YIPPPEEEEEEEE Zebra Ottos for me!!

[twoluvcats]

www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gzebraoto.html

my local LFS* ordered me some...they are SO spendy, ~$15 each...but they are just too cute!!! She ordered 12, and I'm buying 3...and i know she'll replace deaths for me. I get them Friday.

I've heard rumor that these guys are not as apt to die for no good reason like the common ottos...I hope so, they are too expensive to loose!!

*I used to have to either buy fish from walmart or drive 80 miles to get any selection of fish...but now there is a new petstore, in my town...in the suite below me in the building that I work in!! ....OOOOOOH is that bad for my pocketbook LOL Good thing thier selection of equipment sucks or i'd REALLY be broke.

[briggs]

I was lookin at those yseterday I was thinkin of gettin them for my bigger tank whenever i get it. I think those ones actualy stay pretty small, about 5 inches. They say the pricier the fish the smaller it stays.. apparently.. lol

[twoluvcats]

uh, you thinking zebra ottos or zebra pleco?...zebra ottos stay about 2"-2.5" max.

[briggs]

Yes, plecos, sorry. 5 inch is i think the smallest pleco around.

BUt i was looking at ottos a few days ago also.. need future fish to think about getting heh.. plecos just to big for me right now so i have to start small with ottos and what not

[twoluvcats]

personally, i like ottos better than plecos for cleaning algae, plus they are perfect for smaller tanks. Also, they are schooling fish, so a herd of them is soooo cute! hehe

[briggs]

If I get my 10 gal I'm gona get a few. THey are quite funny. Some of the ones I saw (were not zerbras) were doing circles around the tank at big als, going fast and tehn going up for error and going around agian and again and aagain lol

I wonder how they do by themselves..

[twoluvcats]

I wonder how they do by themselves.

ottos do ok by themselves...but they don't stand up to betta abuse at all. All of my 'lone ottos' have been killed by my bettas.

I received my Zebra Ottos on Friday...they are SO cute!! ;D They were so off color when I first got them I thought they were the wrong fish...but I also got 2 yoyo loaches at the same time and they were so off color they were white with no stripes, again I thought the pet store had ordered me the wrong fish. LOL That's what happens when you pick up your fish right out of the shipping box.

You'd be off color too if you were netted out of your tank in Florida, shoved in a bag, put in a box, driven to the airport, flown on a plane to CO, put in the trunk of a car, driven for another hour, netted out of your bag, put in a new tank, netted out again a few minutes later, put in another bag, driven around MORE and then finally put in my QT tank...PHEW...that's a big day for anything LOL

[briggs]

I've been doing so much reading about pygmy cories and otos lately..

From most peoples experience that I've read about, all differen sites, forums, you ahve to wait atleast a month before you know if yours will survive, they haev such a high death rate its ridiculous, because of what you said. THey get caught (further then florida most of the time, south america) from the wild, they are "poisoined" with cyanide to stun them to be caught up river and then the whole transportation thing..

not to mention that at fish stores most tanks are pretty slim on the algae side so they go under fed.

I still plan on getting 2 otos. Lots of people get just one in a 3 gal with a betta and they've been doing it for years. Just depends on your fish personality i guess. Though 3 gal is pretty small. I know people get anal about bio load and what not but its doable, i just think it sucks for space. it's like being stuck in a room with this person you dont know for the rest of your life. To small I say, so I wait for my 6 gal heavy planted. More like a semi-house

I didn't know that zerbras are a bit hardier then normal otos. Maybe because of where they come from? Perhaps it's not as far. Hmm.. perhaps I'll look for zerbra otos instead then


I just gota figure out this algae thing.. as i cant see any algae but i dont know what i'm lookin for.. i want them to be able to eat something toher then vegies!

[briggs]

I bought an otto yesterday. Epyon is quite fond of him. He sticks near him and tries to mimick the ottos movements.

He hasnt once flared at him or anything violent. When he wants to be alone he goes to the top where his moss is, he has always liked the top of the tank better, swim partener or not.

but most of the time he just swims with mr otto octavius. Epyon sure can do the community thing so far. I knew he was a dosile fish the first time i put him in a tank 2 weeks ago!

How long did it take your ottos to start eating veggies? mine hasnt touched any lettuce or zuccuni yet.. i might try algae waffers or shrimp pellets.

[amanichen]

Algae wafers would be better than fresh greens to start, mostly because the algae wafers will be free of pesticides, won't rot, and will still be very nutritious without messing with your water quality.

Of course if you grow your own vegetables some of these concerns aren't there

[Flurry]

Argh, I wanted Zebra Otos really badly... I just have two common ones. I started off with three, but after two monthes, two of them died within a week, so last week I bought my survivor a pal, and they are both doing great. One thing I noticed was the colouring. My new oto has lighter colouring, his spots are more brownish while my other oto's spots are more greyish/blackish.

[briggs]

Pet stores get about 3 different types in ive noticed, atleast super pet does in my city. they all look a bit different. none zebras though.

Though, when i brought mine home he was really see through and stressed.. but he darkend up.