Oto Cat Breeding?

4669 Views 10 Replies 10 Participants Last post by The Guy, Jul 24, 2016

ReillyP

Discussion Starter · Mar 15, 2016

Hey guys, just wanting to know if any of you have breed oto's and if so what is your secret. I don't want to buy from the store as many people report upwards of a 50% mort rate just due to stress causing them to fast. If anyone has any breed oto's or very stable ones please message me, have been wanting to try and breed these guys since ever

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outsider

· #2 · Mar 15, 2016

I don't think you will find breeder that breed oto. Some hobbyist may find 1 or 2 oto baby, but no where close to professional breed to sale. I believe I saw a oto baby in my 45g community tank however due to it is heavy planted, I only saw it once. However I can't find any record about oto breeding online, and most information state oto are wild caught. I guess if you want to successful breed the oto, you need good water quality, plenty food, plant cover and no predator to eat the egg and baby.

The trick to buy oto form store is wait for a week or 2 if the oto just arrive. (Which will be hard to do as they are high in demand.) If the store place the oto in a clean tank without piece of zucchini allow them to feed on than the oto most likely going to die due to starvation.

Or

Purchase from Petsmart as they offer 2 weeks grantee, usually if the oto make 1 week mark than usually means they will survive in your tank.

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2wheelsx2

· #3 · Mar 15, 2016 (Edited)

If you have a tank set up just to do it, it's probably easier than most plecos. Lots of records of Otocinclus breeding online. Here's an example of one on planetcatfish.com

Otocinclus breeding on Planetcatfish

Really, the toughest part is making sure the fry have food and that there are not other fishes in the tank which will eat the eggs or fry.

The way to insure your otos will have enough food and will start eating is to pre-condition the tank with enough algae, whether it is on rocks or on the glass. The only times I have had problems with Otos other than brand new from a store is when my tank was too algae free.

There used to be widespread deaths from the fish stores because Otos (and many other fish) were caught with cyanide to make them easier to each, but which essentially already put them on death row. That practice is now banned (that i know of) and it is uncommon to have to problems. Again, the keys to acclimating plecos (Otos are plecos), getting the temp close to where they are from, high O2 content, and having food on hand they like to eat when you first get them. Part of the problem with initial pleco deaths are inadequate bacterial flora in the gut from starving the fish prior to shipping. Otos, Baryancistrus, and Panaque, which aufwuchs grazers are the toughest to acclimatize in that way. If you are interesting in keeping any type of catfish, do your research on planetcatfish. There are other forums and sites, but to date, PC is the authority for all things catfish for me (and many others).

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ReillyP

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 15, 2016

2wheelsx2 said:
If you have a tank set up just to do it, it's probably easier than most plecos. Lots of records of Otocinclus breeding online. Here's an example of one on planetcatfish.com

Otocinclus breeding on Planetcatfish

Really, the toughest part is making sure the fry have food and that there are not other fishes in the tank which will eat the eggs or fry.

The way to insure your otos will have enough food and will start eating is to pre-condition the tank with enough algae, whether it is on rocks or on the glass. The only times I have had problems with Otos other than brand new from a store is when my tank was too algae free.

There used to be widespread deaths from the fish stores because Otos (and many other fish) were caught with cyanide to make them easier to each, but which essentially already put them on death row. That practice is now banned (that i know of) and it is uncommon to have to problems. Again, the keys to acclimating plecos (Otos are plecos), getting the temp close to where they are from, high O2 content, and having food on hand they like to eat when you first get them. Part of the problem with initial pleco deaths are inadequate bacterial flora in the gut from starving the fish prior to shipping. Otos, Baryancistrus, and Panaque, which aufwuchs grazers are the toughest to acclimatize in that way. If you are interesting in keeping any type of catfish, do your research on planetcatfish. There are other forums and sites, but to date, PC is the authority for all things catfish for me (and many others).

Im almost thinking of setting up a 20 long dedicated to breeding them now

I am going to keep an eye out for anyone selling them here though, rather get em here than at a fishstore.

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haikyoboy

· #5 · Apr 8, 2016

Otos are wild caught by and large. there are some crazy youtube videos of these being swept up about 1000 at a time in a simple net.

I've bought one on two occasions and had them die within a week both times. frustrating!

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jiayaw

· #6 · Apr 9, 2016

It depends on which source you buy from. I had 100%survival rate with the ones I've bought from island poets back then, Rogers and the recent batch I got from Charles. Only 1/10 died months later

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Redshrimp2709

· #7 · Jul 21, 2016

I agree with Jiayaw. I bought Otos from Canadian Aquatics and I've never had a problem. I've also bought Otos from Aquarium West when they had a shipment from Brazil. I've not had much luck previous to that. I've bought from Aquarium West when they had farmed shipments and from Pet Smart. At the time, the ones from Pet Smart lived a bit longer, but all of them would ultimately die after 3 months or less.

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April

· #8 · Jul 21, 2016

The main reason some die in Lfs is they don't have food in the tanks.ie algae . And if they came from a local wholesaler they are in bare tanks .

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troutsniffer

· #9 · Jul 24, 2016

I bought some from PetSmart like a year ago, all in 100% health. The only pellet they'd eat at first were zoo med shrimp and crab pellets. Now they eat anything that falls to the bottom of the tank.

I would suggest keeping them isolated. No other fish or shrimp or your eggs and fry are going to get eaten. Do 20% water changes every 2nd day. I never bred otos (yet), but if they're anything like other catfish, clean water should help them get busy.

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DBam

· #10 · Jul 24, 2016

2wheelsx2 hit the nail on the head. You can search the planet catfish forum for otocinclus and find the various threads that have gathered over time. I would grow as much algae as possible in the tank prior to purchasing fish so they have plenty of food while they acclimatise. A heavily planted tank is also key. The reports I've read indicated that dense plantings of long grasses, i.e. Vallisnera, is the most successful breeding environment.

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The Guy

· #11 · Jul 24, 2016

I got April's last 3 Orange Lazer Cories for a total of 7 in my 33 long river tank, also got a otto by accident as well, lots of plants in the 33 so he's going to eat well I'm thinkin!

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