What to feed oto's??

[matthew]

I have recently bought two small oto's for my 10gal tank for algae control. 2 Days later, I can't see any algae in the tank whatsoever! It's a heavily planted tank with some bogwood and rocks etc. What I want to know is, do they need an alternative food source to algae? I dropped in a sinking pellet the other day which wasn't touched..

Do oto's live on algae alone? What if the supply dwindles and they go hungry?

 

[Firebug]

If you don't have anymore algae, give them a piece of lettuce (be sure it hasn't been sprayed with any chemicals).

 

[svetlana]

My otos also eat algae wafers , but need to make sure that there are no plecos or other competing fish: otos are too shy.
And they like lettuce too. I microwave it for 1 min, fasten to sucking cup and stick to the wall. This way they do not have to compete - they just latch themselves onto the lettuce and feast.

 

[FroggyFox]

Mine like a slice of cucumber from time to time (I rinse it off and weight it down with a rubberband around a seashell. Their primary diet is algae, so its good that you added them to a tank with an algae problem. Means that they'll probably keep it sparkly clean and not starve...although if its all gone you should supplement their diet just to make sure. Their tummies should stay relatively rounded (a full otto kinda looks like he swallowed a pea whole!) and you should never see them sunken in.

 

[timisu87]

Ottos love cucumbers, my otto eats the whole middle in less than 3 minutes. Hikari Algae wafers are a great food for the ottos.

 

[Cutlass]

My Otos have never eaten algae wafers or dried food. Take some leaf lettuce (not head lettuce) or sliced cucumber and boil it. Or you can stick it in a bowl of water and nuke it in the microwave for a minute and a half. It'll be gone within a day.

I pin the lettuce to the wall using magnetic algae scrubbers. Stick a lead plant weight through the cucumber and drop it in.