In Need Of A "crash Course" In Otto Catfish

[Primous]

As much info as you can muster please. Particularly in terms of feeding, I'd like to get a good commercial food that will only appeal to them, they can consume quickly and does not need to be left in the tank overnight? Also, are they ok with apisto macmasteri?

 

[DreamertK]

The best food is home grown algea. Not stringy hair algea, just the soft stuff. Leave out a rock in a bowl of water in the sun for a week and you'll get some algea. They might not eat veg. They prefer their food to be attached to/hanging from the walls of the tank. Make sure they eat. They have such a short lifespan in the aquarium from starving to death.

 

[Lillefishy]

Most Oto's are wild caught & often not in great condition & starving when they reach the Lfs.
When you go to buy them take time to watch them, look for a nice rounded tummy not a flat or sunken one.
The more Oto's you have the happier they are & you'll see more natural behaviour.
They spend a lot of time grazing on wood, plants & the glass for algae, but do not expect them to keep your glass sparkling, they won't.
Oto's are sensitive to water quality, they can also be slow to accept commercial food.
When trying to get them to take wafers or veggies always put them in the same place & they'll eventually get the message it's food, they are nocturnal so any food you put in should be left in the tank overnight, they don't Hoover up food like other fish & take their own sweet time about it.
You can grow algae for them on rocks or wood by leaving them in a tub of tank water on a sunny window ledge

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Its nearly impossible to find food that appeals to only one fish in a community type set-up.  Most fish are by nature opportunist, meaning they will east just about anything that they come across.
 
 
Like stated above, natural algae is their favorite food, and that's what they will eat that will get ignored, by and large by the rest of the tank. 
 
Zucchini hung from a hook on the glass is also a good source for them. 

 

[Chaydell]

Basically what everyone is telloing you about food is correct.  Algae is the best, but I find my oto's favor parboiled zuchinni over algae wafers.  Because I have a school of tiger barbs I rarely have any zuchinni left after 24 hours of it being in the tank.  I try to drop some in every other day or every third day.  I also put it in after lights out so the barbs don't immediately attack.  I have been trying the rock in the window and have had a little luck with that but you either need a big bowl that holds lots of water or add water to it as it evaporates.  One thing I do when I buy oto's is to ask how long the lfs has had them.  I try not to buy them brand new but will wait until they have been in the lfs tank for 2-3 weeks.  By this point the weaker oto's wil likely have passed.  At this point I will try to pick the fish with fatter/rounder tummies.  This has worked well for me and I have had no casulaties when I have used it.  I think they will do okay with apistos.  I have mine with Bolivian rams and tiger barbs and both species largely leave the oto's alone.  My rams have not bred yet tho, so things may change if/when they decide to pair up. 

 

[guppy2002]

I don't feed mine anything! That doesn't mean he doesn't eat my tank is about 3 feet from a window. Guess that's enough. Honestly I forget to do water changes a lot, don't know if that's helping him or not?

 

[BerryAttack]

i've gotten mine use to eating Wardley Shrimp Pellets Formula. its in a planted aquarium with algae, but when i put these in once a week they'll sit at one of them and chow down. takes a while to get them use to eating man made foods, but keep at it and make sure you buy healthy looking ones, supply algae in the beginning and you should be fine.
 
**also you should have a very mature tank before buying these fish, they are very sensitive to water quality and even if you have all the food they can die because the tank isn't old enough to support them. just a tip when buying .

 

[Chad]

I've always found ottos to be a challenging fish. I have right now that are fat and happy because they don't have competing fish in this particular tank. However, when I've had fish that compete for the same resources the otto always seems to lose out. The tank is a bit over a year old and has plenty of the soft algae they love and they are quite content. When I purchased them they were skinny, which is common, and now they have the signature fat belly of a happy otto. 
 
So...what I'm trying to get across is that in my experience with them they need plenty of grazing food, little competition from other fish, and a mature tank that is a more stable environment for them. 

 

[HAMBONE]

In my tanks i has ottos in two out of three of them.. In both tanks my ottos eat what the other fish eat, algae wafers, fish flake sinking chiclid pellets, whatever the corys eat the ottos will eat too. Quality food is key.

I think if you has a tank that mimics nature youre better off.. My tanks smell like a pond, all my fish do fine and eat fine too.. Ottos included..

Good lucky with your ottos