Otos diet?

[captmicha]

Yes, I've googled their diet and such but apparently, my otos don't know that they're supposed to eat algae tablets, seaweed sheets, and blanched veggies. Any time I put any food in for them, they ignore it. Thankfully I've been leaving algae on the glass for them to feed on but it would be nice to get them to eat other things so I can scrape the alge off.. Any suggestions?

[James0816]

You're already doing one...leaving algae on the glass. Depending on your tank placement, just scrape the front pane and they will take care of the rest.

As for feeding, there could be other factors involved such as tank mates. Quite possibly someone in there that just snarfs it up before they get to it. While they graze all the time, they are more active at night.

Usually, they will have a certain spot they like to hang out at. This is where you want to "target" feed. By placing a piece of zuc in their area, it gives them more of an opportunity to recognize it.

Algae wafers are very hit and miss. They also contain fish and/or shrimp meal which can turn the little guys off of them. Not saying that they won't eat them because they will. Just will take longer to get them to recognize it. My trick here was to place a wafer directly on top of a piece of zucchini. While snarfing the zuc, they graze across the wafer and...well...snarf. I can now drop the occassional wafer in the tank and they flock to it.

Another nifty little trick....I also use the Veggie flakes from Ken's (gotta get the plug in here :D). using one of the tubes that comes with the tester kits, break up some of the flakes and put in the tube. (I also add a touch of seaweed in here as well). Fill with 5ml of water just as if you would to do a test. Cap and shake very well. Then pour this mix over the plants where you find them grazing the most.

Hope this helps!

[captmicha]

These guys never seem to stay in one place. They're all over the tank. I'll try some of your tips though. Thanks.

[platytudes]

I mixed up some gel food from Cellodaisy (she was kind enough to give me a free sample) and the otos have loved it. The most info is on this thread:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225742

The mix she sent me was spinach, Spirulina and agar (she sells lots of other ingredients now). It's also been great with my Endler and platy fry, and of course snails love it (but don't they love everything? ;)). If you have fry to feed or lots of otos, I recommend getting some - I have had nothing but good results with it. She even has an invert mix with calcium if you have shrimp and snails. It stays together well and I have never seen it pollute the tank, even in my 2 gallon snail tank.

[vanillarum]

In addition to the food mentioned above, both my otto species (affini and cocama) like shelled peas. Actually, most of my fish like these. Take some froz peas, put them in a little water. Microwave for a minute or so, then shell the peas. You can put them in the tank as is, or mush them up a little (I do both), and my fish love 'em. Good luck.