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Ottos

They are so cute :) arn't they.. I have 6 of them, lost 2 :( 1 just died and another jumped, probably gulped a bit to anthusiastic near the glass after i scooped off a lot surface vegitation. Found it dried out on the floor the day after, poor thing. Actualy i don't feed them often, this also goes for the pygmea cory's, many times they don't even bother to look at what i throw in the tank.. It seems they have plenty of what ever is in there they like to eat.. So if you feed them keep a close look to it that they actualy also eat it, or else you are only bioloading you tank to much. Sometimes maybe twice a week i throw in ¼ Sera spirulina tab or ¼ Sera vipachip. In my case, the tank is bursting with plants and healthy enough to provide them with all they need as often i see the tab just untouched slowly degrade in the water collum. :)
 
I can't work out what's going on with my Otos.

I bought 4 , years ago.
Lost one during quarantine.

Haven't seen them for months,
Now I have 4 again....

Anyway..

They get any green veg I have in the fridge ,
Spinach, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, courgette, melon , algae tabs , mine really like NEW ERA TROPICAL GRAZER and NEW ERA CATFISH PELLETS.
 
I can't work out what's going on with my Otos.
They are mainly night dwellers and if you have a heavily planted tank they rather stay in the plants in the shaded places.. I have dimmable lights and go about 5 to 10 % light intensity in the evening, just enough to clearly see what's going on in there. Oto's are more active during that time and show them selfs all around more often.. I also observed, for a while i grew the rotala (colorata) without trimming it and let a lot of it spread over the surface.. The Oto's loved it hanging around and feasting together in that bush just bellow the surface. Since i'm trimming this rotala down again i do not see this behaivor anymore. :)
 
Ye I've got a blue nightlight on turn that on. They where a lot more lively today. I think the co2 gave them all abit of a shock yesterday. Hopefully they adapt to it. I've switched it right down for them.
I think their bodies are very much slim lined like a sharks is. They seem to enjoy congregating around my filter outlet too.
How long should I leave the veg in tank before it needs removing?
 
Best is when adding new fish is a day before you plan to go and get them, turn the Co2 off and let the water degass.. :) I once made the same mistake, wasn't planning to buy fish, but found a bargin and took them home. I thought i did everything allright, because it's my first co2 tank i didn't think of that. I did put them in and with in a minute all new fish where upside down suffecating while the rest in there just was ok. I did an emidiate 50% water chance with an airstone in it and they all slowly recovered and survived the ordeal. Man pfew that was panic :eek:.

Now oto's are distant relatives of the lungfishes that's why they still gulp the surface and are more addapted to low oxygene levels. But regular fish realy can't stand that sudden drop of oxygene level, they realy need time to addapt slowly.

How long should I leave the veg in tank before it needs removing?
No longer than 24 hours.. What's not eaten will only rot away and pollute the water.. :)
 
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Last week I've been leaving the porch light on, this gives just enough light to see the otos in silhouette at night.

Took 3 nights to finally spot all of them out at once.

Noticed my pygmy corydoras spend more time mid water at night than during the day, even though my tank is low light.

Both otos and corys spent time picking at my eheim pre filter.
 
Noticed my pygmy corydoras spend more time mid water at night than during the day, even though my tank is low light.
Yes i have 8 of them realy lovely little fish swinging like bumblebees neatly flapping their fins like crazy. The denser the planting becomes, the less i see them. Well i know where they hang out, they are almost always all together laying around in the same corner, lazy little buggers. Sometimes 2 or 3 together come out, school alittle bit around with the tetra's and then disapear again in the forest.. :) Nicest cory i ever had..:)
 
Yes i have 8 of them realy lovely little fish swinging like bumblebees neatly flapping their fins like crazy. The denser the planting becomes, the less i see them. Well i know where they hang out, they are almost always all together laying around in the same corner, lazy little buggers. Sometimes 2 or 3 together come out, school alittle bit around with the tetra's and then disapear again in the forest.. :) Nicest cory i ever had..:)

I've got multiple pygmy fry, scooting about oblivious to me out in the open, But the adults hide when I go near, I've seen it before in previous fry, once they start schooling with the adults, they learn to hide with them.
 
I didn't think they'd be such little characters. I expected to not see them much but no. Chasing each other up and down and across front tank. Shrimps are funny but they hide a lot at min. I've had 3cherries die since yesterday. Think was too high of co2 that did it from yesterday. Poor things!
These beauts though. I love corys but these are right up there with character.
 
Ye others seem fine. Colours are nice and punchy and they don't seem to have been affected. When I got them yesterday, one shrimp was very pale and the other a very dark red/burgundy colour. Not bright but dull. Those 2have died and one I think was case of co2.
I'm tempted to get an airstone for nighttime.
I've tailed co2 right back to about 1-2bps. That's not a lot compared to how it was.,ph is dropping to 7.0/6.9 from 7.5.
Ottos don't seem too bothered though.
 
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