Unforeseen complications

[FlameTetra333]

I hate to double post, but here goes:
About 3 weeks ago, I posted about how I was going to go on vaca for about 7 days. I got a feeder block for my fish, so I felt pretty comfortable. Then I wasn't thinking, and bought an otocinclus from Petco (it looked so sad in a 10 gallon tank with a clown loach and 30 neon tetras)!

So, I don't want it to die, so how would I feed it during that time period? (I don't have ANYONE to feed my fish for me), so don't tell me to get someone to feed my fish.

 

[Thyra]

I do not know how you can tell an oto looks sad, lol. But it will probably do just fine if your tank has been running for a while because he'll thrive on any algae and to be safe - for your peace of mind, just drop in one of those algae wafers. You can buy a little bag of them. But I would bet he would do fine even on his own. Like I said before, I left them for nine days without a problem, although I did drop in a feeder block, but I did nothing special for the otos. The one tank didn't even touch the feeder block. You are only going for 7 days and in all probability that means you will only be gone 5 whole days, right?

 

[FlameTetra333]

I do not know how you can tell an oto looks sad, lol. But it will probably do just fine if your tank has been running for a while because he'll thrive on any algae and to be safe - for your peace of mind, just drop in one of those algae wafers. You can buy a little bag of them. But I would bet he would do fine even on his own. Like I said before, I left them for nine days without a problem, although I did drop in a feeder block, but I did nothing special for the otos. The one tank didn't even touch the feeder block. You are only going for 7 days and in all probability that means you will only be gone 5 whole days, right?

Well, I just felt sad for him because he was in an overstocked tank and was probably gonna die soon.

This morning I tried to feed him algae wafers. I stuck one in and it fell on my otos head. At first I was worried so I tried to help him and he wiggled himself free. Good news is that he found out it was food and started eating.

I hope he remembers the food and that new ottos will see him and figure out that its good. Ottos are reeeeeeaaaal hard to take care of.

 

[Thyra]

Gee, I have had ottos for almost 2 years now and feel they pretty much take care of themselves - as long as I take care of the water and tank.

 

[Fishielove]

bottom feeders won't go hungry in an established tank, even if one does go on vacation 4 a week.

 

[Thyra]

Otos are not bottom feeders Per Se. They go where ever the most algae is and that is mostly on the glass, plants and decor. They do not eat the debris on the gravel - and no fish will deep your tanks clean - you need to vacuum and do water changes. But you are right - fish can go for a week and longer without feeding them no matter which level of the tank they are at.

 

[Denther]

For future reference I would avoid feeding blocks. I was going on vacation and I dropped 1 in each of my tanks a few hours before I was going to leave. Even after an hour they were clouding my water and leaving a white powdery coating on the gravel right around it. They seem to not contain a whole lot of food, just filler. After reading online I noticed many people had the same experience across several different brands.

I'd advise having someone else feed them with pre determined amounts set out by you in baggies, or maybe even pill containers/reminders? Or you could have them feed them every few days with a little bit of food just to keep them moderately fed. If they overfeed only 2 or 3 times over the course of a week it wouldn't cause much harm.

And as mentioned, fish are supposed to be able to survive a week or more without feeding. Of course it's preferred to feed them but it can be done.