I'm An Oto Dad

[ShinySideUp]

My six otocinclus catfish have always been elusive, preferring to hide amongst the plants unless there is a water change going on (when for some reason most of them come out). As such I always have difficulty counting them to make sure I haven't lost any.
 
Today I did a change-around in my tank and so disturbed everyone for a short time, to my amazement I now have ten Otocinclus catfish. At a some point in the last couple of years they have bred and I didn't even notice.
 
Still, I'm a Dad!!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Still, I'm a Dad!!!

 
Congrats.

 

[Ltygress]

Yay! This time next year, maybe the population will double!

 

[hudsona85]

Congrats! What size are the newer ones?

 

[Wildbetta]

Big congratulations!  These are not an easy type of fish to breed and even harder to raise so you should feel very accomplished.    Keep up the good work.  

 

[Far_King]

Good stuff  I'm a big fan of Ottos and I'd love to be an Otto Dad too at some point

 

[Baccus]

Congratulations, they really are hard to get into spawning let alone raise the fry. So it sounds like your tank had the perfect conditions for at least a couple of fry to make it.
My otocinclus tend to spend a lot of time hiding too around and amongst the plants, but do a water change and out they emerge briefly until the tank settles back to normal again.

 

[simonas]

happy days. I love stories of surprise breeding like that. I may get some otos for my new set up

 

[RCA]

Wow, what a great surprise. Well done Oto dad

 

[ShinySideUp]

Unfortunately due to their shy nature I can give no indication of when or how they spawned. The new ones are not quite as big as the originals but I'm sure they must be a year old or more.
 
Just for info as my tank doesn't change much:
 
I have a six foot, 640 litre tank that has water qualities of pH around 7.2, and nitrates that always exceed 40ppm and are probably nearer 80ppm despite weekly water changes of 300 litres. It is mostly decorated with large pieces of bog wood and the only plants in it are a couple of Amazon Swords and a constant supply of Vallisnaria, which is probably their spawning ground. The fry  have survived despite the presence of seven Clown Loaches who I might have thought would have hoovered any eggs up. If I can get my BN catfish to breed I would be more than happy too.

 

[Far_King]

You need to update your signature to include the new Ottos 

 

[ShinySideUp]

Done.