FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I've head of one other person that had one that insisted on sucking on peaceful Discus..
I noticed mine in my 125 gal WILL sometimes suck on other fish at feeding time (at least this is when they do it up at the front where I can see them)..like Bristlenose Plecos..which just bump them off..
but recently I had one in there sucking on a sore spot on a Pearl Gourami (dunno if the pearl hurt itself or if the oto caused it)
and I have noticed at least on Oto in my 20 gal sucking on my African Butterfly Fish..even when the ABF moved to get it off..the Oto got back on again one more time..
They are all well fed too...

They might have been starved during transit from wholesaler to retailer before you acquired them Rainbow, and consequently they've acquired a taste for slime coat through that experience. Which means that weaning them off might prove a tad difficult, especially if they acquired the habit as juveniles. One possible way of weaning them off is to give them an alternative - try weighting some freeze dried tubifex on a piece of string, and see if they dangle around that. My Otocinclus have never attacked other fishes for slime coat, but they still love tubifex! They will also eat live bloodworms, which is why I revised my postings prior to the archiving to reflect that fact that Otocinclus in the wild may actually be aufwuchs feeders, and not exclusively vegetarian. However, plant matter forms the majority of their diet, so they'll still need algae, and if you use my Otocinclus Pet Rock™ trick, you won't run out of algae for them!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I agree totally. It seems that some ottos just get a taste for slime coats, and 'attack' other fish to get a taste. There is a small minority of ottos that acts like this, just go with what Calla said and give them a good alternative.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I have plenty of algae in both tanks at this point..and they are fed frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp/omnivore/flake/pellet..

If they have a taste for slime coat, weaning them off it might take time, patience and not a little luck. Wish you all the best in your endeavour

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002