otocinclus

Question
QUESTION:  hi u rmb me? the guy with the rams...well thanks for ur help but i have another question and its not about rams..

today my godmother bought me 2 oto fishes for my birthday next week on tues...the thing i noticed is that they were both ok in size...i did my google search and realised the fatter the better...so anyway they are currently in the qurrantine tank but the thing is they are not eating..i put in an algae filled rock from my main tank into the QT and they are not eating, 1 of them is on top of the rock but not eating, just laying on top while the other is at the bottom of the tank...i also added in an algae wafer which i use to feed my plec but they are also not touching, any suggestions, ideas? thanks

ANSWER: Hello again:  Ottos are nocturnal and they do all of their eating when the lights are out.  They are very shy fish as well... they will eat up their fair share... dave

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  ok...one of them is dead...the other is pooing alot... its poo is very short and thin, like 1-2 mm short and vey very thin...im heading down to get more otos as i heard the do well in groups so:

1) to quarrentine or not
2) how to properly acclimatse them to either main tank or QT.
3) how to maximise chances of survival
4) can add blackwater extract when i put them in the main tank together with platys,cories,ram and plec?

thanks alot


Answer
I would always recommend quarantining new fish.... to acclimate them I would just net them and put them into the new tank from the quarantine tank.  Maybe leave the light off for an hour or so... supplement their diet with algae wafers to help maximize their survival.  Black water is optional for them.  Just make sure they are relatively stress free....  dave