Keeping otos in a hard water area (~280 mg/L of CaCO3)

[Katharine]

I am setting up my first tank after a long break and would love to keep otocinclus, but I live in a very hard water area!

Does anyone have any advice on:
(a) How much I'd need to dilute the water with RO water to reach a suitable water hardness to keep otos/your experience of keeping otos in a hard water area
(b) Fish suggestions if I decide against going the RO route

 

[Ronoh]

Very tricky keeping oto's in London tap water alright. I've had them for a while now and about a third seem to die randomly but I've found that once the get past a month or two they do pretty well. I'm not using RO water which I know isn't ideal.

 

[Katharine]

Very tricky keeping oto's in London tap water alright. I've had them for a while now and about a third seem to die randomly but I've found that once the get past a month or two they do pretty well. I'm not using RO water which I know isn't ideal.

That's good to know, thank you! I guess it's hard to know for certain what's to blame for your losses, it may be you'd have lost some anyway.

 

[Andy Pierce]

I've had ottos in Cambridgeshire tap water living for years now. I think ottos are just a bit fragile in the general case.

 

[PARAGUAY]

I have them in soft water , I got them with little experience of Ottos L ost one after about 6 months but they have done well although another got sick with a mystery ailment but recovered after quarantine. The thing is l feel they must have a well planted tank that is mature, a new set up might not be best. Sometimes l don't see them for a day or two then happily all visible. Important to supply some fresh food for them IMO

 

[sparkyweasel]

I've had them in hard water.
They do need a mature, stable tank, as @PARAGUAY says.
And you need to find healthy stock, which is not always easy. If they look at all underfed they are unlikely to recover; if they have been starved during shipping they can lose essential bacteria from their digestive tract.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Think it was Cory at Aquarium Coop who feeds any imports of Ottocinclus with Repashy because of likely to be starved on receiving.

 

[Katharine]

Thanks guys! I will make sure the tank is well established before I get any otos, and that I've got a few options for feeding them. Seems like that might be more critical than water hardness!

 

[AlecF]

Also being happy that you may never see them.

 

[Qwedfg]

Think it was Cory at Aquarium Coop who feeds any imports of Ottocinclus with Repashy because of likely to be starved on receiving.

I can confirm otos love repashy. I feed super green and as soon as it hits the bottom of the tank they are on it. When I feed zucchini or other veggies they will graze on and off but there is no rush to get to it and they don’t stay on top of it until it’s gone like they do with repashy.

 

[tam]

I think you can do a newish setup, but it needs to be at the really grungy stage - diatoms everywhere and new wood covered in lovely slimey biofilm - and you have to be willing to leave it that way and not manually clean. I've done that for quarentining them. I second (third?) the repashy. I think with veggies they don't like them too fresh, they show more interest 12 hours in than first thing. I pour boiling water over the veg first, but even then I get the impression they eat the softened surface and then have a gap to wait for the rest to start disintergrating. I never take veggies out after a set time, just let the fish/shrimp munch them until they are gone even if that's 36+ hours later.

 

[Conort2]

It’s always good to add some leaves like oak or catappa. These develop a decent biofilm that ottos and shrimp love.

 

[Andy Pierce]

What is "the repashy"? Product link?

 

[fredi]

My otto’s are pretty much constantly grazing biofilm

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

What is "the repashy"? Product link?

<"Fish Products : Repashy Super Foods, Crested Gecko Diet | Multivitamins & Calcium for reptiles">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Andy Pierce]

<"Fish Products : Repashy Super Foods, Crested Gecko Diet | Multivitamins & Calcium for reptiles">.

Of those, which flavour do the ottos like?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Of those, which flavour do the ottos like?

I haven't tried any of them, but I think people are recommending <"Soilent Green Soilent Green [] - £14.99 : Repashy Super Foods, Crested Gecko Diet | Multivitamins & Calcium for reptiles">.

There are quite a few threads on "PlanetCatfish" I'll go and see what I can find.

• <"Feeding Otocinclus">
• <"Zebra otocinclus spawning behavior">
• <"Otocinclus arnoldi - Spawning">

cheers Darrel

 

[Qwedfg]

I have never used soilent green but I have read that otos seem to prefer super green so that’s what I bought. Both would be fine for them though. I feed repashy about every two days as it is a little high in protein.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I have never used soilent green but I have read that otos seem to prefer super green so that’s what I bought. Both would be fine for them though.

This is the ingredient breakdown.

Super Green:
INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Pea Protein Isolate, Rice Protein Concentrate, Alfalfa Leaf Powder, Stabalized Rice Bran, Dandelion Powder, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Dried Kelp, Locust Bean Gum, Lecithin, Potassium Citrate, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Calendula Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Selenium Yeast. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2- Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

Soilent Green:
INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Krill Meal, Pea Protein Isolate, Squid Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate, Fish Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Stabilized Rice Bran, Flax Seed Meal, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Lecithin, Dried Kelp, Locust Bean Gum, Potassium Citrate, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Calendula Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Selenium Yeast. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

I feed repashy about every two days as it is a little high in protein.

I'd still mix it with <"some vegetables">, structural <"leaf litter"> etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[John q]

My Ottos vote for soilent green, admittedly they haven't tried the others, but they seem to enjoy the one mentioned.