expecting oto?

[plah831]

Has anyone's otocinclus ever gotten so fat that she can't suck on the glass anymore?

Well that's what's happened to one of my otos this week. I first noticed it after a feeding, so I figured she had just overindulged. So I tried withholding food (to the detriment of my other otos, probably) for 2-3 days, and not much improvement.

I put some more food in tonight, and she went for it first like she was starving. I say "she" because I have 2 that are larger and rounder than the others, so I figure they're female.

Her stomach isn't bloated like pictures I've seen, where the skin is stretched to the limit and looks like a water balloon full of clear liquid. It definitely looks like it's filled with something solid, although I can't get a close look because like I said, she can't adhere to the glass anymore. But the skin does look stretched pretty tight.

What does everyone think? Could she be expecting? I doubt I'll be able to raise the babies, and I'm really not interested in breeding, but I just don't want her to be sick or anything.

I'll try feeding peas next, but I don't know if my otos eat them. Besides, I don't think the peas would have more fiber and gut-clearing power than anything else I give my otos.

 

[Hurley]

I have had ottos breed in my tank but I don't remember the female getting so fat that she couldn't stay on the glass. If I remember correctly, she kind of got wider, not fat all around. I'm not sure what could be causing your otto to be so big.

 

[plah831]

Bunny, I remember your little oto babies! How are they doing, by the way?

I did a search and found pictures online of gravid otos stuck to glass. You can see the little eggs through their white bellies. Grr, I wonder what's wrong. I was REALLY alarmed because she was so fat. I truly thought she was going to die that night. But 4 days later, she's still eating and swimming. Hmm, I'm worried but I don't think I can do anything but wait and watch

 

[plah831]

It's confirmed, she's carrying eggs. I finally saw her sticking to the glass and there were nice plump eggs at the bottom of her round belly. It was funny, her tummy's so big that she couldn't stick vertical, but was more like at a 30 degree angle

I don't think she's going to lay them, though. She doesn't seem too impressed with the males I have in there, and my tank is only moderately planted, not anything like Bunny13's garden of a tank I'm still amazed that your otos managed to actually spawn.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

well here is hoping for the best plah831.