Introducing Otocinclus Cats

S

snickle

AC Members
Jan 4, 2007
506
0
0
Okay, I added 3 White Clouds, 4 Scissor Tail Rasbora and 2 Otocinclus cats a couple of days ago.

I only saw one of the cats at a time (Not sure if the same one or not). I found one dead this morning and the other is missing in action.

All other fish are fine and water tests fine.

I saw a note somewhere about otocinclus's are hard to introduce. Any suggestions?
 
They are a bit sensitive; best to bring them into a well established tank that has been up for 6-9 months, or longer. You will need to supplement their diet.
 
My brother had 5 of these guys, but one died relatively soon after being added to the tank.

The other 4 seem quite fine so far... Plenty of algae and wafers to go around.
 
I too lost one out of two I introduced them to my tank slowly and carefully filling the store bag with small amounts of our tank water over an hour, the next day one was stuck to the filter I pushed him away quickly and he swam off but died about an hour later, the other has been with us for a while now and even changed tank and still seems ok, they are such sweet little fella's but I think you need to really becareful with them I found out that the store I bought them from had only got them in that day so therefore not only were they stressed from transit but also stressed from being added to an LFS tank and then later that SAME day into my tank :(
If you look at their tummies you can tell if they are eating as they have little round bellies if they are eating well.
I hope you find your other one I check on mine twice a day but sometimes it can take a few minutes or more to locate him.
They like to be in groups of Oto's, I added a Bristlenose pleco about 2 days ago and my oto has been coming out more and hanging on the glass with the pleco I'm not sure what to do about other Oto's for him we will see if I can find some that have adjusted well at an LFS before I buy more.
 
sometimes they just die for no reason, because they are still mostly collected from the wild, and sometimes they use dangerous methods such as cyanide to catch fish, which I beleive is illegal and causes damage to the fish, sometimes resaulting in it's eventual demise. also, they have pretty special dietary requirements, so lots of times stores don't give them the right foods, and they slowly waste away. they also should have an established aquarium, but by that they just mean there should be lots of algae for them to eat, as often that is all they will eat, and also just to make sure the water is stable. I introduced my oto when my tank had been set up for a week, but I already had lots of excess algae and a well established filter because I transfered a lot of stuff from my old tank to my new one.
 
I had the same problem trying to put 2 oto's in my 30 gallon planted tank. I lost the first one 2 days after putting him in and lost the other one 4 days later. I even did drip acclimation which was recommended to me since these fish are sensative. I was told by a friend that oto's just do not ship well and are caught in the wild by poisioning the water in which they live. On top of that they usually are not fed until they reach the lfs. So sad though, they are cute little fish.
 
I bought six otos from Petsmart a couple of weeks ago ($1.69 each!) , which I just put in my 75g planted main tank. No losses yet. I guess I was lucky.

These guys are great! I had a horrible brown algae bloom. They cleaned up my tank in a day! I was shocked! They also are now eating blanched zucchini.

I guess all you can do is 1) try to find healthy looking otos at the LFS, 2) acclimate them gradually, 3) feed them. Buying from a place with a longer guarantee may be a good idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom