Feeding Otos =(

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T

twig

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Apr 28, 2006
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I've got myself in quite a situation here. I purchased 3 otos a couple weeks ago. My tank never had much of any algae but i hear it's better to prevent rather than get a ton and expect a cleanup crew to clear it out.

So I basically started feeding the little guys Zucini (they love it btw) ...

All was going well. I mean the zucini would basically be left as a little green ring in about a day. They just devoured it. Not only that but my cardinal tetra and guppies were eating it too.

Anyways,
I occasionally opt for algae tabs instead of zucini if im lazy or i need to get a fresh zucini. The otos don't seem to crazy about that. They eat the substrate around it so I assume they are picking up little peices of it. Anyhow, they've got big round bellies which makes me happy.

The only problem is feeding them algae tabs and zucini have given me a boom in snail population. They eat algae. So I have a ton of snails. Fat and happy Otos but no algae =(

How can I keep the otos happy while not feeding the snails?

It's a tricky situation here.

Most people complain about algae and i'm starting to complain about a lack of it. GAH
 
J

jparnell

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Aug 29, 2004
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sounds like you might be overfeeding your otos. Snail population will expand to eat the available leftovers.

You could try feeding the algae tabs on a plate or bowl or something - to limit the amount of extra that gets into the substrate... feed partial tabs... take them out if it looks like the otos aren't hungry.

And think about getting rid of the snails if you really don't want them in there... there are tons of suggestions on methods for that.

Not sure that was much help... but the longer food is left in the tank, the more likely snails will munch on it and grow in population.
 
A

Addict

Here fishy, fishy
Feb 23, 2005
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www.digitaldeviation.com
Fat fish are not healthy fish. Just like fat dogs, cats, people are not healthy. To me it seems you need to back off the Zuc some. If they don't get the Zucs so often perhaps they'll be more inclined to eat the algae tabs (they need both really).
 
drgold

drgold

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Mar 1, 2006
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I disagree that fat fish are similar to fat dogs/cats/etc, especially in the case of ottos. Ottos are easy to starve and fatness is much better than the opposite. Also, "fat" is different from "bloated," and also different from "obese," in this case. If "fat" just means a rounded belly, then that's a good thing.

In this case, you could reduce the feedings to reduce the snail problem, but I would just add a small loach to eat the snails and then go from there. Fat ottos are happy ottos. Unless, they're fat and not happy, but this usually only happens when they're bloated from eating too much protein or obese from geting too much fat. Ottos fat from eating zuccini are happy ottos.
 
T

twig

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Apr 28, 2006
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ohno ...
I didn't mean fat like Obese...
If you've ever kept an Oto you can see they get nice big bellies when they are happy. It's not the same for other fish, of course but I think keeping a well-fed Oto is a great idea ...

Hmm...
I don't think there is anyway to completely get snails out =/ they're always going to be around imo ... it's just how they are lol

my 20 gal is stocked to hell ...
no room for a loach >.<
 
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