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I picked a group of four Zebra Otos (Otocinclus cocama) this afternoon, and I already love the little guys. They seem very hardy and adaptable compared to the regular otos, even though they went from the distributors to the store to my tank in one day (that's three different sets of water parameters). I had ordered them last Friday, and when I saw them at the store (I wasn't working that day, just shopping) they had only been released from the bags for about half an hour. However, their colors were bright, their fins erect, and they were happily pigging out on the green algae on the sides and back of the tank.

They are, at 1.5" long, almost full-grown as well. The best thing was that I only paid $5 for each of them, because I can get fish at wholesale price as long as I pick them up the day they come in. So I bagged them up (with extra air since they were going be in the car for about an hour) and I was on my way.

When we (UGLY_GURL was with me too) got home, I released them immediately. They swam down to the gravel and sat there for maybe fifteen seconds, but after that they found the places in the tank with the most algae and began rasping away just like they had been doing in the store! They still look very happy in the tank, and do not appear to be stressed out at all from their busy day.

Here are the pictures (sorry about the spot algae on the glass; I do water changes/agae scraping on Wednesdays)...







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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

very nice, spot algae?, what spot algae

You must have gotten a lucky batch; mine died within days of purchase .

Thanks for sharing pics. I've never seen this species before.

Coolio. They're a lot nicer than regular ottos.

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

howe big will it get?

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

You must have gotten a lucky batch; mine died within days of purchase.

How large were yours? Mine are huge compared to the regular otos we get in, and it seems that otos become hardier as they grow. Mine still seem to be doing very well today, but hopefully I will make it past the one week mark without any deaths.

howe big will it get?

They get about 4.5 cm long I believe.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

About 1".

Do zebra and regular ottos school together?

And how do you compare the two? Are zebra hardier, better looking, etc.

I too have them in my area

They look cool, I could do with some, saves time getting rid of all the algae.

Wow. How much did they set you back?

Only here in the UK, Zebra Otocinclus are obscenely expensive. Try £30 per fish. That's $58 US per fish. A shoal of six would cost me the same as a new mountain bike! (Eek)

When the prices reach a more manageable level, I might acquire some. As it is, I can't see me acquiring those fellows unless I win the Lottery ...

Oh, and congratulations on acquiring some wonderful fish!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I haven't seen one over 15 bucks.

They were $5 each... I think that's like £2.50-3?

They aren't too expensive, but they are pretty rare. I only see them on the availability list about half the year.

I lost two of them, apparently to something bacterial. The other two seem to be fine, though. We also lost about half of them at the store as well. The distributor we order most of our fish from has been selling us some of the crappiest fish we've ever seen; we are thinking about switching. Literally about half of the fish we get from them break out with some kind of sickness the next day after we get them.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

nice pics I love thoes type of fish.

Sorry for your loss, hopefully the other two make it. Great pics.

congrats...my lfs dont carry them..apparently...its hard for them to find one...

im sorry for ur lost...as we all know...ottos still sensitive...hope the rest will thrive.

best wishes