Otocinclus Cocama - A Zebra's Journal
- Thread starter James0816
- Start date
Very cool! I've been looking for these guys, can't find them around here, just the regular Oto's.
I've heard Oto's are very hard to keep alive so I haven't bothered to order any. I'll have to keep
an eye out on this thread, hopefully they'll breed for you and you'll sell some
They've got to be
stronger coming from a breeder...I would think.
I've heard Oto's are very hard to keep alive so I haven't bothered to order any. I'll have to keep
an eye out on this thread, hopefully they'll breed for you and you'll sell some
They've got to be stronger coming from a breeder...I would think.
I got some of these last year from Brian at CorysRUs, and they are doing fine. I believe they have some advertised now. You may want to check them out. Good luck.
All are doing just fine in their new home. I catch the new additions at different areas of the tank everytime I check on them. I may be able to get in there and start readjusting some of the plants now. I will follow that with a 10% water change and a recharge of the CO2.
Water change done with minor gravel vac. That was done just to prepare the area as I plant so as to not stir up a bunch of stuff. I'm going a little bit different on this tank from the Vittatus due to the nature of the Cocama's. I'll do a water test Thursday (wont be home tomorrow) after this to get some readings to see where I'm at and if it hits the numbers I'm looking for.
Also in the process of swaping filters. This tank had been run on a ZooMed 501. While it worked well for the time, I'm looking to create a bit more of a centralized current. The outflow from the HOB should flow over the piece of driftwood creating a nice subtle current. I'll swap media from the Vittatus tank with a new pad and use it's established media to help get started on the new filter. I'll over filter for a while by leaving the ZooMed on for about a week.
Here's a current species list:
Fauna: (6) Otocinclus cocama - 4 males and 2 females, (5) Caridina cf. propinqua, (5) Caridina gracilirostris. The C. propinqua will be permanent residents and I'll be adding about (5-7) more. Being low order breeders, this will actually keep the numbers and activity level down in the tank. The C. gracilirostris will be moving to the Vittatus tank once I relocate the Tigers to their own tank. Other future additions will be (2) Pomacea bridgesii.
Flora: Bacopa caroliniana, Bacopa monnieri, Bacopa sp. 'Colorata', Cryptocoryne balansae, Cryptocoryne wendtii (bronze), Hygrophila polysperma. For a low lying plant, I originally was going to go with a few Dwarf Sags but I'm rethinking that. I may still look into though. I have Downoi and RI in the Vittatus tank. I know as foreground plants of that nature, the options are pretty limited. If I can master Lobelia cardinalis, I may even try that. I'm also still looking to acquire Littorella uniflora.
Substrate: Flourite
Lighting: This is also tricky as it is a shared light with another tank. 32w T8. I'm actually looking to scale this down to around 18w. It will still be a shared light so I'm looking to find a 36" fixture. I could go with an indepent fixture but I was trying to cut down the amount of equipment being plugged into one source. I hate cables. I may go CFL in the future with the new rack but we'll see where this takes us.
Filtration: Current: ZooMed 501 mini-canister. Planned: Standard HOB w/ sponge prefilter.
Decor: I'm actually going with a flat piece of field stone and mopani driftwood. I will have the stone sticking straight up and try to position the DW to lean on top it. This will provide more surface area for grazing and extra hide spot. This may go away if I can build a moss wall but I'm looking to do that with Fissidens.
I think that just about sums this tank up in a nut shell. It will slowly piece itself together. All the stem plants were trimmed low so they can fill out as the environs dictate. I will also be using DIY CO2 on this tank. My choice of dry ferts to start will be a PMDD mix. Might be a bit sensitive to try and mess with EI at this point.
I'll try and get some pics posted when the smoke clears.
Also in the process of swaping filters. This tank had been run on a ZooMed 501. While it worked well for the time, I'm looking to create a bit more of a centralized current. The outflow from the HOB should flow over the piece of driftwood creating a nice subtle current. I'll swap media from the Vittatus tank with a new pad and use it's established media to help get started on the new filter. I'll over filter for a while by leaving the ZooMed on for about a week.
Here's a current species list:
Fauna: (6) Otocinclus cocama - 4 males and 2 females, (5) Caridina cf. propinqua, (5) Caridina gracilirostris. The C. propinqua will be permanent residents and I'll be adding about (5-7) more. Being low order breeders, this will actually keep the numbers and activity level down in the tank. The C. gracilirostris will be moving to the Vittatus tank once I relocate the Tigers to their own tank. Other future additions will be (2) Pomacea bridgesii.
Flora: Bacopa caroliniana, Bacopa monnieri, Bacopa sp. 'Colorata', Cryptocoryne balansae, Cryptocoryne wendtii (bronze), Hygrophila polysperma. For a low lying plant, I originally was going to go with a few Dwarf Sags but I'm rethinking that. I may still look into though. I have Downoi and RI in the Vittatus tank. I know as foreground plants of that nature, the options are pretty limited. If I can master Lobelia cardinalis, I may even try that. I'm also still looking to acquire Littorella uniflora.
Substrate: Flourite
Lighting: This is also tricky as it is a shared light with another tank. 32w T8. I'm actually looking to scale this down to around 18w. It will still be a shared light so I'm looking to find a 36" fixture. I could go with an indepent fixture but I was trying to cut down the amount of equipment being plugged into one source. I hate cables. I may go CFL in the future with the new rack but we'll see where this takes us.
Filtration: Current: ZooMed 501 mini-canister. Planned: Standard HOB w/ sponge prefilter.
Decor: I'm actually going with a flat piece of field stone and mopani driftwood. I will have the stone sticking straight up and try to position the DW to lean on top it. This will provide more surface area for grazing and extra hide spot. This may go away if I can build a moss wall but I'm looking to do that with Fissidens.
I think that just about sums this tank up in a nut shell. It will slowly piece itself together. All the stem plants were trimmed low so they can fill out as the environs dictate. I will also be using DIY CO2 on this tank. My choice of dry ferts to start will be a PMDD mix. Might be a bit sensitive to try and mess with EI at this point.
I'll try and get some pics posted when the smoke clears.
Wasn't able to spend as much time as I had originally planned in the tank today. I did manage to get the filter in place. I'll prepare the prefilter probably tomorrow. The current actually turned out to be a bit stronger than I wanted. I can adjust it on this model though so I think it will turn out ok.
The Mopani is in and will have to tweak it a bit as well once I move around the crypts. Without the moss wall in there, I will need to put in a couple more background stems.
I did notice all Otos in the crypt jungle.
Still need to recharge the CO2 and get the water tests done for my baseline. I will set that on the schedule for tomorrow.
The Mopani is in and will have to tweak it a bit as well once I move around the crypts. Without the moss wall in there, I will need to put in a couple more background stems.
I did notice all Otos in the crypt jungle.
Still need to recharge the CO2 and get the water tests done for my baseline. I will set that on the schedule for tomorrow.
Finally got the tank topped off. Went on a duckweed erradication mission. As you know that will be a never ending battle. I'll be pretty diligent in that if I see a plant, it will be removed. I am going to be using Azolla as my floater in this tank.
On that same note, I felt like I was a marine biologist collecting samples from the wild. The wild turned out be to my 45g with a boat load of floating stuff. The Azolla was thoroughly blended in. I found a very good way of picking it out. A bamboo skewer. The Azolla went right to it which was odd and gratefull at the same time.
Tomorrow I may finally get the crypts sorted out and that ever elusive water test.
All occupants doing just fine. I saw the two ladies in what appeared to be a turf war in that they were scuffling for the same spot under the driftwood.
On that same note, I felt like I was a marine biologist collecting samples from the wild. The wild turned out be to my 45g with a boat load of floating stuff. The Azolla was thoroughly blended in. I found a very good way of picking it out. A bamboo skewer. The Azolla went right to it which was odd and gratefull at the same time.
Tomorrow I may finally get the crypts sorted out and that ever elusive water test.
All occupants doing just fine. I saw the two ladies in what appeared to be a turf war in that they were scuffling for the same spot under the driftwood.
Here is the current shot of the House that Cocama built. lol
Pretty much have the crypts where I want them. Seem to be a nice spot around the rock and driftwood. Driftwood was swapped out yet again with a nice piece of Malaysian wood. Fits nicely into the scape.
Plenty of floor space for now until I get a moss wall up. For now, I'll just incorporate stem plants around. As you can see, they need to fill in.
Zucchini is placed right up front under the wood.
Removed a few more Duckweed plants. Will stay on top of it. Didn't see anything floating up top after I was done but I'm sure it's lurking.
Water test definately will be done tomorrow. Was too cloudy to do from planting the crypts.
Pretty much have the crypts where I want them. Seem to be a nice spot around the rock and driftwood. Driftwood was swapped out yet again with a nice piece of Malaysian wood. Fits nicely into the scape.
Plenty of floor space for now until I get a moss wall up. For now, I'll just incorporate stem plants around. As you can see, they need to fill in.
Zucchini is placed right up front under the wood.
Removed a few more Duckweed plants. Will stay on top of it. Didn't see anything floating up top after I was done but I'm sure it's lurking.
Water test definately will be done tomorrow. Was too cloudy to do from planting the crypts.
