Otocinclus Catfish

[AltheaGlyndwr]

Alright. Thanks. My Petsmart has all their plants in one big flowy area other than their marimo moss which you buy in its on container. So if I get them from there (also I've seen little crawdad looking guys and snails in this flowy water area) how long do I need to keep them seperate or at all?

[thekoimaiden]

That is different from the setup my Petsmart has. Since the plants are in contact with water that other fish have most likely been in, I would QT them for about a week. No fish disease can survive that long without a host and will also give you time to pick out any snails that may come with the plant. Be sure to throw away the water the plant comes in because it may be harbouring some diseases. Get some water from your tank, put the plant in that, and set the QT tank by a window. It wouldn't hurt to change the water on your QT tank with water from your main tank once or twice as it will give your plant some more nutrients to stay strong and keep growing.

[AltheaGlyndwr]

Alrighty, thank you so much for the advice! I actually lost two of the three of my otos... Not really sure why but I'm still going to get some new plants and plant more in my tank. I will find SOMETHING that will survive :/

[Bounce]

Oto cats are very sensitive and really need a well established tank -- one that has been cycled and running for at least 6 months. They also need very clean water, lots of live plants, and hidey holes.

I feed mine cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash and broccoli. They are so fun to watch flitting around constantly cleaning!

Here's a couple of mine enjoying a piece of squash from my garden:

[thekoimaiden]

I'm sorry you lost some more. Otos are not an easy fish to keep alive. All are wild-caught and usually come to the store in very poor condition. If you can get your tank well-planted and let it age for a while, maybe you can try otos again.

[AltheaGlyndwr]

Thanks guys. Here's to trying to help this last little guys survive. Is there anything that I can do for him right now to try and help him survive? He was almost twice as long as the other two (my original died this morning and the midget one last night so now I only have the biggest one left) He appears to have eaten most of the algae wafer I put in there for him... but I can't be sure. And he is constantly moving around.

[Bounce]

My suggestion would be to keep his water as clean as possible and keep him well fed. They seem to be either eating or looking for something to eat at all times. If he's eating and is active, I would think that is a good sign.

Mine won't touch algae wafers but love their blanched vegetable slices. You may have to offer vegetables several times before they actually recognize it as food. Although I haven't tried this yet, I have read about people feeding "sheets" of algae that apparently are available at some online fish supply stores.

By the time they reach pet stores, they are in a weakened state because they're half-starved. Also, and I don't know if it's actually true or not, but I've read that when they're caught, cyanide is put into the water to slow them down so that they're easier to catch. So in addition to already starving, they may have also been poisoned.

Good luck with him and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

[AltheaGlyndwr]

Still alive this morning although not as active. I've been doing 2 gallon water changes like every other day since I got them to try and make sure the water stays clean. I really wish I had a test kit. >.<;;