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I've just fed a big batch of Bloodworm and Daphnia to the fish. And again, the Otocinclus have shown a taste for Bloodworm. They actually prefer the ones that are close to expiring, as opposed to the actively wriggling ones, but they still like to supplement their algae salads with a little Bloodworm bratwurst.

In fact, they are so fond of this dietary supplement, that they will even compete with the Panda Corys for a morsel. Which makes for some interesting comedy antics as the Pandas look around and say to themselves, "Hey, these guys are nicking our spaghetti!"

It tends to be the older Otocinclus that do this, and the newcomers have yet to develop a taste for this addition to the diet. But, give them time, I suspect the new Otocinclus I added to the aquarium some weeks back will likewise discover that comatose Bloodworm will make a tasty snack. So, if youare acclimatising new Otocinclus to an aquarium, just out of curiosity, try live Bloodworm with some sad-looking expiring ones in the mix, and see if your Otocinclus start snacking upon them too. Or, if you use frozen Bloodworm, see if your Otocinclus will eat those. The results may prove surprising. Although, given that my Otocinclus also enjoy freeze-dried Tubifex worms, perhaps this should not be as surprising as I first thought.

Meanwhile, as a diversion, all eight of my Pandas are at the front of the aquarium, having fed themselves to burping point on the Bloodworm, and theyhave just been joined by three of the Otocinclus no doubt on the lookout for any leftover Bloodworm that the Pandas missed. Not that the Pandas will leave many of those behind!

[span class="edited"][Edited by Calilasseia 2004-07-23 08:43][/span]

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I've heard somewhere a theory that the reason for otos occasionally sucking on the sides of fish is from lack of protien. Mine will grab a quick bite of frozen krill when I feed the congo tetras but they prefer to make off with leftover shrimp pellet while the yoyo loaches are arguing over it. I think they are somewhat omnivores instead of completely herbivore.

Yeah, I have seen my two Ottos feeding with my Cories. Whether it was shrimp pellets, sinking catfish wafers, or sinking algea wafers, they were right there getting their piece of the meal.