Zebra otos: any special care needed?

[illumnae]

I just obtained 2 pieces of zebra otos for my nano planted tank. I've read before that they're more sensitive than normal otos, so could i enquire what special care they need? also, they don't seem to take to the cheap unknown brand (Pets Family) algae wafers that i feed my shrimp and normal otos. what processed food will they take readily to?

thanks in advance!

[loverans]

Dear bro, where do you manage to gt this beautiful fishes ? My 5 fishes last less than two months and died. thanks

[Quixotic]

Is Zebra Oto referring to Otocinclus cocama?

Personally, I don't find them any more sensitive than other Otocinclus spp. although I did have some problems for the first few batches.

The key to keeping them is how you introduce and acclimitise them in your tank. I have been using the drip method for acclimitisation since and have not had any problems whatsoever. I have a few which are close to two years old now.

As with other Otocinclus, a higher dissolved oxygen content and cooler temperature in the setup helps.

Diet wise, I try to vary them as much as possible, vegetable/other flakes, BBS, pellets, algae wafers, live tubifex, frozen daphnia/blood worm etc. However, it has been said that too much meaty food e.g. blood worm, tubifex may cause bloat in them. I have been fortunate enough not to encounter any bloat even though I feed them frozen blood worm every two/three days.

Perhaps some algae in the tank is helpful as well, because I know mine has plenty.

[illumnae]

wow thanks for the information quixotic!

i bought 2 pieces. 1 has passed on after 24 hours, but the other seems healthy and has coloured up nicely from its pale stressed colouration when first introduced. i may go get one more to replace the dead one if my fiancee gives the green light and there are still some left.

the remaining guy has been sucking away at the driftwood today, think it's eating microscopic algae. i'll get some hikari algae wafers over the next few days i guess. the LFS i went to today didn't have the small pack, and the big one's too much for me other than that i guess it can eat the tetra colour pro and decap bs eggs that i feed the other fish in the tank

glad to hear that it doesn't require any extra care compared to normal otos...my oto survival rate is quite decent

[Don90]

Hi illuminae, where did you get your zebra ottos?

I saw a few strange looking otos over at C328, and I thought it was just an oversized oto.

[valice]

Don, this is how a zebra oto scientifically known as O.cocama look like.

[Don90]

Thanks valice! I believe I saw those otos at C328. but they look bigger than the one in my tank.

[illumnae]

very lovely picture vincent looks nicer than the one i have in my tank actually

[valice]

This specimen was a very very beautiful specimen.
Whipped out my camera immediately when I saw it at Aquarama.
Too bad, it didn't make it according to the people from Stingray Aquarium.

[illumnae]

oh no, that's sad what a pity such a beautiful fish didn't make it past a few days of display. hopefully mine survives longer than that i'm thinking of going to get another one to replace the dead one

[illumnae]

i still can't seem to get this guy to eat. are otos drawn to food that they like to eat (e.g. by sight or smell) or is it a matter of luck whether or not they happen to stumble across it during their daily slow travels?

[Quixotic]

There will be times when then are totally inactive. They should be able to find food on their own, nothing I would personally be unduly worried about.

If you are still really worried, drop some live tubifex or frozen blood worm near them, there should be some reactions.

[illumnae]

thanks for the tip i'll try it later today

i'm worried as this guy's lacking the round belly i usually see in my normal otos, and the algae wafers i drop in seem to be ignored by him and remain uneaten until the shrimps devour them up. scared that he'll starve to death

[Quixotic]

From my experience, they don't really take to algae wafers that quickly unless it is in smaller pieces, dropped right in front of them and has been in the water for sometime.

I get more reactions using live tubifex, frozen blood worm or even some flakes.

[illumnae]

LFS says they feed it with Hikari algae wafers so i bought a pack to try...hope it eats the wafer! gonna try frozen bloodworm first tonight

[aquarius]

My 2pcs of normal otos are very fat and healthy in my 3ft planted. They eat only the algaes on the plants, glass and drift wood and they have been with me for more than a yr already. I'm wondering will the zebras thrive just as well if they just live on the same diets as my normal otos? I'm reluctant to put wafers or any live/frozen food in the tank for fear of causing a spike in ammonia levels and causing bad algae problems.

[Quixotic]

I am sure they are also eating whatever food that you are feeding your other fishes, so they should be fine. Whatever it is, feed sparingly and you won't have to worry about deteriorating water condtions.

[aquanatix]

At the risk of going totally side tracked here...just curious to find out how expensive are these little buggers? Going by the sensitivity issues and all, i assume they don't come cheap? For instance,the recent hard to maintain Parotocinclus sp. "Peru"?

[illumnae]

i bought mine for almost 1.5x the cost of the "Tiger otos" when they were in season (that's the P. sp "Peru" you're referring to if i'm not mistaken), but size wise it's double the size of the commonly sold TIger otos.

[marle]

they are about the same price.. zebra cost probably 1 or 2 bucks more.