# feeding oto cat



## learn2turn (Sep 16, 2008)

I have this little itty bitty oto cat in my 10g. I'm afraid ones he eats all the alge of the type he likes, there may not be much for him to eat.

I tried a piece of boiled zucinni, left it in for about a day. I didn't see he get interested in it.

Is there some commercial food I should throw in for him? Brand and product recommendation would be good.


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

Try hikari algae wafers. A fat otto is a happy otto.


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

learn2turn said:


> I have this little itty bitty oto cat in my 10g. I'm afraid ones he eats all the alge of the type he likes, there may not be much for him to eat.
> 
> I tried a piece of boiled zucinni, left it in for about a day. I didn't see he get interested in it.
> 
> Is there some commercial food I should throw in for him? Brand and product recommendation would be good.


The adults will definitely eat Hakiri Algae Wafers but fry avoid it. One bag will last you a million years; since I never feed them more than 1/4 of a wafer at a time. (I'm not sure but I think I have 9 or 10 Oto's now). You might want to crush the wafers up a little as well to get the wafers to more of a bit size.

BTW my Cory Cats love them as well and probably consume most of what I put in my aquarium.


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## jusu (May 22, 2008)

Don't give up on vegetables, otto might need some time to figure out it is eatable. It took about 3 days for mine to figure that it is actually tasty 
I would just put it in, replace the piece like once a day (so it'll not make a mass when falling apart) - he'll eventually get interested.
Cheers


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## oddsoxdi (Sep 6, 2008)

I've had EXXXcellent results with blanched spinach and thawed frozen peas popped out of their tough skins and cut into teensy pieces.


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## learn2turn (Sep 16, 2008)

Well I went out and bought two more oto cats. I also bought some of those hikira algae wafers. I'll try those and some of the other ideas.

The three otos are grassing all over stuff. I'm guessing there's enough stuff for them now but maybe it will all grazed off.

Follow up question, is there a way I can tell if they are getting enough or if I has to supplement?


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## jusu (May 22, 2008)

Ottos feed on "immature" algae - algae at early stages of growth, which sometimes we cannot really see. What I hear around is : fat otto is a happy otto  . There is a truth to that, but one needs to be able to distinguish fat otto from sick otto - I've heard a couple of times of otto belly getting big and round - like he'd swallow a marble or something. Ottos with bellies like that usually don't make it.. I'm not sure what is the cause of that - probably some infection..

I'd say since you just got them, don't spare them anything and feed them well. Try the veggies or hikari wafers, but as I said it make take a while for them to pick up on that. See what they like 
I think in planted tank there will be always algae for otto to eat, but I also think it is good to supplement their diet once in while, so I'd try to add something more once in a few days.
If you'll see that your ottos are not rounding up, or getting skinnier - you'll know that they're not getting enough food.
Hope that helps.


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## gravy9 (Aug 28, 2008)

Hi learn2turn,

Don't lose heart. I agree with jusu's response. I have 2 otos and it took them a while to realize that the blanched zucchini was food. Ever since, they clean a slice out in 2-days. They just love it. I've also tried blanched spinach and blanched brussel sprouts. 

Here's what I'd recommend. Get a veggie clip or two and take the leaves of brussel sprout/spinach or a slice of zucchini, put them in a bowl with a little bit of water and microwave it for about 15 seconds or so. Let it cool and attach it to the veggie clip and leave it for about 2 or 3 days. They'll get to it in time.

Hang in there. It's wonderful to watch them eat.

regards,
Ravi


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## ray-the-pilot (May 14, 2008)

learn2turn said:


> Well I went out and bought two more oto cats. I also bought some of those hikira algae wafers. I'll try those and some of the other ideas.
> 
> The three otos are grassing all over stuff. I'm guessing there's enough stuff for them now but maybe it will all grazed off.
> 
> Follow up question, is there a way I can tell if they are getting enough or if I has to supplement?


Every now and then (say once a week), I break up 1/2 of those algae tablets and grind it up to about "sand size" and sprinkle it in my aquarium. All the fish love it but especially the Oto's. If they don't eat the algae wafers, they may be sick.

Anyway, I've had great success with Oto's including breeding and raising them. If given enough algae the females will fatten up quite a bit and it will be easy to distinguish the males and females.

Like I said, I don't know exactly how many I have since they are not schooling fish and my tank is dense with plants. My feeling is that once you have them established, they are very non-demanding fish and easily prosper. You can actually raise them in a community tank; since they are not attacked by other fish because of protective barbs and toxic spines.


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## chris127 (Jun 28, 2008)

algae wafers and algae are fine. organic vegetables work great too. if hes got a fat belly, hes full.


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

I use a stainless steel deck screw and screw them into whatever I am putting in the tank, zuke or cuke or even a wad of spinach. It works great and you dont have to keep mucking about with the clips if you have multiple tanks.


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## Rebel1970 (Jan 10, 2011)

HI
What about cucumber, do these little guys like that?


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

I sliced up a cucumber and froze it, and thaw out a slice at a time to put in the tank weighted with a plant weight - the ottos definitely like munching on it!


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