going to Try Oto's Again



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Sigh. I've had 2 failed attempts with this fish and I'm determined to make it work out this time. I have a dozen O. affinis on order from a distributor, so no turning back now. 

I'm thinking of splitting the group up between 2 hitech planted 75's. One tank has RCS & CRS as the only inhabitants right now and the other has Black Skirt Tetras, Gold Tetras, & a couple of juvy Ancistrus. 

I have 2 concerns: Feeding & Competition for food. Will algae wafers suffice? I have some from Ken's Fish & Hikari. Do they have a preference? Baby Ancistrus sure do, they would rather starve than eat Ken's wafers. No worries. The RCS & CRS devour Ken's wafers so much they engulf them and outcompete the snails! That's my other concern. Will the shrimp outcompete the Oto's for food? This is where I need some advice. I would guess I have upwards of 1000 shrimp in this tank of all sizes. I can do a veggie clip if they like fresh veggies like my Ancistrus do. 

Also, I plan on doing a slow drip acclimation before quarantining them, so don't need any advice on that subject.

Thanks.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

My Oto's will eat Hikari Algae Wafers. But the thing is, i have 2 of them in a 10 gal, and they will only eat at the wafer for a short time. After that even the shrimp leave it alone. The Oto's have a nice round belly so they are eating enough algae but none the less I offer semi-regularly. I'm sure you could use a veggie clip if needed.


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## Ulan (Oct 2, 2006)

Otos only have difficulties when they start out. They easily die from the moving stress: some just get pale and so weak that they slide down the glass. If they survive this, the next hurdle comes when all brown algae are gone. If they also take that turn, they are, in my experience, very hardy fish.

Mine learned eating algae wafers (Wardley and some others), shrimp pellets and zucchini slices. They prefer the zucchini a little bit more mushy than the bristlenose likes them. My otos are not shy at all. One of them even wins struggles with the bristlenose. They also take very well to medication. Not they needed any, because they never get ill . But they don't mind medics for the other fish.

I bought a few too many because I expected to lose half of them. Now I have a big group of happy otos.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

I always have good luck with the otos purchased from Petsmart. The key is to purchase healthy otos at the store. The fish should not show any *significant* deterioration of the tail fin. Look for good body coloration. Finally, avoid fish with a flat belly.

It's important that you have some algae in the tank when you introduce the otos.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

I usually buy from a known goog LFS and when I see that they have gotten some I wait a week or so before buying them to further assure that they will make it.


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## tkos (Oct 30, 2006)

I woudl agree. Make sure they have been in the store for awhile before purchase. And that they have a slightly plump belly.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

It is very rare for an Oto to die in your tank if it passes those visual tests. Quality otos don't stay at the LFS for more than a few days, at least in most metro areas.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

I cant even find Otos at my LFS. I drove about 2 hours to a NEAPS meeting and found them there, i picked up 5 and those 5 are split between 2 tanks. 2 in a 10 gallon and 3 in a 55. I'd like 1 or 2 more for my 55 but I CANT FIND THEM! lol.


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## Darter02 (Feb 19, 2007)

Even though mine seem to eat a lot of algae I wanted to try to give them variety. On the suggestion of someone else, I boiled some zucchini slivers until they sunk. After cooling, I dropped them into the tank. With a few hours, the Otos where stacking up on them, munching away. It was also suggested to that I trim off the skin to get rid of pesticides and waxes.


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## Valley (Feb 28, 2007)

I've got a few otos and have found their feeding to be more difficult than my other fish. Not that it's that hard they are just a bit picky. I tried the Hikari algae wafers and they won't go anywhere near them(though it seems not everyone has that problem). They will however munch all day long on Wardleys. I think it may be that Wardleys is only green matter and the Hikari contains animal matter. Also, as has been said, they will take veggies like cucumber or zucchini but it's got to be softened. Best food for them though is live algae. If you can provide that when they first come in it'll really help their survival rate. Good luck with them. They are really cute little fish once they settle in.


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

Otos will also make due with what is available, mine frequently can be seen eating brine shrimp and flakes with the others at feeding time.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Thanks for the advice on feeding. Like I originally stated, I ordered from a distributor, so I can't hand pick the best looking fish, hell I won't even see them until they are delivered. Instead, I'm taking a 75 cents per fish gamble. The tank and food will be ready and waiting for my new friends.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

$.75 cents each isnt a bad price at all. I was just in a LFS and they were selling for ~$3 each. And they were juvies, skinny ones at that.


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## C.ton (Nov 6, 2006)

could you let me know where you are getting these from?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Otos @ Petsmart retail for $1.49. I suspect they all come from the same distributor. The quality can vary from very good to poor, depending on shipment. Customers in Ca and Fl will normally get the best specimens.


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## boink (Nov 29, 2006)

i bought 10 from my petsmart....2 looked a little dead and starved, one had a stumpy tail, but no deaths so far...


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

C.ton said:


> could you let me know where you are getting these from?


www.tfdfish.com

They are in the Cleveland, OH area. I'm in Cincinnati which makes shipping more attractive to me since we're both in the same state. I've never ordered from here before, but I'm in on an order with somebody who has and they have never had a DOA or any problems really. I also ordered up some YoYo Loaches for $1.50 each. Couldn't pass on that price. I believe there is a $200 minimum order. That's why I'm in on a group order.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

The order came in today. The order coordinator, I'll call him Big K., had to go down to the Cincinnati Airport to pick up the order. There were mixed results.

I think there were about 6 people in on the group order. We were quoted $40-$50 for shipping under 100lbs. Our order was 90 something lbs. They charged us $260 freight. That's strike #1, no the umpire has a heart attach and falls over dead on home plate!

I was the luckiest one of all to get everything I ordered and had the least casualties. One DOA Oto, which I completely expected. Hell I expect a couple more to croak within the next couple of days if they look at a Java Fern wrong. Size was not advertised, but they all measure in between an inch and 1.75". I wouldn't say any of them are "plump", but the bigger ones look "fuller" bodied. The smaller ones are definitely skinnier. Their quarantine tank is a 10g low tech planted w/ ferns & moss and going thru new tank syndrome with one side completely covered with diatom and/or brown algae. After the drip acclimation, I fed them a strip of Freedom cut canned greenbeans and some boiled thinly cut cucumber slices. Some immediately showed interest in the buffet. They seem somewhat active too. Wild pitch.

On to the YoYo Loaches. They looked a little pale in the bag, but under the tank light after acclimation looked like they had the normal dark colored patterns against light gray and very active. They went into an albino Ancistrus growout 29g. Well it was Ancistrus only until I put some juvy Emperor Tetras in there last night which I bought at the GCAS (www.gcas.org) meeting. 12 for $15, not bad! The Loaches leave the Ancistrus alone, but the Emperors are curiously nipping the Loaches some. They are quite active and I can't wait to see them eat some snails. They measured in at 1.25"-2", advertised at 1.5". Blooper over the second baseman's head.

Two different people ordered 10 Clown Loaches each, which I was told by Big K. that they aren't supposed to ship well, and only had 1 DOA. Infield hit.

Another guy ordered some Discus and one was kind of horizontal upon arrival. He revived it this afternoon, but it's on watch. Ump warns Home Team Manager about language.

A couple of people ordered "freshwater" stingrays. One of which ordered some sort of frozen worm food for his. They rays arrived well, but they didn't send the food. Doh! Strike #2!

Another person order several plants that were all packed into one bag, so he had no clue if they sent everthing. Some were in bulb form, Big K. was told, so they weren't immediately recognizable. Passed ball.

There were several fish that didn't get sent because they looked like shiite at the distro, Big K. said after he talked to the distro after getting back home from the airport. Balk!

There were also some DOA Cardinals and Rummy Noses, but that was expected. Big K. said that the distro will send out replacements and missing fish and stuff next week. Rain Delay.

While I can say that for $24, I did pretty well (12 now 11 Oto's and 6 YoYo Loaches), but as for the rest, they are disappointed and/or steamed. Big K. ate the difference in freight, but is trying to make them fix everything. I'd rate the order as Bush League at best, because the weather was great, but fulfulling the order left much to be desired.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Updated thread.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm okay paying higher prices @ the LFS if I get to pick out the fish. Catching a specific cardinal from a large school is an art. I usually start out with 1/2" $2 baby cardinals. It takes about two months for them to reach 3/4" - 1". Add another year to hit 1.5". Even with good food and clean water, 1.8" is the absolute max in my tank. Nominal lifespan is around 5 years, but I have a few approaching 8.


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