# What to feed otos?



## bassbuster23 (Jan 7, 2008)

Sennithgrey said:


> Purchased otos a while back to clear out the diatoms and some algae. Currently will run into the problem of what to feed them, as they don't seem particularly impressed by the nori or blanched cucumber and the algae in the 90 gal tank will run low soon. Currently have 8 otos and a 10+ cherry shrimp in the tank long with a brewing infestation of snails. Also fighting an bloom of hair and thread algae that's moderately under control. (i.e. removal rate is slight more than growth rate). Not really feeding anything other than cucumbers and nori, removal of leftovers after about 6-12 hrs.
> 
> Water parameters are 0/0/40/9/2 for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, gH, kH. Temp is being kept at 78 F.
> 
> Recommendations on what otos WILL eat appreciated. Currently planning jacking up light and lowering CO2 get some algae growth until I see to otos actually eat something other than algae.


I skewered a piece of zucchini onto a bamboo skewer.....& they seem to like the bamboo more than the zucchini. Not sure if they are rasping on the wood or just resting there. They will nibble at the zucchini from time to time. Other than that, they are always on the glass or plants grazing.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

How long did you leave things in? I get the impression most people are so worried about the veggies rotting that they don't leave it in until the veggies are "oto approved".

I have 25 in each of two 20G's, in prep for moving them into a common tank. They get zucchini, cucumber, basil, spinach or orange/red/yellow pepper slices as my mood suits. Sometimes they'll attack it 2 mins after it's in the tank, sometimes they need to leave it to "season" for a day. Took them 4 days to get through a rather too large chunk of pepper last time, and nothing has ever rotted.

Like any herbivore, I suspect they may need an adjustment time to assure themselves that it's food. My fish come from 6-7 separate shipments in total, and nobody's ever starved that I can tell.

They're generally fairly nocturnal too, in my experience. They seem to get most hungry at my place at around 9-10pm, so we watch them feed in the last bit before going to bed. The rest of the day there isn't the "entire school" swarm that happens around that time, only an odd individual.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

Depending how long you blanched the vegetables is a factor as well. Sometimes at 24 hours after the cucumber or zucchini starts to fall apart and I think it's time to remove it, it becomes a feeding frenzy when it's mushy. I have them in all my tanks and some like zucchini, some prefer cucumber, some devour algae wafers, others won't touch them. 

Before making your tank an algae farm, I would throw some tank water in jars with some nice small flat rocks and leave the jar indoors in direct sunlight or under a CFL 24/7. When the rocks get some nice algae, put them in the tank.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

The Big Buddha said:


> Before making your tank an algae farm, I would throw some tank water in jars with some nice small flat rocks and leave the jar indoors in direct sunlight or under a CFL 24/7. When the rocks get some nice algae, put them in the tank.


This works very well. Add a ton of cheap fertilizer and you get this:










Otos love the rocks


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Out of curiosity what pH is your tank water, Sennithgrey?

For processed foods mine get rasphery soilent green and xtream catfish wafers.. I'm not 100% sure they eat either of these as I put them in at lights out, but the shrimp, mts, and cory (and other community fish) definitely like the stuff hence my need to put it in after lights out so the others don't eat it all.
For veggies mine love blanches cucumber or zucchini, they've also eaten pumpkin, green and yellow squash, butternut squash, bruccel sprouts (these foul the water-do a water change after), spinach, lettuce (not iceburg-iceburge has no nutritional value), kale. I've seen others feed mushrooms and broccoli to their otos too.
I buy a few cucumbers, slice and de-seed then freeze. I pull out however many I need (1 per a tank) and put it in a microwaveable cup with some tap + a little home made garlic extract and microwave for 1 minute on high (if you are blanching non frozen leafy greens 30 seconds is plenty). Then place cup under running cool tap to cool down the veggie then add a drop of prime before putting the veggie in the tank. I use a glass bead and fishing line tied on to make a loop to anchor the cucumber down-I'm not a fan of the idea of putting silverware in the tank.


AdamTill: rocks? what rocks? All I see is a algae slime soup mmm ^^


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## Sennithgrey (Oct 16, 2015)

Algae growing efforts seems to have been hampered. I swear the tank looks cleaner than when I left this morning. Will leave the cucumber in longer and likely try with blanched spinach as well. Otos seem a bit thinner than the past few days. 
@AdamTill:

I've been leaving the cucumber in for 24 hours, the nori is removed after about 8 hours. 

@ AquaAurora:

pH is approximately 7.8.


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## SL Dan (Sep 20, 2015)

AdamTill said:


> This works very well. Add a ton of cheap fertilizer and you get this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Curious, how long does this take you to get the rocks well covered with algae? I attempted this but was also concerned about the stagnate water having nasties growing in it.

My attempt at feeding veggies and algae wafers to my otos ended up with the tiger barbs and gouramis gobbling it all up before the otos get to them.


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## vision (Sep 29, 2015)

thanks for the advise with the algae rocks, The Big Buddha


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## Sennithgrey (Oct 16, 2015)

My cooking must be really bad... otos haven't taken a bit at either cucumber or spinach, the shrimps only nibbled a bit and decided they didn't like much, and even the snails only barely eating it. Also tried some algae discs, the otos were not impressed. 

Might have to try growing algae.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

SL Dan said:


> Curious, how long does this take you to get the rocks well covered with algae? I attempted this but was also concerned about the stagnate water having nasties growing in it.


I had the same concern at first, but nothing's ever come of it from what I can tell. That bucket's been going for at least six months, and while I wouldn't put fish in it, the algae seems to grow wonderfully and there have been no ill affects putting the rocks in the main tank.

It took at least two months for the rocks to really get going. They looked like this for the longest time:









..but soon started coming out like this:









That's oto candy. Lasts MAYBE two hours, max. Getting a new coat of algae is maybe a month process? I think it would be tough to feed as many as I have like this on a permanent basis, so I use them as a bit of a treat.

On the veggie front, I don't worry even at 4 days on the skewer if I'm a little generous on the portion size. That would be for something like a pepper chunk. Cuc or zuc would have disintegrated and floated to the surface by then, and I remove any floaties.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

AdamTill said:


>


Is it weird that I'd actually _like _rocks like that (green mat of soft algae)for scaping


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

I've often thought the same thing! Doesn't last long around here, and I doubt it would stay contained to the rock nicely lol. You can see the outlines of rocks I've removed in the tank shot.


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## wantsome (Sep 3, 2006)

Ottos will eat algae but believe it or not their diet is suppose to consist of meat. They like shrimp pellets.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

wantsome said:


> Ottos will eat algae but believe it or not their diet is suppose to consist of meat. They like shrimp pellets.


Not sure I agree with that, except in the case of a couple of minor species. Any study I've read that analyzed the stomach contents of wild caught otos showed no animal matter present at all.

Plenty of aquarists have reported that otos will eat pellets, but I can't think they derive any meaningful nutrition from them, in the same way that my horse could eat (but lacks the enzymes to digest) a cheeseburger.

That's just not the way a herbivore's digestive system works. I'd love to be proven wrong though, if you have any info to link to.


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## dzega (Apr 22, 2013)

my ottos also show very little interest in blanched veggies. however if i put a slice in aquarium i dont take it out even if it sits there for like a week. evenualy it dissapears, idk where but this way im sure ottos are not starving


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Two quick tips for getting otos to each blanched veggies:
add a few drops of garlic extract (I use home made- just de-shell garlic and put in a jar/cup with water in the fridge over night) before blanching to the water. Garlic is said to help the immune system but also entice fish to eat food they were ignoring before.
Observe where the otos most often hang out and try to place the veggie there or as close as possible to get them to land on it and give it a nibble. They won't find the food if you keep it in an area of the tank they never rest.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

One thing to consider is that they may just not be super hungry yet. A healthy oto is a fat tummy with a mouth attached, with little fins out for support. If they look like that you may just want to wait a little bit until they go looking for supplemental food.

Mine may just go looking for veggies readily because there's 25 otos and 3 farlowellas in one 20g, and about another 22 or so in the other 20g. No way there's enough algae to support them.


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## roostertech (Oct 27, 2015)

I leave the zucchini in the tank till it start to fall apart.

The otos also go crazy over the shrimp pellets / algae wafer that I drop in for the corys.


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## Sennithgrey (Oct 16, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions. 

There are some indications that they are eating the spinach and the vegetables are slowly disappearing. So I assume the otos are eating somewhat. They don't seem to be as "fat" as the first few days when they really chowed down on the diatoms. Will just have to hope that the otos are the ones clearing the veggies and not the snails. 

Tried the algae wafers, otos don't seem to want to touch it. Looks like I might have a picky bunch, either that or they are still feeding well on the algae though they don't seem to want to touch the hair algae either.


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## chloemcausland (Dec 10, 2015)

Have you tried plain old algae wafers? At our store our ottos never refuse algae wafers.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

I could neve get mine interested in wafers. When you look at the ingredient list, it's not super surprising (very little veggie content in most "vegetarian" wafers).

None of mine will touch hair algae, others have reported the same.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

Time from veggies in tank to photo....5 mins. I needed to make margaritas, so they may have been on earlier and I didn't notice.

Tank 1:









Tank 2:


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## milbran220 (Jul 18, 2014)

AdamTill said:


> None of mine will touch hair algae, others have reported the same.


Mine cleaned up all the hair algae in my tank within 24 hrs of putting them in the tank.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

milbran220 said:


> Mine cleaned up all the hair algae in my tank within 24 hrs of putting them in the tank.


Are you SURE you have otos and not SAE (Siamese algae eaters)?
Otos do not eat green hair algae (long thin hair like strands of algae) but SAE are reported to.


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