r/Otocinclus

Otos survive some time in my tanks, but they never thrive. Over the years the numbers melted from 8 to 2.
They look okay, always a nice belly, my tank provides lots of plants, hardscape, flow, oxygenation, soft water. It‘s a 70x50x50cm tank with Neon Tetra, Black Neon and Apistogramma ortegai (+ babys).
I would love them to be more active and I‘d really love to just bring in some more otos to have a nice group again, but I‘m afraid that my tank setting is just not working for them.

I’ve been selling my 4 month old captive-bred otos and honestly, finding the right buyers has been the hardest part!

I’m based in Utah and pricing them at $13/fish, which is exactly how much they cost at my local LFS and those are wild caught ones with parasites. These are healthy captive-bred but breeding and raising oto fry to a viable size is genuinely difficult. Most people don’t realize how much work goes into breeding, raising or how rare they are.

The biggest issue I run into is buyers who just want a “cleanup crew” and have no idea that otos need supplemental feeding to thrive. At minimum, they need something like Bacter AE and Repashy Soilent Green — naturally occurring biofilm and algae from the tank alone just isn’t enough. I don’t mind educating people, but I’d rather find buyers who already understand or are genuinely willing to learn.
I’ve listed on Facebook Marketplace, local FB fish groups, and KSL Classified but with limited success. I’d rather not go the LFS route since I have no control over who they end up with. Plus my LFS sold me a single oto when they knew I didn’t have others and I had no idea about caring for them but that was also on me.

Does anyone know of where else I could sell or how I could sell online and ship them? I really want these rare babies to go to good homes and would like to sell them sooner rather than later but I understand it might take a little time finding the right buyers. Thank you in advance for all advice or insight. 🙏

He eats pellets every single day 😭
I also feed it algae wafers and cucumber.

We recently sought guidance regarding appropriate feeding strategies to try and raise them properly as new fish keepers.

After your advice, we initiated a culture in a dedicated container to foster the growth of biofilm and infusoria.

We observed two distinct sizes among the offspring, suggesting a potential synchronous spawning event by our otocinclus. We have no clue about the age, but it's surely less than a month, maybe if anyone got experience to age them.

Subsequent additions since our last post include crushed catappa leaves, a small quantity of JBL Spirulina Grano S, and some shrimp jelly artemia. We primarily observe the fry consuming material from the leaves and the container walls. Some microfauna might circulate, but we can't know how much.

Of the 26 babies we found, 2 were gone.

We don't know how the mortality rate is progressing because this is our first batch of baby fish and we don't have a clue. Will 1, 3, or more survive?

We saw posts from people having success, but we have them in a community tank. What age is appropriate for cohabitation?

(Oto, Tetra royal, 1 ancistrus LDA016, neocaridina shrimps, pygmaeus corydoras)

Could also be a flower girl

60L/15gal, tannins, hard water (6+ kh and 10+ gh) with high ph (7,8). Filter is balanced I think. Temp is room temperature (22C usually).

This tank is still cycling (two weeks in) although it's already at 0-0-10 for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. So it's a good sign I think. I obviously won't add anything for at least other two weeks.

I was going to choose one of these two stocking options:

- 6 otocinclus affinis, the friendliest betta plakat I can find

- danio margaritatus and/or erythromicron (15ish in total) and 3 amano shrimps. Maybe some pigmy corys.

I was thinking of the first option because I'm guessing the stocking as a whole would be less... sensitive? Delicate? Idk.

Questions:

1. i only have some little hair algae and whiteish algae on my wood. Can otos live off mainly zucchini and other stuff? How often? How many slices should I drop at once with 6 otos?

2. how's the bioload? Can I add them all at once or should I put 2-3 at a times?

3. would you recommend otos to an absolute beginner? (second tank, my only experience is a betta that is thriving in my other 6,5gal)

Thank you. If you think the second stocking idea is better, then I'll go for that one. I just wanna have happy fish no matter the kind.

What I can do ,I already took bro out in big bucket with sponge filter and some drop of sera med protazol

Got a group of 8, so far 3 have died and it looks like this guy is on his way out. ammonia/nitrite 0, nitrate ~40.

Supplementing spirulina / chlorella powder daily.

Towards the end of the video I saw a decent sized hydra and looks like it could have been stinging him but didn’t think hydra could be dangerous for adults ?

Would appreciate education !

He/She also has a cute little mustache.

1st baby's oto.

To maximize our chances, what do you give them to eat?

We know it's hard to figure out. If anyone has any tips?

Have a great day.

I’ve had 6 tank-raised otos for 2 weeks and noticed a white spot on one’s head three days ago. The spot does not appear fuzzy and the oto has been active and eating. I did a 30% water change and added maracyn to the tank in case this is a bacterial infection from a wound. Is this a wound in the process of healing or something fungal? Tank is 32 gallons with no detectable ammonia or nitrites, and 5ppm nitrate. I have a lot of plants, Indian almond leaves, rocks, and driftwood. Lightly stocked with the 6 otos, 5 rasboras, shrimp, and 2 mystery snails. Thanks for your help!

What is this white spot on my fish? It is acting normal. Should I be concerned? Btw the other specs are food and all other fish look healthy

Albino Cory who thinks he’s an Oto? At first I thought he might have passed but nope just snoozing. I’ve never seen one of my Albinos hanging out in the leaves.