Otos Spawning?

[Roan Art]

I wrote about this in another thread, but I thought I would start a new one. Hoping someone can confirm what went down

I have never seen fish spawn in real life and I've read they spawn similar to corycats. Here is a movie of the otos in my tank:

http://members.cox.net/roan/Oto%20Spawn.MOV


Current Tank Parameters as of 10am today:
pH 7.4
80 degrees
5 KH
7 GH
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5.0

The otos started this behavior last night sometime before 10pm. They were still doing it when I got up at 5am. They quit at 7:45am and started again at 9am. They're not as energetic as they were last night. A bit tired, perhaps?

The betta fish's behavior during all this was interesting. While they were doing their circling, he stayed out of their way, for the most part. Mostly watching them and following them non-aggressively. While they were resting, he started picking on them like he has been since I put them in the tank.

At 9am when they started circling again, he backed out of their way and is hovering at the back of the tank, watching.

Cool stuff.

So, ARE THEY SPAWNING OR WHAT???????????? I gotta know!


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Following is from the other thread:

Personally, I strongly disagree with the notion that short periods of direct sunlight causes algae, yet one often finds mention of this on the web. It's a rediculous notion that doesn't stand up to anything I've ever observed. My 33 gal gets about 3 hours of direct sunlight on one side during the summer, that side doesn't have any more algae than the rest of the tank. Now if your tank was getting a full day of direct light, perhaps it could be an issue, but I think that a vast minority of tanks fit this profile.

I do have very little gas exchange compared to most people. Meaning that my tank is filtered, but I have plants situated to cut down on a lot of the surface agitation. Here's a picture of the tank in question:

Get your NO3 and PO4 levels tested, this will help identify the cause of the algae. If this is a relatively new tank, don't stress, I've pretty much always had a little algal bloom in new tanks, unless I started with CO2. With attention to maintenance and a little diligent cleaning the period of the algae is quite short.

I have the kit to test those and was going to do it tonight. But when I sat down at the computer after waterchanging my 36g tank, I noticed two of the otos in the betta tank (the one we are talking about here) were acting very bizarrely.

They are chasing each other up and down the glass and in circles on the glass. Always on the glass. Actually, the bigger one is chasing the smaller one and I'm going to have to assume that the big one is male and smaller one is female. I don't know how to tell them apart.

They're both doing fly-bys -- almost a dance. I went to the otocinclus site and I'm positive they are spawning. Kid you not!

They've been at it for at least an hour now and I don't know when they started this.

Interesting thing of note: the betta fish seems to be purposely staying out of their way. He's letting them have the entire run of the front part of the tank and he's just watching them. Once in a while he comes forward and follows one, but it doesn't look agressive; more like curiousity.

At one point the male (I think) flipped out. Went coursing around the tank and settled on the back wall. I think he was exhausted. He stayed there for about 10 mins and then went back to the female. Their circles are smaller now and there's more fly-bys. She stops for a few seconds now and then to eat off the glass, then she's off and circling. She's not really stopped at all. He is *definitely* chasing the smaller one.

I did see the female go to the pipstone and clear a little off, but the male didn't go there. I doubt she deposited anything. She keeps stopping at the same part of the glass and eating. I think she's clearing some of the glass off.

Dammit! I have to get to bed and can't stay and watch this. I want to know if I'm right and they are spawning. This is SO exciting!

I wouldn't add any more Otos to that tank, you could probably add one or two more, but they'll be happier as they are. Just add some more plants if it's your planting is sparse and they'll be fine. As long as they have places to hide they'll do okay. The betta should stop chasing them after he gets accustomed to their presence. Worst case he'll take a nip at the dorsal fin and get a dose of an Oto sting, he'll pretty much leave them alone after that.

I don't even see the 3rd one. He could be hiding with all this activity going on or dead. I don't want to disturb the cople at all. I'm not even going to turn the light off like I usually do before bed.

I'll update in the morning. Maybe they'll still be at it.

I could be out to lunch, but my instincts tell me no.

Roan

 

[sardesign]

I'd be surprised if they were actually spawing because they are generally caught in the wild and not domestically raised. Bala sharks are somewhat similar because they need an enormous amount of room to have the proper environment for reproducing. Maybe they want to reproduce so they started the "dance". Maybe they are like my golden zebra botias and just like playing with each other. Who knows?

 

[Roan Art]

I'd be surprised if they were actually spawing because they are generally caught in the wild and not domestically raised. Bala sharks are somewhat similar because they need an enormous amount of room to have the proper environment for reproducing. Maybe they want to reproduce so they started the "dance". Maybe they are like my golden zebra botias and just like playing with each other. Who knows?

Exactly why i posted the movie and stuff, "who knows?" Anyone?

What they were doing was very much like the description I read of their spawning on the otocinclus.com web site. Gonna keep an eye on them. They could have just been playing, but they did this for an entire day and barely stopped to eat. That's why I got all excited.

I mean, nobody plays THAT hard, do they?

Roan

 

[rebecca2]

At least two of my otos behave like that regularly; they have a variety of little dances and chases they do on the front glass and I have seen them do the T-shape curl-around spawny-looking thing a couple times. Seems a nice indicator of health and contentment if nothing else. These ones are the first otos I got and are a bit standoffish with the rest; they are always together under the same leaf in the daytime. One is much larger; I believe this would be the female.

I doubt leaving the light on at night (is that what you did?) serves any purpose and it may perplex them. Mine are CCR fans, believing "the night time is the right time to be with the one you loooooove..." Don't know whether oto fry could survive in my tank considering the number of hungry diners around, or whether I've even had a spawning producing viable eggs. But from what I've read otos have surprised people by multiplying unexpectedly; you might have some luck with it -- I do hope you keep us posted.

I could try getting a video of mine but the lighting conditions might be problematic. It's often a "white bellies in the gloom" situation.

 

[Roan Art]

. . . . One is much larger; I believe this would be the female.

Really? I've looked all over trying to find out how to sex these things and have found nothing. Hrm, it's the larger one that seems to chase the smaller one in my tank. I guess I'd better change their names around!

I doubt leaving the light on at night (is that what you did?) serves any purpose and it may perplex them. Mine are CCR fans, believing "the night time is the right time to be with the one you loooooove..."

Only the one night. They were doing it all day and all night and were still at it when I got up at 4am the next morning. I think they quit around noon. I had cleaning to do, so I couldn't stay and watch

Don't know whether oto fry could survive in my tank considering the number of hungry diners around, or whether I've even had a spawning producing viable eggs. But from what I've read otos have surprised people by multiplying unexpectedly; you might have some luck with it -- I do hope you keep us posted.

It's a small tank and the only other inhabitants are a Mystery Snail and the Betta. The betta might try to eat fry, most probably would, but I've got a few blooping little pond snails roaming around and all he does is poke those with his nose. He's more into aggravating other creatures rather than eating them.

I'll just wait and see what happens

Roan

 

[rebecca2]

Really? I've looked all over trying to find out how to sex these things and have found nothing.

Planet Catfish has the females as being "larger and broader." I think there are links around there somewhere to articles about breeding and general oto info too.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/g_49.php

I can't find it now but there used to be a photo on someone's aquarium page showing a whole squad of oto babies on the glass; they had popped out of the filter or something odd like that.