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I just got 4 otos in hopes of curbing the brown diatom outbreak in my 20g. They will have the algae to eat (the tank isn't like covered in algae or anything I just want to prevent that) but should I also drop in some sinking shrimp pellets and crush up some algae wafers for them?

I have tried both the algae wafers and the shrimp pellets mine pretty much ignore both. You could always place some flat rocks in a bowl of water in the sun and join us in the AGA. (Algae Growers Anonymous.)

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Otocinclus in nature are specialized grazers that feed on microrganisms and algae that grow on decaying leaf litter. They may or may not touch the "algae" wafers (actually mostly fish meal with a dash of spirulina), but should definitely take blanched cucumber/spinach/kale, or better yet, mashed peas and broad beans.

I'm currently using Hagen's Nutrafin Max Spirulina Algae Tablets as a stop gap till Hikari is available once more.

The ingredients list says:

Cereals
Algae (Spriulina 30%)
Yeasts
Vegetables & Derivatives of Vegetable Origin
Contains EEC permitted antioxidants.

Strange part is, even though there's no explicit animal content in there, my Panda Corys love them as much as my Otocinclus, but then my Otocinclus will also munch upon freeze dried Tubifex and I've even photographed one chomping upon a live Bloodworm in the past.

So far my Otocinclus like them a LOT.

Give them a try and see if yours do as well. Assuming of course that you can obtain this product where you live (not difficult for me because it's made in the UK).

Here's the entry page for Hagen]http://www.hagen.com/[/link], which gives you a choice of visiting the UK, USA, Canada, Frane or Germany versions of the website. Checking the USA version, I found [link=this page which covers the food in question. The image of the container is almost an exact match for the container I have sitting beside me as I type this.

Anyone who needs to find out about the product from a different location, just head to the country-specific version of the website that is appropriate, and hunt down the chain of links. Make sure that you look for Spirulina TABLETS and not the flake version, as Hagen make both.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I've used Hagen products before, and they use what basically amounts to shrimp meal in their vegetable flakes and tablets. There is quite a bit of crude protein there.

Well, I've got sinking shrimp pellets and some algae tablets. I see on the Hagen site where you're supposed to stick them to the glass, how does one do that?

To be honest I have never seen my Ottos eating any prepared fish foods. The tank is heavly planted and there is always plenty of their natural foods there in the Algae. They recently breed so what I am doing must be working. As a matter of fact I am watching one now grazing on a small rock. They have a mix of rocks, DW and plants plus the back and part sides of the tank which I never touch.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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Well, the otos have been cleaning up the fake plants nicely lol. There are brown diatoms on my substrate and various rocks, they are working on that. I did (I swear) see a couple chasing the flakes with the TB's last nite when I fed. And I did drop some sinking shrimp pellets and algae wafers in last nite, the wafers seem to be gone, not sure who get em.

The otos are really great little fish, I hope they do well in my tank... So far so good. They do enjoy hanging around the floating anacharis and hornwort....

I was at the LFS today and i say a whole bunch of them munching on Zukini in the tank. I have yet to figure out how to get them to eat that as i tried and it didnt work for me before. I also add sinking algae wafers in my tank for my BN pleco and my cories and they are gone pretty soon.

Shane

Thanks for your input as always, Shane
http://thetanklog.blogspot.com/ - [ Thanks to ScottF ]
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I will give the zuchini a little try... I do use sinking algae wafers, but the Tiger barbs get after those as well lol. I also have a rock sitting outside in some tank water to develop some algae. That'll give em something to much on!