Otto Food Sources?

[Grymatta]

Ok I just got a small otto and put him into my 6 gal planted Eclipse tank.
I dont see much brown algae in my tank now and was wondering if hes getting enough to eat.

I tried dropping a green algae tablet designed for plecos but he didnt like it. I dont see him eating fish flakes or freeze dried worms when I feed the other fish.

Do they make brown algae tablets? I've never seen any..

I've heard that blanched cucumber or zucchini works sometimes. What/how do you blanch a veggie?

thanks

 

[VirgoWolf]

Humm, my oto loves the algae pellets, but he never lets me watch him eat, are you sure he's not eating it? I try to watch him forever, but then I give up and when I come back he's sucked to the thing like it's their magnets! LOL

 

[homebunnyj]

You boil it for only a minute or two, just until it softens, but is not 'cooked'.

 

[Grymatta]

virgowolf.. the algae tabs I have are green and I never see him eat it per se. Usually I see my tetras and shrimp all over the tablet. I guess I cant be 100% certain that he doest eat it...I just dont see him go near it when I drop it in.

thanks homebunny...I had a feeling it involved boiling...

 

[FroggyFox]

I've never seen my ottos eat anything except algae, tried lots of things. You could try cultivating some brown algae on a rock outside or something. Good luck, hope you find something! (btw take a look at the different algae tablets at the store, I saw some that were more brown than green, hikari maybe?)

 

[Lotus]

My otos always seemed to like shrimp pellets more than algae tablets. I've also seen them eat flake from the substrate.

Check to make sure the stomach is nice and rounded as an indicator they're getting enough to eat. It's not unusual for new otos to be pretty hungry.

 

[S-kate]

mine loves cucumber,*BOUNCINGS Chupa and the snail both go crazy for it. I steal cucmber slices from the salad bar in the dining hall and put about a quarter of a slice in every couple days. They're usually gone by the end of the morning.

 

[Grymatta]

Froggy- I picked up some Hikari Bottom Dweller tabs today..they are made for catfish and others that dwell on the bottom and contain algae among other things. So far my Otto seems to be ignoring it. The problem is that my tetras and shrimp eat EVERYTHING.

Lotus- I might try some shrimp pellets tomorrow. These are the sinking kind right? made by Wardley?

S-kate - ditto with the cucumber.

I found some Algae pellets made by Aqaurian that supposed to be ideal for catfish like Plecos and Ottos. Has anyone had any experience with these? They cost like 10 bucks for a small bag.

My Otto swims around alot and seems to be munching on the surfaces of my plants and decorations. I dont quite see any brown algae on them but maybe the algae is still there and I just cant see it?

thanks all!