are my oto catfish getting enough food??

[itsuki]

are my oto fish getting enough food??

details:

im a born again novice betta owner. ive had a 13 yr gap between fish and barely back into owning a betta for over 2 weeks now. i was a poorly informed and underfunded teenage betta enthuaist then and im guess im just as poorly informed now but im reading more and more and finding info off the net as become an daily routine over the the last week

had male veiltale (Nemo) for 2 wks now

3 oto catfish (Larry, Curly, and Moe) for maybe 6 days now, they get along with Nemo, one even follows him from time to time

10g tank with heater at a constant 75 degrees and a tetra whisper filter. retrofitted mini bow 2.5g lamp. condiitoner and nitrate remover. bare tank floor with 3 fake silk plants.

heard that otos need more then natural occuring tank algae so i bought API Algae Wafers (they look like mini cookies). well the otos wont touch it, ive seen them eat at it for a few seconds twice now and then go on to sucking on the floor or wall of the tank or on parts of the filter. i thought they might eat it once the wafer breaks down abit, its been days now its its just totally broken down and now just mush in the corner of the tank (ive didnt like the thought of it sitting there so i did a water change).

question 1) with only 1 betta fish and no live plants will the otos get enough algae to eat?? im worried that theyre starving and will eventually die, i cant tell because they either zip around so fast then they will be still and suck glass on endlessly.

question 2) should i let the algae wafer break down completely and let it float around in the tank/ do these wafers rot and mess up the chemical balance of the tank??

[LittleBettaFish]

When your otocinclus are stuck to the glass, have a look at their stomachs. They should be nice and rounded, not sunken in or hollow looking.

By the sounds of your set-up I am going to say that you would probably not have enough algae for three otocinclus. They are ravenous grazers and have to feed constantly. I had a pair completely polish all the algae out of a 30 gallon tank in only two or three days.

Have you tried blanching some zucchini or cucumber and putting it in your tank? They may go for that. Mine would sometimes have a nibble.

I would not leave the algae wafer in there. Unless you had live plants that could make use of the rotting food, it's best to just remove it if they have no interest in them.

[itsuki]

blanching?? i dont know what that is??

i read they eat veggies too so i threw in some small pieces of lettuce but it stayed at the top and they didnt want it/and or didnt know it was there. if they prefer zucchini or cucumber then ill try that. my roommate is on a veggie juice diet so cucumber are readily availalble to me :P

2 of them have a roundless in the belly the 3rd not so much :(

would they graze of those.... what are they called.....mossballs?? green fuzzy circle looking rock thingy?? or is that something different from algae??

if there a safe way to increase algae levels??

[LittleBettaFish]

To blanch my cucumber I just chuck a slice in a small container of water and put it in the microwave until the water boils. Then I just get it out and put it in some cold water to cool.

I don't believe they eat Cladophora algae, which is what the marimo balls are made of. Otocinclus prefer soft green algae and diatoms.

I found if I left my light on for longer than normal or I had a tank that was in direct sunlight, I would get quite a lot of diatom build-up in only a short amount of time. Maybe you could try leaving some objects out in some sunlight or under a strong lamp, to grow some algae on.

Here's a page I found with info on otocinclus feeding

http://www.otocinclus.com/feeding.html

[itsuki]

super informative, thank u!!