Popularly referred to as dwarf suckers or Otos, the Otocinclus is a well-liked fish species that’s usually stored in captivity. It is a sort of catfish belonging to the household Loricariidae and is mostly present in South America.
In case you are on the lookout for a brand new addition to your planted aquarium, the Otocinclus catfish is a secure wager as it’s peaceable, helps maintain algae in verify and is straightforward to take care of.
Regardless of having minimal wants, many hobbyists find yourself dropping their Otos within the first month or so after shopping for the fish. There are various causes for that, and most of those are involved with the kind of surroundings that you just maintain your fish in.
That will help you keep away from the frequent errors that fish house owners make once they first usher in Otos into their aquariums, here’s a complete care sheet. It’ll stroll you thru all of the fundamentals that it’s essential to know to maintain your fish!
Habitat
Whereas the pure habitat of Otos is reasonable or gradual streams and rivers of South America which have good quantities of oxygen, this fish can survive nicely in planted aquariums as nicely.
They’re enjoyable to have, as they’re very energetic, showcasing their character always of the day.
As a way to maintain them blissful, you’ll have to maintain sure key elements below management.
Tank Dimension
Otos are very small – about 1.5 to 2 inches once they mature fully. This implies they don’t want a really giant tank.
It’s essential to, nevertheless, remember that Otos are very social. Which means a minimum of six or extra ought to be stored collectively.
In case you are sticking to simply 6 Otos, a ten gallon tank can work. If you wish to scale as much as 10-15 Otos, it is strongly recommended that you just spend money on a 20 gallon tank.
Additionally it is simpler to keep up a healthful ecosystem within the larger tanks, which is essential no matter the kind of fish you might be conserving.
Water Temperature
The best temperature that it’s best to goal for is between 72°F and 82°F (22-28°C). This temperature must be maintained always as these are tropical freshwater fish that want the best temperature to flourish.
They don’t want any particular lighting within the tank so your normal neighborhood tank lighting ought to work nicely sufficient.
Water Composition
That is the place issues get somewhat tough.
Otos can’t survive in soiled water so it’s essential to guarantee that you’ve got a superb high quality mature filter.
This filter ought to be capable to course of the water within the aquarium a minimum of three to 4 instances every hour. That is measured by the filter’s GPH ranking.
It’s important that the tank has no measurable amount of ammonia or nitrite.
Along with this, the nitrate stage ought to be between 0 and 20 ppm for a wholesome habitat.
Attempt to change about 30% of the water each week in order that the system is refreshed frequently.
The pH of the aquarium ought to be stored at a impartial or barely acidic stage. This interprets to a pH worth between 6 and seven.5.
Tools and Vegetation
A very powerful piece of kit – the water filter – has already been mentioned earlier than. Along with this, you’ll need to put in a superb high quality aeration system and a mechanism for water circulation.
That is the place an air pump and water pump come into play.
Commonplace lighting necessities name for LED lighting that doesn’t have a detrimental impact on the fish or different components of the tank.
Additionally, you will have to buy a CO2 injector, which is crucial for all planted aquariums, and a bunch of take a look at kits to measure the degrees of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates within the tank.
You possibly can place rounded and easy stones, together with pre-soaked branches into the aquarium in order that the Otos have sufficient area to graze.
Be sure that there are not any sharp edges the place the fish can hurt themselves. Such circumstances can result in an outbreak of illness throughout the aquarium, which is one thing you wish to keep away from in any respect prices.
There are a selection of plant varieties that you would be able to develop in your aquarium. It’s important, nevertheless, that these are slow-growing vegetation because the quicker ones will eat all of the carbon dioxide earlier than the algae will get an opportunity to develop.
Otos graze on algae so the presence of those aquatic organisms is crucial for his or her development.
Some good choices for slow-growing vegetation are Anubius, Java ferns, Cabomba and Cryptocorynes.
Integration into the Tank
Upon getting purchased your Otos, you can’t merely introduce them into your tank. They first have to be quarantined. This implies inserting them in a separate tank with related composition for a hard and fast time frame earlier than shifting them to the primary tank.
This course of can take up to some weeks however it’s important to be able to gauge whether or not your fish are wholesome. In any other case, you stand the prospect of infecting your whole fish tank by introducing disease-ridden Otos.
Additionally it is essential that you just enable for some algae development within the tank earlier than Otos are launched. This may assist in making certain that your fish have some meals to graze on when they’re lastly positioned in the primary tank.
You’ll have to carefully monitor the exercise of your Otos throughout their first month within the fish tank. In the event that they get by simply high-quality, it’s extremely seemingly that it is possible for you to to have them round for a very long time with correct care.
Finest Tank Mates
Not all forms of fish work nicely collectively. You can not merely decide essentially the most colourful or engaging fish and put all of them collectively in a single massive fish tank.
There are a selection of things that have to be thought-about.
Firstly, all of the fish ought to have related water composition necessities. You can not put one fish that wants increased temperatures and one other one which wants decrease temperatures and anticipate them to outlive collectively.
Comparatively small and peaceable fish make for the most effective tank mates with regards to Otocinclus catfish.
Some suggestions in case you are wanting so as to add different fish to the tank are Boraras, Dwarf Gouramis, Neon Tetras and Rasbora. These don’t immediately compete with Otos for vitamin or threaten their security in any method.
Fish That Don’t Work Nicely
Any sort of massive or aggressive fish could be thought-about harmful with regards to the small and peaceable Otos. Otocinclus catfish can simply get scared of larger fish and even be eaten by them if you don’t put sufficient thought into what fish goes to be residing with the Otos.
Even fish that aren’t naturally predatory, just like the goldfish, can find yourself consuming Otos due to their small dimension. Different fish to keep away from embody Cichlids, Jack Dempsey (as they eat virtually something smaller than them) and Oscars.
Feeding
Determining the correct of meals to feed your Otocinclus catfish is one other essential consideration. Right here’s what a well-balanced weight loss plan for Otos seems to be like…
Algae
Otos are algae eaters and may generally be confused with different forms of fish – like Chinese language Algae Eaters, Siamese Flying Fox and Siamese Algae Eaters.
It’s important that you just introduce Otos into planted tanks which are steady and mature, with plenty of algae development. The gentle inexperienced algae that grows on completely different surfaces is most readily consumed by Otos. In some circumstances, Otos are additionally seen consuming brown algae or diatoms.
Whereas algae could be their major supply of vitamins, most aquariums would not have sufficient algae development to maintain giant shoals. This implies you will have to complement their weight loss plan with different meals.
This meals could be within the type of algae wafers (loaded with important vitamins) or catfish pellets – specialised meals developed to present catfish their required vitamin.
Greens
Along with the algae and dietary supplements which are generally fed to Otos, you may also use among the greens that you just eat regularly. Some examples of such greens are spinach, romaine lettuce, Brussel sprouts and zucchini.
You will have to blanch these greens earlier than they are often launched into the aquarium. This implies including the greens to boiled water, letting it relaxation for a brief time frame in it, after which shifting it to chilly water. This stops the cooking instantly.
Otos don’t mechanically gravitate in direction of these greens so you could end up ready for them to find your carefully-prepared greens. You’ll want to take away any uneaten vegetable matter to forestall it rotting and inflicting points along with your water chemistry.
Shopping for Your Fish
Many Otocinclus catfish house owners discover their fish dying throughout the preliminary month or two of proudly owning them. It may be a complicated state of affairs, particularly if in case you have taken excellent care and maintained splendid situations within the tank.
It’s important that you just personally go to your native fish retailer and solely purchase your Otos after analyzing the specimens on supply. Ask questions like how lengthy the fish have been within the retailer – in the event that they’ve been there some time, they’re extra more likely to final – or what’s being fed to them. Take a look at the fish and verify if they appear wholesome.
Indicators of Wholesome Oto Catfish
There are a selection of indicators that present whether or not a fish is wholesome or not. This isn’t simply essential if you end up shopping for the fish. Additionally it is essential that these indicators proceed to indicate when the fish have been in your aquarium for some time.
- The fish ought to have a superb coloration (black, white or brown) and never look grayish.
- There shouldn’t be any bloody marks on the fish.
- Rounded – not bloated – bellies which are an indication of a well-fed fish.
- Two sharp factors on the sting of their fins.
Indicators That One thing Is Fallacious
There could be a variety of completely different issues that come up if you end up taking good care of your fish. For instance, for those who discover the fish coming as much as the floor to soak up air, there could possibly be an issue with the air pump and the tank could also be missing oxygen. It’s important that you just repair it instantly.
There are different signs which are indicative of well being issues. A few of these are listed beneath:
- Respiratory closely
- Discount in common urge for food
- Extended intervals of inactivity
In the event you discover any of those, your fish could also be affected by a illness. A number of the frequent issues at this stage are fungal and parasitic infections. It is suggested that you just seek the advice of a veterinarian in such circumstances.
Conclusion
Otocinclus catfish make for excellent additions to your aquarium. Not solely are they energetic and fascinating to have a look at, they’re additionally comparatively straightforward to maintain. As soon as you’ll be able to get by means of the preliminary month or so when many of the casualties happen, it is possible for you to to get pleasure from get pleasure from watching your dwarf suckers for a very long time to come back.
Photographs c/o bert_m_b, stee & Carlos Reusser Monsálvez 
