Loaches Online Forum

... cause ours are getting SERIOUSLY fat!!!!

I've never had any live longer than a few days. Yours must be doing well for you.

I think the key is to get enough so that the die-off in the first couple of days (though very very sad) leaves some left. But the survivors are looking like over-stuffed sausages, or balloons on the verge of popping And they are very active....

Probably a result of letting too much algae grow in the 120...

hahaha!
I have some "close to exploding" ottos also. They are really funny when they look like that. I hope I am not being amused and they have some horrible, painful illness, or constipation.
They seem to act normally and enjoy the 4 am race around the tank with the clowns every morning. IT is actually a funny thing to watch. The clowns are doing their beautiful loach dance, and then these little "buddha bellies" chasing behind. It almost looks like they are waddling.
I really don't think I overfeed them THAT much! (?)

When there is not enough algae for them, rotate peas with other vegetables as their main food.

Could they possibly be females full of eggs? they seem to be breeding in home aquaria more and more.
Carol

i did wonder about eggs....

doubt we'll end up with any little ones, though, with all the piggy loaches and Diamond tetras in the tank.....

Have ottos gotten more fragile? I dont think I ever lost any when I bought them. I'm in a soft water area, if that makes any difference.

And there's nuthin' cuter than fat ottos! I kept some in every tank.

I have a question:

I forget, are they happier in pairs or groups or is a single one ok? I have a 5.5 gal heated betta tank set up and want to add an otto, but wasnt sure if I should make it 2 instead.

I think they do not like to be alone, so maybe go for the two.
Mine school and swim together. I even found one sitting on the back of one of my Siamese Algae eaters, like it was her BF!!! It was very cute! They sat there, the little one just sitting right on top for quite a while, very comfie and happy, apparently, and the SAE did not mind at all.

SidtheMonkey wrote:I have a 5.5 gal heated betta tank set up and want to add an otto, but wasnt sure if I should make it 2 instead.

Otto's prefer large groups, and a healthy 5.5g wouldn't likely produce enough algae to keep them well fed. I wouldn't recommend it. The trouble with new ottos is that they don't aclimate easily, or recover well from ph shock. (that explains the die off...)

I think it is possible some batches of Otos aren't as healthy as others. I have never had much problem with them; of my last batch of four, one died within the first two days, but the others are doing well. Yet I have a friend who is just having terrible luck with them. The ones that are dying all come from a particular store and they die within the first week.

Otos do need a very mature tank, and having soft water helps. I have found they by far prefer algae and live micro-critters to any kind of prepared food. When I first got mine, I worried they weren't getting enough to eat, but all were fat and healthy. They love to feed on the algae and other things that grow on driftwood. This makes them hard to overfeed when the food they most prefer is readily available all the time.

I also have a couple in my tank that are very fat. The bellies are so round they look like those roly poly toys with round bottoms that wobble when they sit on a log. I think a couple of these are pregnant. Unfortunately, I doubt any eggs will survive in my tank either, with adult Rams and Tetras.

You can tell the males from the females because the females are much bigger, both in length and in width. The heads of females are wider and more triangular, the males are more slender. They most definitely prefer to be in groups, the more the better.

soul-hugger

rarefaction wrote:

SidtheMonkey wrote:I have a 5.5 gal heated betta tank set up and want to add an otto, but wasnt sure if I should make it 2 instead.

Otto's prefer large groups, and a healthy 5.5g wouldn't likely produce enough algae to keep them well fed. I wouldn't recommend it. The trouble with new ottos is that they don't aclimate easily, or recover well from ph shock. (that explains the die off...)

I've had multiples in large tanks and never saw them hang out together, except when I put out food for them.

And I enjoy feeding my ottos anyway...I like 'em fat! But I am looking more closely at shrimp or nerites snails for algae patrol in my betta tank.