Any Zebra otos left?

[illumnae]

I heard C328's run out, and Polyart prices them ridiculously expensive. i'm considering getting a couple for a tank that's cycling now so earliest I can purchase is probably wed?

anyone know where i can get them still?

[Zenislev]

Saw some at Colourful. You might want to drop by and take a look.

[illumnae]

ack! i was at colourful today but didn't see this in time so i just went to buy my plants without looking around =( can you pm me the price and condition of the otos you saw? i'll go down over the next few days

[chipset]

oh i just saw about 8 zebra oto at pet mart....you can try your luck there too.

[Zenislev]

Erm, i didn't ask for the price though. Maybe you can go check it out yourself. Condition looks rather good to me.

[illumnae]

i got 2 good condition ones at polyart as i knocked off too late and colourful was closed =\

thanks for the heads up! if i pass by there tomorrow i may get 2 more

[sithspawn]

i got 2 good condition ones at polyart as i knocked off too late and colourful was closed =\

thanks for the heads up! if i pass by there tomorrow i may get 2 more

I was there at polyart yesterday as well around 6pm and they didn't have any zebras left.

I was also gonna get their only amoured shrimp left where they usually display the cories and Plecos, but the uncle touched it and told me not to buy as it may not be stable. It sort of just fell over and didn't want to move very much.

He said the other one was very stable and lively but sold already. I'm surprised that they didn't try to pass it off to make a quick buck.

[exotic_idiot]

Funny??? I also went to polyart yesterday around 12.30pm still have some zebra... So fast gone??? Went to c328 get my buddy's german ram instead we been eyeing it since saturday.. Thought somebody got it first. Lucky... Good thing seems to sold out fast.

[DanGoh59]

WAs at PetMart last night and took a couple of the Zebra Otos.
Stocks still available - about 5+ at least I believe.
Prices same as C328 if you took a pair.
Polyart's price was on the high side IMHO.

[illumnae]

i bought my zebra otos 2 days back late in the evening and there were >5 pieces left. did you check out the right place sithspawn? they're house where they usually put their bettas

[eddy planer]

Yiyang,

Please tell me what so good about zebra otto? I know these beautiful otto has a very short lifespan...oops touchwood! touchwood! I dont mean to discourage you.

I got 2pairs of normal ottos all died on me for just 2 weeks after i purchased them. So form that onwards, i'll never buy them again. You must convince me otto a good buy, ma?

[illumnae]

my normal otos have not given me much grief thankfully. i have read reports of otos dying off within the first month, but i think as long as you select your otos carefully (active, rounded bellies, no visible injuries and hopefully no clamped fins) and acclimitize them properly before putting them into your tank (i usually take 40-90min to acclimitize), there shouldn't be problems.

as for zebra otos, i had problems initially when 1 of my 2 pieces died, but that was because i didn't choose them properly and got one that was displaying signs of distress in the LFS. my 2nd one died because it was killed by an aggressive betta. i have since bought 4 more and so far they are fine with rounded bellies and no signs of distress at all.

so all in all, these beautiful otos do not necessarily have a short lifespan i buy them because they're beautiful and help in clearing microscopic algae from my tank

[eddy planer]

Yiyang,

thanks for valuable advise how to select a good ottos.

Tell me please, most shrimps like malaya and yamato also a good in clearing microscopic algae , too.

So otto vs malaya or yamato...which one is a better choice?

[DanGoh59]

Hi Bro Eddy, I second Bro Illumnae on the attraction of the Zebra Otos.
As mentioned by me previously in one of these thread, its unique markings
giving it its name is one of the marvels and beauty of nature. If you look
at its finnage, body shape and contours, it is not unlike that of a shark.
I am never tired of looking at it. I regard it as a poor man's version of the Zebra Pleco L46

Again, I agree with you that it is a "sensitive" fish similar to the Common Oto. But if sufficient care is taken to ensure that your tank is already stable, choosing healthy specimens from the LFS, proper aclimatizing before releasing to the tank (all mentioned by Illumnae already), you
should have no problems keeping it. All these are best practice that you
would similarly do to keep any other fish healthy in your tank.

Finally, it is a personal choice on the type of fish you want to keep.
For me, it is worth the joy of being able to have it in my tank despite
its higher price and additional efforts to keep it. I take it also as a
challenge to my fish-keeping skills and a learning process to be able to
keep it alive for a sustained period of time.

[illumnae]

Yiyang,

thanks for valuable advise how to select a good ottos.

Tell me please, most shrimps like malaya and yamato also a good in clearing microscopic algae , too.

So otto vs malaya or yamato...which one is a better choice?

i find otos especially efficient in clearing up brown algae while shrimps are good with hair algae. to add on, i also use nerite snails for green spot algae

as some people have pointed out before, we should treat algae at its root and not use critters to eat them. however, some help is always good i feel furthermore, i like these otos very much due to their markings and so any reason i can grab at to have them will be grabbed at and employed

[dknight]

Just been down to Petmart at noon. They still have a couple of Zebras left if you're looking for them. Think they'll sell out soon.
They're indeed beautiful to look at but at that price, it's a huge risk especially if tank parameters is unstable like mine

[illumnae]

maybe i'll check them or Colourful out if i decide to add another 1-2 pieces to my collection

[illumnae]

i succumbed and rushed down to colourful after work mad rush down to arrive 3min before they closed and i only bought 1 more haha

was so tempted to buy 2-3, but my tank's really quite full =\

[alechim]

Funny??? I also went to polyart yesterday around 12.30pm still have some zebra... So fast gone??? Went to c328 get my buddy's german ram instead we been eyeing it since saturday.. Thought somebody got it first. Lucky... Good thing seems to sold out fast.

your buddy bought the pair placed among the betta?

I saw 8 pieces of zebra at polyart last weekend..so fast gone liao?

[illumnae]

i bought 2 on monday...decided wasn't enough so 1 more is acclimitizing now