Case of the missing otos

[fish-n-chips]

Being such a large tank and you say is heavily planted with lots of driftwood...presents itself to very good hiding. You could get an actinic light or make a DIY moon light and turn it on in the evening when the room is dark. You should see some activity then.

I would note one item of concern though if you don't mind. You say your temp is at 82? That is a bit on the high side for these little guys.

I second that. They are probably hiding. I do agree with the temp. statement also. I was just on www.liveaquaria.com (I love this site to aid as a reference for temps,parameters, etc.) and it stated as follows:cories 72-79'; bn's 74-79'; rummys 72-77' and oto's 74-79'. Your oto's will probably show up and say surprise soon but maybe lower the temp a bit.

Hope all is fine f-n-c.

 

[gravjack]

Being such a large tank and you say is heavily planted with lots of driftwood...presents itself to very good hiding. You could get an actinic light or make a DIY moon light and turn it on in the evening when the room is dark. You should see some activity then.

I would note one item of concern though if you don't mind. You say your temp is at 82? That is a bit on the high side for these little guys.

Thanks all for the responses. James, you raise a couple of good points. I have two 96w compact fluorescent fixtures (6700k) over the tank, timed to go off and on 1/2 hour apart. I also have cold cathode moonlights, which are timed on and off for an hour before and after the lights. I have watched during the moonlight cycle, but don't see any obvious activity (although my old eyes don't work like they used to}. Since my next addition and main reason for the tank is to add discus (in May) I am forced to keep the temp up (may even have to raise it a degree or two later). When I originally researched compatible tankmates for discus, otos were included. I guess I should have looked closer at the temp. situation. Hope they have acclimated to the higher temp. I'm going to keep an watchful eye on what's going on in an effort to determine how their doing.

 

[gravjack]

Noticed a brown algae outbreak on my sand substrate the last couple of days. The good news is that three of the missing otos were busy cleaning it up just before the lights went out. All looked healthy. Sure are expert at hiding. Wish I had a camera with a good macro lens. I watched one lay under a low crypt leaf peeking out for at least 10 minutes without moving, would have been a great picture.

 

[fishycat]

Yay! Good to hear