# The Oto Journal



## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Hello fellow enthusiasts! I wanted to start a journal so we can track my little Oto friends. This is late in the game for them as they have been breeding for a spell, but we just joined the site so bare with us. I'll have to provide a cliff note version to get caught up to date.

History: I had a 10g tank set up for awhile for testing purposes. I eventually settled in on a plan and went plants only for this guy. I had the usual diatom problem but thought nothing of it and just kept scraping them off. Months later, they just never went away. I then decided I needed a little assistance. I went down to the LFS and bought two Oto's. At the time they were the same size so I couldn't tell them apart as far as male and female. I added a batch of yellow shrimp a few days later (good deal...couldn't pass it up). I then converted this tank to a high light tank and started doing EI dosing for the plants. One day while doing a water change, I spotted something small on the glass. Upon further investigation, found out it was a baby oto. A the rest is history from there. The breeding continues today and still getting babies. The trick has been getting them to grow up fully. Think I'm closing in on that as well. 

Tank Specs:
Tank: 10g
Substrate: SMS
Lighting: 20w T12
Photo Period: 10hrs (0800-1800)
Ferts: Was using EI dosing method for dry ferts but after babies were found, determined PMDD + Phosphates were the best way to go.
DIY Co2 Jell-O method
Heavily planted with various species of plants (need to compile a list)

Tank Parameters: (These stay pretty much in this ballpark)
Temp: 74
PH: ~ 7.4
NO3: ~ 40
NO2: 0
NH3: 0
KH: 6
GH: 10

Will post some pics shortly. I'll start with some past ones and update from there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Some Pics:
Latest pic of the home front. This one is a bit old as I am in the process of a major trim.


Proud Parents. Here you can see just how much bigger mom is to dad.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Some pics gathered of eggs:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Couple hatching pics:



This is the latest hatching pic shot today (06/20):


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Some random baby pics:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

And that will bring us up to today (06/20).

As of today, I only have the Oto's and shrimp in the tank. I lost all my briggs. Due to medical issues with my father I had not been able to take care of my tanks for a spell. I was just going from work to hospital and then bed. Get up next day and repeat. He is getting better and in a rehab clinic. This has given me a chance to catch back up.

On the Oto front, I still have mom and dad and they are still doing there happy dance. There are three juvenilles and a boat loat of wigglers.

I keep this as updated as I can. And if you have any questions, just let us know.

Thanks for reading.

J.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*06/25: * Checked on the guys today. Getting ready to do another water change. At initial look, all appears to be just fine. Mom and Dad are hanging out together again. Will be on the watch for eggs.

As for babies, I counted (8). Getting bigger every day. All are coloring up. I only saw two that are pretty small/newish. Still have the (3) juvies and (3) others that approaching juvy status.

Working on my other tanks at the moment so can't finish the plants. Which seems to be a good thing. Most of the babies are really working over the crypt jungle.

Quit a few yellow shrimp in there as well. Need to start looking into thining the herd.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

This is truly fascinating to me and I want to thank you for doing such a lovely pictoral journal for us. I absolutely love this little fish and I know how rare it is for them to breed in tanks. The gentleman who keeps the site at www.otocinclus.com - Home of the Dwarf Suckermouth Catfishes is always on the hunt for people who have had success. You may want to contact him so he can add your success to his record. I know he would love your journal.

Thank you so much. I am really enjoying this. 

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

06/27: All appears to be doing well in the Oto tank. Lots of babies swimming around. Was hard to get an accurate count. I did manage to fire off some pics. Here's the best ones from today:

Mom and a baby muching a zuc:


Let's all gather around the zuc:


A yellow shrimp just observing it all:


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## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*Very nice post . Enjoyed every minute. Keep the info coming. And thanks *


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## Bottomfeeder (Jun 30, 2009)

you bred them? WOW
the research labs in Florida need to do that...all the Ottos in stores are still wild caught...
they are usually damaged by nets and ammonia 

you are so lucky! lol
i recently had a hybrid Ottocinclus but lost him to an ammonia spike 
you have inspired me to get more and try breeding...
keep us posted


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*07/01:* Checked on my babies today. All is well. Alot of activity. Didn't bother counting today. Zuchini's are dissapearing fast! Between the Oto's and the shrimps...they all have full bellies. 

On the plus side....I put in 4 briggs the other day. Babies wasted no time workin over the shells. And wouldn't ya know it...I didn't have the camera at that time to catch it. A couple of them had 2-3 babies on the shells.

Getting ready to add more zuc and recharge Co2. I have two more jungles to take care of then I get the plants in the Oto tank squared away again.

Here's a shot of one of the Juvies today. I didn't use the tripod today and this turned out to be the only decent pic.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

I am still in awe. I lost my last oto to old age a couple weeks ago and the store here is not carrying them at present due to a problem with their tanks. I can hardly wait to get more. I tried shipping them in but all six died from the stress. I am so envious!!!! 

Please keep up the good work!

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

07/07: Still not a whole lot of time to do much unfortunately. I did get home in time to get a peek in the tank. Lights went out shortly after I got home. I didn't spot any new eggs or wigglers. Hopefully they just need a break. I did find that my Co2 wasn't working so had to change bottles. Still need to do a water test. I think the parameters have dropped since no Co2.

On the baby front, I did see about (6) juvies around. That's a good sign at least. I'll be able to more tomorrow as I will have a short day.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Sorry I have not been back as my schedule has been packed but am looking forward to new news and this is one of my favorite threads!!

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx..I'm hoping things can get back to normal here myself. I do a little bit here and there just not as I used to. My father comes home from rehab on Monday. Cancer is nasty beast!


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Sorry to hear about your father and know what you are going through my mother is going through the same thing. 

Best of wishes to you and your family.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*07/13:* Still trying to get back on task here. Checked in on them today. All looks good for now as far as what is existing in here. Still haven't seen any new eggs or wigglers. <sniff> I hope this isn't the end but will continue to follow the journey of the juvies for now.

Here's some shots from today: Still have to work on my photo skills. Some are blurry.

Here's the big guy:


One of the smaller juvies:


Here's mom and dad:


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

I really do like the fishes and the live plants that you have inside your tank there  I might even start a journal myself too on my two main aquariums  Although I don't know if people would want to check them out and reply. That's what I don't like when I post up all of the pictures, and then have no replies  Has that ever happened?

I'd love to do mine on my Angelfishes and my Severum(s)  although I've got wonderful live plants that I have trimmed in my 29 gallon tank, so now more light can penetrate my aquarium, and more light now can shine on to my amazon swords  I've got like 5 of them in my 29 gallon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Build it....and they will come. 

Journals are an excellent way of sharing information (and pics *Glasses*). 

If anything...do it for the fun of it. That's why I do.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Yes they will come when they see something written. 

I lost my last oto today. He was my oldest fish and since the fish store here is always out of them it may be a while before I get more. They do not ship well as I found out from the last time I tried. They were all so small that they lived through the trip but were in horrid shape and did not live long. And they were not covered by any warranty shipped in but the store here gives a 14 day live gaurantee on them the same as the other fish.

But I found that if you get them healthy they will live for years as this little guy did. He never did like to have company though. I kept trying to get him more like him but he would tolerate them but not associate with them. Don't know what was with him.

Thank you for posting the new pictures and comments. The plants and otos are marvelous and remain some of my favorite fish. Yours look stunning and I do hope you get more.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*07/15:* Finally got in there and pretty much finished up the trim. I would up pulling two big wads of plants to seperate and trim. Will add a couple more back in but the rest will have to go.

Did a water test as well:

Temp: 78 slight jump from where I want it. Need to work on this.
PH: ~ 7.4
NO3: 40
NO2: 0
NH3: 0
GH: 12
KH: 7

As for the occupants, all is doing well. I saw both parents and all babies. All snails active as well. Dropped in two pinches of flake food and crushed up (3) small algae waffers. Prepping zucchini as I type.

I snapped some shots as well. Getting ready to check them and see how they turned out.


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

Chickadee said:


> Yes they will come when they see something written.
> 
> I lost my last oto today. He was my oldest fish and since the fish store here is always out of them it may be a while before I get more. They do not ship well as I found out from the last time I tried. They were all so small that they lived through the trip but were in horrid shape and did not live long. And they were not covered by any warranty shipped in but the store here gives a 14 day live gaurantee on them the same as the other fish.
> 
> ...


Wow that is harsh  I have 2 oto cats with me right now in my 29 gallon tank, and many of my other tanks. They just love eating my fish flakes and the algae that can grow on my tank glass  They are very good cleaners, so I also just added in some new fishes. Some cory cats too  They are good, I just have to feed a lot of food so then most of the food will drop down to the bottom so my bottom feeders can feed on the food that the fishes don't catch. Pretty much all of my fishes (except bottom feeders) feed at the top.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here are some pics from today's progress:

Took this after I started the trim. It shows my DIY Co2 setup as well:


Here's a couple shots of the young ones:




One of the younger ones hanging out with the big juvy:


And here's the end result from today: Let there be light!


Still a little more to go on this but at least I got much accomplished.


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

Wow! very nice picture of the oto cats, and the nice plants!

you should probably move your swords into a larger plant because they are already reaching the surface of the water. So I don't know if that is going to be okay. But I never let my plants stay in a tank that the plants would outgrow the tank. I always try my best to move them into a new tank that is larger, and taller. Are you going to do that anytime soon? Or do you feel comfortable with your tank setup?


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

I love the pictures and the beautiful tank! Thank you so much for sharing this experience with us. Thanks for taking the time and effort to send the pictures. I know how frustrating it can be to take good pics of things that are consistently moving and these little ones are so tiny I would imagine that mekes it more challenging. 

The trim is looking very nice and I know how satisfying it is to do the job and be able to stand back and see an improvement. I think you are doing a wonderful job.

Thank you too for supplying the stats on your tanks parameters. This will help others who may be trying to get into the oto breeding area to get the correct environment for it. This lovely little fish is so darling I would love to see enough be able to breed them that it puts a crunch on the way they are captured in the wild. The treatment they receive being caught and the death toll of the fish is "criminal" in the way they show such callous abandon in getting the catch at all cost.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx DR. No swords in here but I'm guessing your are referring to the crypts. Very comfortable with this setup. I do need to add a few more plants to the left though. I lost a couple when the tank was left on it's own during this spell. Currently debating on what to put in.

As for the crypt jungle...that is Oto playground. This is where 99% of the eggs are laid. I will have to thin it out some time as there are a couple of new ones popping up, but definately can't get rid of them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx Rose. The good news is my father should be coming home today. YEA! This will pretty much enable me to get back on routine with not just this tank but all of them.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Good to hear the news about your father. I wish him and you and your family the very best and hope he continues to improve. Best wishes all around.

This thread has provided me and I hope others with a peaceful place to come and see a miracle happening and I want to let you know that it is appreciated. I can only imagine the joy you must feel with it happening right before your eyes.

Yes, DR, the crypts must stay there. Otos are fish that have a constitutional need for real plants and the more the better. Breeding them in tanks after taking them in is almost unheard of and any success and any methods that James is using need to be followed to the letter I would say. It may not be the way most of us would do tanks but most of us have not had luck breeding otos either so more power to him.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Finally got Papa Oto in a shot. He's a pretty hard one to get. But...throw in a zuc....and presto.....*Glasses*


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

James0816 said:


> Thx DR. No swords in here but I'm guessing your are referring to the crypts. Very comfortable with this setup. I do need to add a few more plants to the left though. I lost a couple when the tank was left on it's own during this spell. Currently debating on what to put in.
> 
> As for the crypt jungle...that is Oto playground. This is where 99% of the eggs are laid. I will have to thin it out some time as there are a couple of new ones popping up, but definately can't get rid of them.


Oh I see. My plants are just scrambled everywhere. I don't bother putting them in the right way, like foreground, middle ground, and back ground. I just put them where I feel comfortable and they feel comfortable with it


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## chey (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks for the pics and information. I've always been curious what the eggs look like, the fry etc.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Well James has given us excellent shots of just that and much more. I am enjoying this ride and the cost of the ticket is FREE. Thank you so much for this lovely journal. It is the most complete one I have ever seen on the subject.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*07/27:* Still shuffling between work and the rehab center for my father. Time still not on my side to really work on the tanks. I did recharge the CO2. Didn't have much jell-o left so this bottle probably won't last very long. Will get some new made up and ready to go. Zuc's a nukin. I did go in and turn the light to check in on everyone. All is well. Snails cruisin about. Young Oto's continue to grow and very active (for what I saw today).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*8/12: * Been a while since I have updated this. Time is still not quite on my side but getting better. Pops has made it home from rehab but the cancer continues to take its toll.

As for the tank..I haven't spotted any new wigglers or eggs in quite a while. Most tank parameters are still the same except the temp which is still hovering around 78. Can't seem to get it back down to 74. I'm affraid to turn the heat off completely just in case I am not able to keep a good eye on it.

I still have the parents and (6) juvies. All very active. Three of them where working over one of the briggs yesterday...and wouldn't ya know it...I didn't have my camera down there at the time.

I'm also wondering if over crowding could be an issue. My yellows have been doing very well in here as well. I will need to thin the crypt jungle too. Quite a few new plants are popping up.

As for the briggs...I think one of them is smuggling in steroids somehow. He has just exploded in size compared to the others. I have download the recent pics.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*08/16:* Great news! Morning check today....mamma exploded (well...not literally of course *#3). Found at least (14) eggs. All over the crypt jungle. Was so excited that I forgot to look at the temp as that is the one variable that was off at the moment.

Funny thing about that....I think they may be mind readers somehow. Why you ask? I was down there yesterday and was telling myself that today I need to thin the jungle just in case it was too crowded for them.

Yea!! And I was getting worried that she done. Guess mom and dad made up.

Pics to follow.

*w3


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Mamma continues to lay eggs. Papa following around like a lost puppy. ;o)

Latest count is up to (50). Literally laying them anywhere and everywhere. Going through some pics now to see what may have turned out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Pics from today (08/17):

Eggs on Moneywort:


In the crypt jungle:


Mom with eggs in the background:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Some more pics:

Papa with eggs above:


More eggs:


Small family pic....little one needs to go on a diet. ;o)


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## obscbyclouds (Apr 6, 2009)

Awesome pictures, I'm really enjoying this thread as I have a 10gal with Otos and I just love the little buggers!  Keep up the good work.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*08/18:* To the best that I can tell....mama laid 52 eggs total this go around. Unfortunatly, papa missed two and thus not viable (turned white). So the count stays at 50.

Did a 10% wc ahead of expected hatching to begin sometime tomorrow. Went ahead and dropped in additional food as well and added zucchini nummy nums.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*08/19: * Let the hatching begin! The invasion of the wiggle waggles. 

As anticipated, the new babies started hatching. I came and to best I can count, I found (18) fry. Unfortunately (for me that is), most of them are in the plants so no way I can get an accurate count. Which is ok with me. Focus now is on rearing which is of course the difficult part.

Few eggs remain and some are hatchings in progress. Those ones I did not count.

Going through the first batch of pics now. We'll see if any turn out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

First round of pics from today's hatching:

The Oto Tree:






My favorite shot from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final check for today, I found (25) new babies. Fifty million pictures and only a few turn out. Definately have to work on the photo abilities.

One final parting shot for the day:


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## rglens (Aug 14, 2009)

Awesome!


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## surf4life87 (Aug 19, 2009)

one question, how do you get your zuccini to sink? Whenever I put in zuccini for my otos I have to partially bury it in the gravel...


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I normally nuke it for a few minutes. Doesn't work all the time as I have two pieces that floated back to the top.


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## surf4life87 (Aug 19, 2009)

ok thanks ill try that : )


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

08/23: Been a couple of days since I have been able to check on things but got a chance to today.

First discovery was the loss of my blue brigg  . He hasn't been acting rather well for a while and I figured this was going to happen.

Then I focused on finding fry. Best count was (17). They are harder to spot as fry than they were as eggs. 

Then I spotted something else in tank. Two small clutches of briggs eggs! No idea how long they have been there. I felt the clutches and they were hardish on the outside. I did the best I could to remove them and currently have them sitting on a wet paper towel in a tupperware container w/ lid in another tank.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Alright!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*08/24:* Found another small clutch of briggs eggs today. I may just leave this one alone as it is not directly under the light.

Lots of babies swimming around. I think I mentioned this before, but it is pretty awesome to be looking tank level and watching them swim right at you and lite on the glass. Saw one baby bombarding the shrimp. Swam right into two of them before liting on the back wall. I'm sure the shrimp were wondering "what the heck was that".

Another thing I've noticed with this newest batch. Seems these little ones are actually se
eking out the older siblings and hanging out with them. I'll watch the bigger ones swim away and lite on another part of the wall, and one or two little ones will lite right next to it.

Here's some shots:


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Great! Great! Great! Great!

Love the pictures and congratulations on the new fry and successful hatching. I look forward to hearing about your new ones and the older ones too. I miss my otos and want to get more but unfortunately the local people do not seem to be getting them in very often and when they do they evaporate as fast as they get them.

Thanks so much for sharing with us...this has been a fascinating journey and I hope it never ends.

Rose


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

I just read through this whole journal. Excellent work! My 10gal is cycling at the moment, and am considering putting in a few otos, as I see they are tons of fun. 

Can't. Wait. Cycle. Faster =).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Patience young jedi. Get that tank well established before adding the Otos. This is an area where most hobbyist fail with these guys. Patience will reward you as they are awesome fun loving little guys and gals.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*08/26:* Lots of activity yesterday and today. Found yet another clutch of briggs eggs. Baby oto's swimming all over the place. I threw in a couple pieces of zuchinni yesterday. Today, one piece was the center of attention. Oto's, shrimp and even Boris (snail) where munching.

Here's some shots:




You're never too young for zuchinni:


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

Awesome! Yes, patient I must be! They should do ok in my 10g....thinking of doing a DIY CO2 setup...


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Oh yeah....they'll do just fine in the 10.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Bonus Shot:

Thought I would add this one in as well. Remember...you have to stay on for 8 seconds or it doesn't count. The bull is Boris.


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

hahahaha can barrrrely see the lil guy cleaning his shell! have you ever had problems with your snails going after the eggs?

also, i'm encouraged by the fact that the 10gal will work fine =).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

No problems with the snails or shrimp concerning the eggs. It would have definately showed this go round with the amount of eggs in there.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Thanks for all the awesome pictures and the information. This is one of my favorite areas and I will have otos again as soon as I can manage it.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx Rose. It has definately been an enjoyable ride. Just hope it never ends. 

Can you not get Oto's where you are? Where bouts in NE are you anyway? Have family out in Bellevue.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

We have a very small fish outlet in a garden center here but they get a few in at a time and I am not able to drive so by the time I get there the few they have are usually sold out. The problem is that the online vendors have minimum orders usually and since they are not expensive fish they tend to not be available to buy alone and I do not have enough tanks anymore to make a big order. But I have a big order in at the LFS for them and this time they will send them my way first. The otos they get are usually great but everyone else knows it too. LOL

Thanks and good luck with the new babies. This the first post on my new computer and my fingers are totally dyslexic and strange on this thing so forgive any bobbles.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

It has been a while since I have updated this (or been online for that matter). Family always comes first regardless. Sadly, my father lost his battle with cancer on 09/10. *frown He fought a long and couragous battle. 

Just now getting back in the swing of things on my tanks. All of them are in really bad shape. The Oto tank appears to be ok as mom, dad and babies continue to grow. I did loose two of my snails. Boris appears to be still growing. The eggs that Natasha laid are still there. I've noticed no hatching or such. Will have to investigate this later. Shrimpies don't appear to be in numbers like they used to. The Oto clan was all in the crypt jungle.

I did a PWC yesterday. I think I did a bad as well. On impulse I decided my Rotala sp. 'green' was just too tall and instead of going stem by stem trimming, I just pulled it up, got a pair of scissors and CHOP. Cut the whole plant down to about 2". Don't ask...don't know what I was thinking. Hopefully it will be ok. I added two stems of Lobella to the mix to get some more broad leafs in there. Recharged the DIY Co2.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

You have my sincerest and most heartfelt sympathies on the passing of your father. I know how hard it is to lose a loved one and cancer is an insidious disease that affects not just the patient but the entire support team of the family and friends of the one who has it. If you have a few boo-boos in the fish area for a while just give yourself time to heal and recuperate from your loss. We will be here and the fish will be patient. We all love and respect you. Time will help I can promise you.

Rose


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*09/25:* Was setting up to do another 10% WC and I found eggs. Current count is 24. However, Papa Oto missed one and not viable making the count 23. Continuing with water change. Going to be using a smaller tube this time in an effort to clean up some detrius on the bottom.

On a side note, Boris and Natasha not acting all that well. They are usually active but the past couple of days have been rather lethargic. Hopefully I can regain the momentum on the tank and they will recover. Still no hatching of Natasha's eggs. Not really sure what to do with them at this point.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*9/26:* Tank is really in a state of disrepair. Just found that the food and zucchini that was placed in the tank yesterday is all fuzzed over. Then the shocking discovery....most of the eggs are fuzzed over as well. Very bad. Have no choice but to attempt a major cleaning. Just have to pray that I don't disrupt the tank any further.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Definately not an easy process thats for sure. Guess that is a draw back to using SMS. You can't vac it unless you suck it all out. Got about 1/4 of the tank "somewhat" done. Best thing I could do was to stir up a section and then create a swirling motion with the syphon tube to clean the area. Not the best of jobs but between that and moving the filter to the area I am working on, hopefully it will be enough. 

I also took a large eye dropper to remove as much of the fungused eggs I could. I did have to sacrifice a viable egg as it was right up against a bad one. Couldn't seperated them. Poo!

Giving it a break to let the water stabilize then I'll do another section.


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

James0816 said:


> Definately not an easy process thats for sure. Guess that is a draw back to using SMS. You can't vac it unless you suck it all out. Got about 1/4 of the tank "somewhat" done. Best thing I could do was to stir up a section and then create a swirling motion with the syphon tube to clean the area. Not the best of jobs but between that and moving the filter to the area I am working on, hopefully it will be enough.
> 
> I also took a large eye dropper to remove as much of the fungused eggs I could. I did have to sacrifice a viable egg as it was right up against a bad one. Couldn't seperated them. Poo!
> 
> Giving it a break to let the water stabilize then I'll do another section.


Wow this is quite the recovery salvage that you're in. I've been following since you could give more attention back to the tank. Sorry to hear about your situation. 

If you are anything like I am when it comes to tanks, you like the process of building and maintaining just as much as watching the completed product. I hope everything works out ok....I'll be following the process as ya go! I hope to see some pics up that show the restored tank! Best of luck!

Nathan


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*09/27:* Remaining eggs hatched today. Only counted (5) wigglers. I have most of the plants bunched up around the crypt jungle while I cleaned the other side so maybe there are some more hiding out in there.

Lost (4) yellow shrimp overnight. There numbers have greatly declined. Boris and Natasha still acting a little on the lethargic side. Still hoping they make a speedy recovery.

So as it stands right now, there are two adults (mom and dad), 6 juvies and 5 wigglers.

Will be doing a water test later today to check the parameters.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*09/29:* Still working on getting the tank back in shape. Went to put a "cage" (if you will) around the area where the heater is. My plan is to put the Subwassertang on this grid in front of the heater. Just something to attach it to.

So...to do this, I had to move the HOB back to it's original location. When I moved this, I noticed more wigglers! Kewlness. They are hanging out right where I was going to put the grid. So that is on hold at the moment until they relocate peacfully. 

Natasha still sitting where she has been. No movement. I do see her wisker hanging out so hoping for the best. Boris is starting to move about a bit as well.

Wiggler count now up to (10). Will start placing plants back in place soon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*09/30:* Did a water test today:

Temp: 78
PH: 7.4
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 20 (bit lower than normal but I have not been dosing ferts in a while)
KH: 5
GH: 8

KH and GH numbers are lower than normal as well. 

Fert dosing resumes tomorrow.

I have given it a bit of an overhaul in regards to the plants. Will snap a new pic when the tank settles. Still alot of particulates floating around from planting.

I removed all the mosses (peacock and fissidens). I think the fissidens may have perished but moved it to another tank to see if it will recover.

I added Lobelia Cardinalis 'small form', Littorella Uniflora and L.repens X arcuata.

Found all (10) wigglers today so hopefully they will continue to grow. Added 1g spring water to bring the water level back up.

Boris (boss brig) is moving around again. Feeling good about that. I noticed Natasha (la fem brig) occassionally peeking out but still not venturing around.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/01:* All seems to be doing ok today. Everyone swimming around doing their thing. Not going to be doing much today as I have taken a headache. I hate those things.

Took a few pictures. Here's one of the new babies. He's on the grid that I am making to put in front of the heater. I will be cutting a second grid to place behind this. I will then fill in between the two with SMS and plant Echinodorus Angustifolia.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/02:* Daily check and feeding. Surprise! Mama laying more eggs. Counted (33) as of now. She wasted no time breaking in the new plants. The L. Arcuata has quite a few on it. Crypt jungle still harbors the most of them. I have been contimplating thining it out, but if she is continuing to lay here, I can't bring myself to disturb her dwellings.

Wigglers continuing to grow. Couldn't get an acurate count as they are still very active. They are starting to color up nicely.

I'm going through some pics I just snapped. We'll see if any come out good.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/02:* Looks like I got off a few good shots today. I'll break it down into two seperate posts.

We'll start with Mama. When I snapped this pic, I didn't notice the ****** behind her:










Eggs found today:









Egg on the L. Repens. There's a wiggler just behind it on another leaf but it is blurry.









Here I was trying to get a pic of the wiggler. Found the eggs below it:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Additional Photos today (10/02):

Shots of the wigglers:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Getting ready to head out to Haloween Haunt at Kings Dominion. Did one last check. Found (13) more eggs.

Mama has her girlish figure back.


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

that is very cool that you have a journal...i have been up to date

keep up the good work!!!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/03:* Heading out to the state fair today so won't be doing much with the tanks. Found papa missed three eggs yesterday. All else is doing well. Lots of activity in there this morning. Fed two zucs. I kinda rushed the thawing process so think they will float back up to the top soon.

I'll leave you with a couple parting shots of the juvies:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/04:* Hatching began a little earlier than I thought. Figured I had until late this afternoon. Minor snag in the water change, but will still do a trickle from the HOB to do it.

Found some eggs turned fuzzy. Water quality still an issue. Have to try to come up with a safe schedule to get it back. Think also where they were laid has poor circulation. May look at adjusting the HOB a little more center to try and get coverage.

Still a few more eggs left to hatch. Here's some shots from today: Wigglers not the easiest thing to snap (for me that is).









Had more eggs than I originally found on the Lobelia. You can see the ball of fuzz in the upper center. Four eggs are in there. Few wigglers (one to the left and one to the right) and a couple on the under sides of the leaves.









Bonus shot: Couldn't resist the poser:


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

lol...how big is the setup???any other tankmates in there to disrupt this ?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

JRod...this is a standard 10g setup. Tank mates include yellow shrimp and two briggs snails.


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

wow...so its pretty small. 
what are you going to do with the offspring?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well...if their numbers continue to grow, I will have to find homes for them.

Parting shots from today (10/04):

Size comparison. Ever wonder how small a baby Oto actually is? Here's Boris. In the upper right is a one week old baby. In the lower right is one that just hatched this morning.









They learn early that zucchini is yummy:


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

Lol... They are tiny! Im here to adopt them if you need someone ?where do you reside


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## garfreak526 (Aug 15, 2009)

WOW!!! I Loved that post. Very few peple have breed them and most are caught.I have one and my brother named it "Little Swimmi".


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

JRod...out east in VA. I will say that I have been extremely lucky that these two little guys have continued to breed in their current environment. It's for that reason that little to no changes get made to the tank to keep it constant.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/05:* Performed 10% water change today. The trickle method from the HOB worked like a charm. Going to make a permanent setup like this. No fuss, no mess...no hands in the water.

Removed remnants of remaining zucchini. Two new pieces prepping now.

Activity level extremely high. Babies zipping all over the place. I think I have more than (10) week olds. I did manage to count (15) wigglers. These are visibile on the glass.

To aid in slowly getting the water back to where it needs to be, I added 1g treated tap water (well) and 1g spring water. I aerated the well water good prior to using.

Natasha started moving around so I'll be keeping a close eye on her. I'm praying this is a good sign as her activitiy level has been virtually nil.

Will be adding another Lobelia plant shortly.

Air stone turned on for 15 mins.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/06:* Still tons of activity in here. Little ones swimming all over the place. No way to get an accurate count. At one point, it looks like the substrate is alive with all the little ones working over one section.

Natasha still dormant. She is completely tucked in her shell now. Usually I find her peeking out. Still holding out hope.

Water test today:

Temp: 78
PH: ~ 7.4
NH3: ~ 0
NO3: ~ 20
NO2: ~ 0
GH: ~ 8
KH: ~ 5


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/09:* Wow...what can I say about this tank. The babies are just going rampant. The last two hatchings have by far been the most successfull. Too many to count as they are constantly on the go. I think it safe to say that there are 20+ wee ones. They are working over everything they can find.

I had a missed photo op too. When I first went down to check on them, I found papa and (3) juvies on Boris! It was the funniest thing. Maybe I should look at beginning my own snail shell cleaning business? 

Getting ready to head out for the night. Took lots of pictures so we'll see how many turn out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/10:* After all them pics yesterday, only two turned out worth while.

Here's one that is around two weeks old now. This is the area of the tank where they working over.









This one is about a week old:









Water change on tap for today.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/12:* 10% water change today. Fed zucchini last night. They are swarming all over them today. Ravenous little guys and gals.  Activity level still high. Always a good sign. Running the airstone for about 30 mins.

Here's some shots from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Went down to turn the air off and boy did I find a surprise. Here's a couple parting shots for the day:

Kids...remember to eat your veggies so you can grow up like mom and dad


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

James0816 said:


> Went down to turn the air off and boy did I find a surprise. Here's a couple parting shots for the day:
> 
> Kids...remember to eat your veggies so you can grow up like mom and dad


I wish my Otos would breed!!!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/13:* May have done a bad. Yikes! Went down to do the water change and instead I decided I would work on the scape a little. Man! Did I stir up some crap! No...literally. It's snowing in the tank. Everything getting covered in a fine layer. Boy do I feel bad at the moment. Hope this has no ill effects on everyone. Will go back down and check in on them in about 30 mins and turn the light out.

On the brighter side, the babies are still working over the zucs even though they are covered in fallout.

Turned the airstone on for a spell. Not sure how long I will run it this evening. Hopefully keep a good circulation going in hopes the filter will pick up more.

CO2 started to get a little low so went ahead and recharged it. Still plenty of Jell-O left in the bottle so didn't have make a whole new bottle.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/15:* I just checked on them and low and behold....left the friggin airstone on all this time. Crud! I've got to do a better job than that. Did see quite a bit of activity still in there though. Can't believe how fast these little guys are growing! It's amazing.

On a sad note....I can officially pronouce Natasha.  That's a real downer. Will have to get another one to keep Boris company.

Prepping two more zucs to throw in there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/17:* Tank maintenance today. Going to try something else. I made a small gravel vac (basically just a small water bottle and tubing). Going to use it and a gallon jug. My theory is that I should be able to clean up small areas of the SMS pulling out minimal water. Everything would be captured in the jug. Any SMS would then be rinsed and and placed back into the tank.

Made a modification to the retaining wall that the Suesswassertang will grow on. Think that will work out much better.

Going to add a few plantlets of Downoi from another tank. They aren't doing that well in that tank so this will be a recovery effort until that tank is back in gear. Hopefully they will do ok.

On the Oto front, all still doing very well. Babies still growing fast.

Maybe I should try to get a web cam up on there. It is something watching all the wee ones swim all over the place.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Gravel vac idear worked out rather well I must say. No little ones were harmed in the cleaning of one area. I did have to shoo a few away but other than that, really well. It had just the right amount of suction to leave the substrate alone and pick up the gunk. Two gallons later....pretty good. Hopefully the plants won't mind being uprooted from time to time, but I may just add this into the routine for awhile. Just until I get it back into shape.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/19: * Did another 10% wc w/ gravel vac. Worked very well again. Decided to try and start working on the new scape as well. Turned out to be more frustrating than anything. Definately not easy when you basically can work with only one hand. Managed to use both at times. Think I got the wall up. Gonna let it get a little less cloudy to analyze the situation.

Little ones completely snarfed the zucs. Getting a couple more slices ready to go.


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

wow...i love the little ottos...i have an empty 10 gallon sitting around and want to make it an otto tank

can you tell me a brief description of your setup(filter, subsrate, plants, lighing, etc)
any tips as well

thank you


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Just checked on the tank. Cleared up nicely. Here's a shot what I am currently working on. Still need to do some straightening up in this corner before moving on:









Think it may work out pretty good once I get it right.

Just so you can get your fix...what would a photo journal be without pics. Here's some shots from today:




































And I think this may be one of my favorite shots of all so far:


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

You inspired me to get some Otos. Went to the lfs and picked up the last 2 they had. There are now in the 55 and cleaning house


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/21:* Ludwigia Ovalis came in today. Just placed it in the tank in no particular scape. Waiting on a couple more plants. Then I'll get the Ludwigia section completed.

Small issue with the CO2 bottle. Not seeming to get any output through the the diffuser. Swapped it out for another one.

Here's some pics from today. Tried focusing on something other than the zucchini for variety.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/24:* Ludwigia senegalensis came in. Got a few stems planted. Getting ready to arrange the Ludwigia area. Having issues with my CO2 setup (all of them actually). All my bottles stopped delivering gas into the tanks. Just really, really odd. Still doing more research on this. In the mean time, I put a cheap air stone on one of the bottles so we'll see.

Little ones continue to grow up fast. Zipping all over the tank. Noticed that mom and dad are hanging out again. Will be on the lookout for new arrivals.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/26:* Getting ready to add more zucchini. My testing of the CO2 bottles turned out successful with the resealing of the caps and replacing the water bottle with a gatorade bottle. CO2 should be (hopefully) flowing back in the tank shortly.

So here's a couple shots from yesterday. Ever wonder what it's like when babies get the taste of blood.....er.....zucchini?

Here's what i found when I went to check on them. Ravenous little guys and gals:









Four hours later: couldn't get a good quality shot but you can see the damage...or clean up done.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/27:* Got home late today but had to check on the CO2. Success! We're gettin gas in the tank again and the drop checker is back to green! Most excellent. Party on Wayne.

On the Oto front.....the two slices of zucchini placed in yesterday are half way gone. Counted almost 20 babies between the two slices. A quick scan of the remaining tank gave me a count of over 30! Still growing really fast.

It looks like my other breeding tank will have to be used to house the little ones until I can find a home for them. Good thing I haven't found the Zebra Oto's yet.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/28:* Zucchini is gone! Only hair remnants remain. Getting ready to do a 10% wc. CO2 still churning nicely. Drop checker standing at green. New bottles are a go.

Anubias 'Petite' came in today. Just a couple more plants remain and that should take care of the flora for now.

Going to be adding TDS and barometric pressure to my variable list. Trying to collect as much data as possible. Looking for a TDS meter as I type.


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

I always get excited when my email inbox shows that there is an update on the Oto Journal! Glad to see that everything is working well once again.

I have 7 otos now in my newly planted 20g, and they are a blast to watch! I have 3 in my 10g as well.

I do have a question....how do you get them to enjoy the zucchini? I've put it in the tank before, and they seem to ignore it until it breaks apart and makes a major mess in the substrate and water.

-Nate


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

No trick to it really. After thawing out, I just drop it in the tank. If your tanks are heavily planted, they might not find it rather easily. Try to position it in a place where you notice them hanging out a lot.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

When I had a FW tank, my Otocinclus were arguably my favorite fish in there. 
Great thread...


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ok...I splurged today. I went ahead and got a TDS as well as a Barometer,Temp,Humidity combo off ebay. Now I will be able to monitor conditions in the room as well as in the tank. We'll see if we can't latch on to something here.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*10/29:* Water Test today:

Temp: 76 (slight drop due to colder temps inside...winter's a comin)
PH: 7.4
NO3: ~10 (this is rather interesting. not sure why the big drop)
NO2: 0
NH3: 3
KH: 5 (slightly low since there was a gap in the CO2 delivery)
GH: 7 (slightly low as well. all tied together. these will come back up)

Here's a pic of their current home: Mom and Dad are in this shot in bottom right.









Current list of flora:
Assorted Crypts, Anubias barteri 'Petite', Bacopa monnieri (may just move this out, but mamma likes to place eggs here. May replace with Bacopa sp. 'colorata'), Echinodorus Angustifolia, Littorella Uniflora, Lobelia cardinalis, Ludwigia repens, L. repens x. Arcuata, Ludwigia senegalensis, Pogostemon helferi (may not stay, relocated to help it recover) and Suesswassertang

Current list of fauna: Otocinculs Affinis (naturally  ), bakers dozen of Neocaridina sp. 'yellow', one Brigg Snail (Boris).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/03:* All continues to go well with the babies. Tons and tons of activity in the tank. Preparation continues on getting the 20long ready for the babies. If all goes well, I may just start the transfer tomorrow.

My plan at this time is to use a gatorade bottle. I'll place about (3) slices of zucchini in the bottle in hopes this will act as a trap. I do not want to try and net them out.

Speaking of zucchini...the last ones I placed in there a day ago....gone! They are eating it faster and faster. I may just bump it up to (3) slices now. 

TDS meter and Bar/Temp/Hum gauges are in. Will take first reading tomorrow during water testing. 10% water change performed.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/04:* Water test today:

Temp: 77
PH: 7.4
NO2: 5 (very odd that it is continuing to drop)
NO3: 0
NH3: 0
GH: 7
KH: 5

New Parms:
Inside Room Temp: 68
Barometric: ~ 26
Humidity: 32

The crypt jungle is showing alot of messiness. Need to gravel vac that area. Have to come up with a plan of attack on that.

On a sad note....I found two babies somehow wedged in behind the prefilter. My guessing is they were working the glass over and just went back too far and couldn't free themselves. 

Holding tank progresses. Still a little dirty as I just did some more work on it. I went ahead and performed a water test on it too.

Temp: 78
PH: 7.4
NO3: 10
KH: 3
GH: 5

GH and KH are lower since I have taken the CO2 off to place it on the holding tub for all the plants I have been trimming. Getting ready to add it back to the tank.

Parameters look good enough for a first attempt to transfer over a group. Prepping a bottle to see if the trap works.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So...here's my trap. Didn't have the camera at first. Went upstairs to get it (~ 5 mins), came back and already had one in there. This is one of the older juvies. Can't say that he will stay in here though. My goal is to have at least (5) in there before removing it. But...I will not leave it in there overnight.









Here's where they will be going to. This tank was originally set up as a river tank. I've been working on converting it. It's still got a ways to go, but it should be ok. Already have a couple slices of zucchini in there waitin on the new arrivals.









Heading down to check on the trap.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Man.....over 30 Oto's in a 10g tank all swimming about and my trap just hasn't netted the results yet. I had (4) in there at one time. Just turned the light out for a few minutes to see if we get any takers.

Patience grasshoppa.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Successfully captured and transferred over (6) babies. Cross your fingers guys and gals. I feel bad enough as it is that I had to do this but I know it's for the better. I'll feel so bad if they don't make it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/05:* Quick check during morning fert dosing. Using just the room lights, I was able to spot (5) of the babies in their new home. That's a promising sign. Will check again this afternoon as well as attempt to move over at least (5) more.

Oddly enough...while preparing the tank, I found a ghost shrimp in there. I thought I had lost all of them a long time ago. Most excellent! I may have to acquire a few others to keep everyone company.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ok...trap #2 is set. Trying with just waffers as they ate all the zucchini. Prepping a couple more pieces. Will put them in there once they are ready.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Man...fast little buggers. Had (7) in the trap. By the time I got the lid on (new stradegy)....only (3) remained. Went ahead and transferred those (3) and placed the trap back in for another 30 minutes. Currently (9) in the transfer tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Finished the day with (5) transferred. (11) now in transfer tank. All seems to be well. They have found the zucs.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/06:* Trap #3 set in place. Based on the suggestion of another person, I made a slight modification to it. I used the top piece from another bottle (I threw the other one away) and inverted to create a funnel. (Same as a snail trap) Not sure how well this is going to work on the fishies, but I was game.

Here's a pic of it. That yellow blur in the middle is a yellow shrimp. My first catch.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Just raided the trap. Netted another (5). Kewlness! One of this set was one of the younger ones. Yikes! I think he'll be ok though. I'm getting greeding. I reloaded it set trap #4. See if I can grab another (5) tonight.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Trap #4 yielded (7). Wow. Wasn't expecting that. That puts (23) in the holding tank. I do believe that my (30) calculation was a bit off as there are still quite a few remaining in the main tank.

Replaced the old the zucchini with new. Will be doing another water change tomorrow. Plan is to adjust the crypt jungle so I can do some gravel vac'ing in there to get the yuckies out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/07:* Dosed the tanks. Trap #5 set. I think this one will be my last one. I'll have to try to get a head count after this one to see how many remain.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Trap #5 just yielded (7) more. That puts an even (30) in the 20g. Going to set #6. This will be the last one. There are still about (10) left in the main tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Trap #6 yielded nadda. Either they are wise to it now (those that are left) or there isn't enough peer pressure to lure them in. Anyhow, I have reset the trap this morning. Would like to pull out a few more.

On a side note...30 babies in a 10 look a lot different than 30 in a 20. ;o) There is alot of activity in the 20 though. Kinda reminds me of a swarm of bees with all the swimming around.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

(3) in the trap at the moment. Still waiting to get at least (5) in there to transfer then that will be all for now. Still debating with myself if I should go ahead and clear all the juvies out and just leave mom and dad.

Also, going to start harvesting algae to feed all the wee ones in the 20. I have another 10 set up. Have added some rocks to it for the algae to grow on. Double dose ferts and crank up the light for 12 hours. I'm going for quick algae growth and then rotate the rocks accordingly.

One other thing I am toying with. I have an old CO2 generator..can't remember the manufacturer of it but it had a long rectangular piece of plastic for the gas to hold in. I am using that container for the zucchini. When it floats to the top, I place them in here to keep it more accessible for the babies. We'll see if it works.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Trap #6b just yielded (6) more. That puts (36) baby oto's in the 20long. Tried to do another count in the main tank. Saw at least (7) more juvies in there. Decisions, decisions. Hmmmm...think I will set another trap but it may not be for a couple of days.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Are you hoping that by thinning down the number in the original tank, that mom and dad will start making more babies again? Or was it just getting crowded? What are you plans for all the little ones?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

It's a combination of both actually. The over crowding is an issue on tank maintenance as well as added excitability to the parents. Thin the herd and get things back to smaller numbers where they can feel comfortable again.

The plans for the little ones will be to hold back a few for hopefully future breeding stock and find homes for the rest.


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

If some of these babies end up pairing up and you can start multiple successful breeding tanks, you just might have yourself a little business. 

When I read up on my otos before purchasing, I noticed that some areas have limited supply to the point of the new batch arriving at the LFS, and being purchased almost instantly.

I envy your breeding success!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/09:* 10% water change and water test afterwards. Forgot about the TDS readings last water test. So...what I am going to do is take (3) TDS readings. New water and before and after water change.

TDS readings:
New water to be added: 050
Before water change: 177

Water test results to follow.

Thx gon. Hopefully it will continue and we can learn more about these little guys. They are such characters


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

11/09 water parameters:

Inside Parms:

Temp: 68
Barometric: 26.1
Humiditiy: 29

Tank Parms:

Temp: 76
PH: 7.4
NO3: 10
NO2: 0
NH3: 0
GH: 7
kh: 6
TDS: 138

Fresh zucchini added.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/13:* Activity in the 20 remains extremely high. Little buggers still growing nicely. I tried a new food with these guys....seaweed sheets. It didn't originally stay were it put it and wound up eventually all over the tank. I noticed yesterday that it was all gone so I added another half sheet this morning. I need to work on the placement of it so there will be less current to impact it. We'll see.

Got a better count of the remaning babies in the main tank and their number is at least (10). I will be setting a new trap this afternoon to reduce the number again. It's starting to look a little empty in there now with the numbers reduced. Hopefully, mom and dad will feel more relaxed now. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/13:* Did a 15% water change on the baby tank. Set the trap in the main tank. Didn't have any zucchini so I'm trying with the seaweed. At last check, no Oto's but (3) shrimp. ;o)

Tried something new. I took a video with the camera and posted to YouTube. Let's see if this works. It's not all that great of quality but bare with me as this is the first time I've shot video.

Need to figure out how to do the video thing. In the mean time...try this link:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/15:* Seaweed trap was not successfull at all. Welllll....I did manage to catch (5) shrimp and Boris was at the funnel opening munching the seaweed. Prepping some new zuc's now. Might try one more trap with zuc before having to resort to other methods.

CO2 bottle needs a recharge.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/16:* Water Test today:










Set another trap in the main tank using zucchini. We'll see if we get any takers this time.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/17:* Trap was completely unsuccessful. I think they are on to me. Will have to try something else. I still need to transfer a few more of the babies to the 20. Most of the ones that are in the main tank are the older juvies.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/18:* Eggs found today! Initial count is (55). Mamma still nice and plump. Will continue to monitor for more. Going through the pics now.

Room parameters are as follows:

Temp: 68
Barometer: 29.94
Humidity: 28

Water parms to be posted shortly.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Pics from 11/18:*





































One of the better ones from today. Older sibling watching over.









I have not sat down yet to analyze the data. Will be doing so later this eve.

Recount during second attempt at photos revealed (73) eggs. Mamma is getting her girlish figure back. Not sure if she will lay any more tonight or tommorrow.

I was going to use the brine net to transfer over more of the juvies today but that didn't happen due to the discovery. No further transfers will take place until further notice.

I also found quite a few Hydra. I find this a little strange as the water quality is good....at least so I thought. Will break out the turkey baster and pluck them out tomorrow.

Barometer reading was incorrect. It is 31.94. I need to read up on this as the needle is getting ready to hit 26 again.

Prepping zucchini for both tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/19:* Check of eggs today. Found (6) that are not viable. Will be removing those shortly. Did find (4) newly laid eggs since last check yesterday. As of now, looks like (71) viable eggs.

Found a group of (3) eggs that are in a perfect spot for picture taking. I posted one pic yesterday. Here is the pic from Day 2. Excellent shot showing the development:










Hydra removal going to be tricky. These guys seem to be attached by superglue. The turkey baster and dosing droppers failed to suck them off their perches. Need another plan.

Will try to get a couple more development shots up. Not easy with the lighting.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

One more developement shot. Took a ton of pics but only a few turned out ok.


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## gonathan85 (Aug 13, 2009)

James0816 said:


> One more developement shot. Took a ton of pics but only a few turned out ok.
> 
> very cool. I'm still hoping a couple of my otos will form pairs out of the 6 in my tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/20:* Just did a quick check of the tank. Found (35) wigglers. As usuall, they are harder to spot as wigglers than eggs. Also found several other eggs fuzzed over and new eggs in other locations that are not viable. Will try to get a count when I remove them to adjust my numbers. Going through pics now.

Zucchini in both tanks are gone. Prepping new and added some seaweed to the holding tank. Made a few flakes of the seeweed and dropped them in the main tank as well. We'll see how that goes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Pic from 11/20. Only was able to pull off one good shot at the moment. This is the group of three that I have snapped the past two days.










Not sure if I will be able to attempt any other photo today. Getting ready to head out the door.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/22:* 
Morning check still puts count over (20). As best I could find at the moment. No good pics of the wiggle waggles but I'm still tryin.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Wow I can't believe you have some many otos out of a 10g tank! That is crazy. It's so cool to see the pics though. Have you figured out what you are going to do with your few extra ones? lol


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I will be keeping a few for hopefull future breeding stock. The other ones, I will have to find homes for when they are bigger and I feel more comfortable. Being that it is getting colder, I would be hesitant to ship at this time.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Have you talked with any LFS to see if you can sell them to them or through them? I know my LFS sells tank bred otos and not wild caught. Or at least that is what they tell me. And some of their other fish come from local people who breed them. Just an idea


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

squirrelcrusher said:


> Have you talked with any LFS to see if you can sell them to them or through them? I know my LFS sells tank bred otos and not wild caught. Or at least that is what they tell me. And some of their other fish come from local people who breed them. Just an idea


I have not spoken with my LFS about this. They are not very reliable.

I'd be curious to know about yours if they are saying they get tank raised Otos. ;o)


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Ya when I was talking to her about the fish I wanted I asked if her otos were tank bred or wild caught and she said tank bred. I have heard that wild caught ones die easily from the stress of shipment and what not and tank bred ones are much hardier. So far I have gotten 10 otos from this place at different times and different shipments and haven't lost one yet. Never seen a dead one in thier tanks either. It is a fairly good fish store. The head freshwater person seems to know her stuff. She's had answers to all my questions so far.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/23:* 15% water change today. Water test pending. Tried to get some pics. Still not very good. Will keep trying. Best I could count today is (32) fry. Fry starting to show color. Prepping zucchini for both tanks. Added a few flakes of seaweed to the main tank. We'll see how it goes. Need to do some plant arranging as well.

Here's a pic from today. This shows how extremely important pre-filters are in a fry tank:










Overall, there are (14) little buggers behind the pre-filter. Will continue to try and get better fry pics.

Air stone turned for ~ 30 mins.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/24:* Wigglers growing nicely. Couldn't get an accurate count due to the activity but I did get over (20). For what ever reason, I just can't get any good shots. I keep trying. At (4) days old, they have picked up on the zucchini.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/25:* Zucchini is GONE! Wow! Can't believe they devoured it that quick. Prepping more to go in.

Still just can't seem to get off some good pics on this batch. Here's a couple shots from today. The best ones I've been able to manage at the moment. I'll keep trying.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Whatever you do, don't let your fish end up in a Petco. I was in there today and saw that they had otos for 2 bucks! I was excited the lfs charges 5. When I looked in the tank though... Wow I was upset 4 otos swimming and I counted 8 dead. That is unacceptable and I let them know it.

I know you have said it before, but what do I do to get your zuc to sink? I thought I read you microwaved them, but mine always float. Did I get some wires crossed?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I have no intentions to give them a go at Petco or Petsmart. My offers will be to my fellow hobbiests as they will be able to provide adequate homes.

As for the zucs...I used to nuke them...now I blanch them in boiling water for 1-2 mins and then freeze them. Thaw and serve.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/27:* Just went down for a check. Mama either laid or is in the process of laying another batch of eggs. Counted (20) at the current moment. Been a little lax on my water testing of late. Will continue to monitor. Current little ones coloring up nicely. Still not able to get a good count on how many of last batch have made it.

Waiting on our water to clear up a bit so I can do a water change in the holding tank. I do have couple gallons of spring water to use in the main tank. Will do so this evening.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

A couple egg shots from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/28:* Morning check. Counted (28) eggs. However, (3) are not viable which leaves (25) on this go round. Mama still showing some roundness but going by past history, she won't lay any more for a short spell.

Going through latest rounds of pics to see what may have came out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Pics from 11/29:

Here's a couple shots of the newest arrivals. The first two are (1) day olds:



















This guy is (1) week old:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*11/30:* Found another shrimp passed away. Not a good sign. Down to just a few now. 

Did a 20% water change with gravel vac. Had to do some rearranging with the plants as well. Pretty much the same layout. Will be thinning a couple plants in the crypt jungle. Maybe removing a few of the smaller crypts and two of the longer Cryptocoryne Balansae. Need to get some more Ludwigia.

On a plus note: New shrimpies arrived today. Hopefully they will fit in just fine.

Trying to get somewhat of a count of the wigglers in there. It doesn't look good this go around.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 01-Dec-2009*

Water Test Today:









Will be doing another 15% partial on the main tank this evening using spring water. I am still waiting for our well water to clear up to do water changes on all the other tanks.

I'm a little discouraged as I could only count (6) wigglers from this batch. Hopefully there are more hiding in the crypt jungle.

Newly added shrimp are doing fine. No casulties over night.

Zucchini almost gone. Prepping new pieces.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-Dec-2009*

20% water change done on the juvie tank. Removed lots of pond snails with several more to go.

Thinning of the crypt jungle has began. My plan is to rremove (2) of the Balansae's and maybe (3) of the assorted's. You want to talk about root systems. WOW! I'm taking some pics as I go. This root system is amazing. It pretty much covers half the tank. The whole right side.

On a little bit of a plus note, I found (8) wigglers today. Hopefully more will surface. 

Turning on the air stone during this process for increased circulation and aeration. Stiring up a bit of mulm.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Need to give Boris a break. Him and mom and pop Oto just didn't seem to interested in leaving their corner. No matter how much I disturbed it. Boris extended his syphon longer than I've ever seen (gotta pic too). He eventually got to the top and and started his pump to gather more air. Then back to the bottom. He's currently working himself out of the crypt jungle. Will go back down in a few and finish up.

Now my dilema...the root systems were so entwined that I basically uprooted everything on the right side of the tank. So now I have to contimplate removing all the crypts and replanting once the roots are all seperated.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

It's official....the crypt jungle is no more...for now. I went ahead and dismantled the entire jungle. Will incorporate a 20% water change with gravel vac where the jungle once was. I will rebuild it with most of what was removed. I will have several crypts left over.

By doing this (and it was unintentional I might add), stirred up the fry. Count is now at least (15). These were just on the front and right sides panes. Didn't check the left or back of the tank. 

Main goal is build the jungle back and let the water clear. I'm letting things settle right now so I can do the vac. I rinsed out the pre-filter to help gather up particles.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's some shots of the work in the Crypt jungle:

This is the beginning:









Seperating Roots....what a job!









After a few have been removed: The divot on the right was caused during the seperation of the first plant. The root system was that long.









Almost all removed. These two remain floating as they are the bigger ones.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Starting to replant now. Boy..It sure does look bare. It's a bit cloudy right now so giving it a break to clear up so I can get a better view. May need to readjust what is currently in there before adding any others. Will have to assess to see how many I want to put back.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Clearing up nicely....I can see what it looks like now.










You can see all the major players in this pic as well. Boris up top..mom and pop Oto in at the bottom.

Will add about three more smaller ones and that should do it. I have to straighten up a couple of them and maybe move around a couple. Other than that, I think I was able to keep the same look. Now the debate is whether or not to add another Balansae or not. (I really need to ID this guy to make sure it is the right species *#3 )


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 03-Dec-2009*

Disaster strikes the Juvie tank. Came home and found (7) dead! OMG! No clue what could have been the cause unless the water is still fouled. Not good. I immediately turned on the air stone. Will be doing another water change shortly. Poured out the old water in the jugs and replaced with new.

Main tank still looks ok. Found a few fry as before the change. No casualties found from the replant.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Just did another check. No further casualties found thank goodness. All remain extremely active and show no signs of stress. Has to have been something with that water change.

Preping zuc for both tanks. Didn't get a chance to work on the main tank today. The lack of the Balansae's definately made a difference with the lighting. May have to add more crypts to compensate for that.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 04-Dec-2009*

Just checked. No further losses. Feel much better now. I was dreading the daily check on them.

Continuing with the replant of the main tank. After a couple of days, it is obvious that the Balansae was the main shadow maker in the tank. We'll see


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 09-Dec-2009*

20% water changes in both main and juvie tank. Could only find one fry in the main tank. Guess my replant of the crypt jungle may have led to badness.

Need to get the other juvies out of the main tank and into their own. May work on that this weekend.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 10-Dec-2009*

Water Test today:










Found another fry in the main tank. That makes (2) that have been found from last batch of eggs. Two more crypts added back to the tank.

Zucchini added.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Been a spell since I've updated this. All continues to go well. Mama Oto is really showing at the moment. Need to remove more of the juvies out of the main tank into the juvie tank.

Speaking of Juvies....here's a fresh video of them. They were really active.


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

Wow, they were active James! Very nice video...so how many oto fry do you have all together?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

There are 29 in this tank. I have another 13 in the main tank I need to move over.


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

Cool. I just added plants to my 20 gallon (actually going to add a bit more) but once I start to see algae growth, I'll probably add 1 or 2 otos to help keep it clean. They look like they would be a nice addition to a community tank.


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

That would be a great algae clean up crew!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 01-03-10*

I set another trap in the main tank to try and catch some more juvies. Only catch so far is shrimp. Go figure. They know me too well.

I've decided to try the net as much as I hate to. Already moved over (3). 

Trimmed some plants and finishing the scaping at the same time.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Transferred over (9) to the juvie tank. Wanted (10) but I'll settle. Don't want to create too much stress. That should leave mom and pop and (4) juvies left in the main tank. There are now (38) juvies in the 20long.

Will replant the trimmings and call it quits for the night.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So working on replanting and found (1) juvie just kinda hangin out. Decided I would see if I could net him and move him over. Sure enough..was relatively easy. Kewlness!

Moved over (10) juvies to the juvie tank which brings that total to (39). In the main tank, with lesser numbers, I was able to get a more accurate count. The last count remains. (2) adults and (4) juvies.

Still have a couple more plants to place back but the light cut off on me signalling times up.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 07-Jan-2010*

30% water change performed. Water test pending. Found that I lost a shrimp. Mama Oto is still nice and plump.

On a bad note, I believe I found some BBA in the tank. It's on some of the crypt leaves and the Littorella Uniflora. Not good. Gonna be hard to treat in a sensitive environment. Gotta think.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

May have to rethink my ledge plant. While it may be nice once fully covered...The Echinodorus Angustifolia has already sent out a runner (just to the left of the white toothpick on top of the ledge).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Updated Home Pics*

Trying to get some updated shots:

Here's the current home:

Left Side:









Right Side:









Full View:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-Jan-2010*

L. Repens came in today. Cleaned off (5) and went to just drop them in to plant later so I can finish cleaning the other stems.

Mama is laying eggs! I knew it was going to be soon. Was hoping to get the other plants in prior. Anyway, (44) counted at the moment with (1) non viable. I'm watching a couple of others as they might not be viable either be we'll see. She distributed these ones out fairly even so far...(13) in the Ludwigia, (17) in the Bacopa and the rest in the crypt jungle. She placed more on the undersides of the crypts this time. Definately harder to spot.

Will continue to monitor.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Otocinclus Eggs found on 14-Jan-2010*

First round of pics:

This one is rather interesting. One of the more so of all previous batches. Look closely at the egg in left hand corner. It's on the glass. First time she placed one on the glass.









Eggs on the Bacopa:









Close-up of a couple on the Bacopa:









Eggs on the underside of a crypt leaf. You can just make them out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final check of the evening, I found an additional (10) eggs. The couple that I am watching haven't turned white yet but still look as if they may. Will know more tomorrow afternoon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Analyzed the data from yesterday. Water parms are normal. I did not get a TDS reading. I'll take one today to see if it is close to prior readings.

The only room variable that changed was the Humidity as it is near 0.

The good thing is that even with the major disturbances of replanting the crypt jungle and Suesswassertang wall, the continued to breed. I was nervous about that change.

Research continues. Not sure if there are any other parms I could check for.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 15-Jan-2010*

Mama laid a few more eggs over night. I counted (8) more this afternoon. As expected, I did find non-viable ones. I counted (7) non-viable. Going through some pics now to see if any other good shots.

Will be toping off the tank and have zucchini prepping. I'm also going to toss in some seaweed flakes to see if this will help the wigglers in their hunt for red october..i mean food. ;o)

CO2 bottle is due for a recharge and have the yeast activating now as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Couple of shots from today. Egg Development one day.

Here shows two bad eggs up top and two developing babies underneath.









Two new eggs developing:









Proud Parents:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 16-Jan-2010*

As expected, hatching began today. Best I could count at this time is (21) wigglers. Still working to pull down some good shots. Here's the best shots I could get at the moment:

Some of the wigglers:









And here's papa....striking his shark pose:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Jan-2010*

Morning check. Best I can count is still (21) wigglers. Majority of them hiding in the crypt jungle. I'm getting better at spotting them in there. Going to attempt some more pics in there shortly. Lighting isn't all that great but I'll try.

Now the question is...Is mama going to be on the same pattern and lay a smaller batch next week? She is still sporting the plump look.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's some shots from today. Babies are (1) day old.

Here you will see the baby underneath. There were two babies here which made it impossible for me to remove the bad egg.









One of the better fry pics I've taken I must say:









Fry in the crypt jungle:









Here's how you spot the fry on the undersides of crypt leaves. Look for two little black dots:









So far all remains well. I dropped some more food in and around the plants where the wee ones are. Will be adding some more sea weed later this evening.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-Jan-2010*

Just did a quick spot check this morning. Couldn't locate many wigglers but hopefully that is because the light recently came on. Will check again later this afternoon.

As expected, mama laying her second batch of eggs. Found (6) new eggs. I'm going to experiment with some of these. I'm going to move one of the plants over to another tank and see how they do. There are more goodies over there for fry (hopefully). As of now, (5) eggs are on one stem of Bacopa which will make it easy to transfer.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 20-Jan-2010*

Fry development continues to progress well. A big number of them are hiding behind the pre-filter again. Coloring up nicely. Not sure exactly how many are in here but did manage to count (12). The crypt jungle continues to be the main hide out.

Mama wound up only laying those (6) eggs in the second batch. I wound up not moving them to the other tank.


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

Man, you're one busy guy! I wish I could see the pics, but my work laptop blocks them. I'll check them out tonight. Congrats on how well things are going!

How many would you recommend for a 20 gallon long tank? I have little white fuzz on my driftwood, but that's about it. It is planted fairly well though.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 22-Jan-2010*

Took a break from working on the horse stable to give a checksie. Counted (16) wigglers hanging around. I did not bother counting the ones behind the pre-filter. Little guys showing some pudgieness...always a great sign.

Will be prepping zucchinii to toss in there later today.


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## DAS9 (Dec 27, 2009)

Very nice journal. Am enjoying the happy news.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thank you. It's been a fun experience.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 24-Jan-2010*

Topped off the tank just a bit ago. Activity is very high. Wigglers swimming all of the place. Best count I could manage was (14). Only have seen a few on the zucs for now. They are working over everything. Added some seaweed flakes as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 27-Jan-2010*

Just checked today and mama is laying more eggs. I find this rather fascinating as this is the third week in a row she has. Granted the ones last week and this week are in very small amounts. I counted (12) this time. There are (6) on one Bacopa stem and I am getting ready to move that stem to another tank and see how they fair over there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Got the eggs transferred over. After I got the stem planted I noticed there are (8) on it instead. Temp is a lower in this tank so hopefully that won't be an issue.

Over in the main tank, there are (13) left.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-Jan-2010*

As expected, eggs hatched today. Over in the main tank, I could only spot a few wigglers. Found (1) wiggler from the original batch. Added Veggie flakes to the tank.

On to the test tank. Out of the (8) eggs in there, I saw (7) wigglers on the Bacopa stem. I crushed up some veggie flakes and tried to located them in and around the stem. We'll see how they do.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 29-Jan-2010*

Just checked on both tanks.

Main tank: Found (5) newbies and (1) of the two week olds.
Test tank: Found (5) newbies.

Fed veggie flakes to both tanks. What I do for the test tank is rub the flakes between my fingers to make a fine almost "powdery" mix. I then dip my hand under the water just over the stem and swirl it around. Trying to centrally locate as much as possible. Seems to be working out ok so far. Continuing to monitor.

Haven't had much luck with the zucchini of late. They are real small and wind up floating back to the top after only one day. They must not be in season at the moment I recon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 30-Jan-2010*

I found myself in the basement and thought I would go ahead and check the tanks. I don't normally do so since the lights haven't been on too long.

Anyway, started with the test tank. No wigglers on the Bacopa. Will move it back over to the main tank. I did spot one on the glass. Tank has white pool filter sand and higher lighting. Makes it bright and not as easy to pick up the wiggles. Mostly light green plants as well.

On to the main tank. Mama has laid more eggs again. I found (18) in here at the moment. Now I can safely say that all my research and observations have led me to confusion. Granted I extremely happy that the breeding is ongoing and would have liked to think I was making progress. She has been continuously laying eggs now for going on four weeks. This is off the charts for any data collected when they first started.

As long as they continue to be happy and breed, the research will continue.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So here are the best pics I could get at the moment. These wigglers are in my test tank.



















I was able to find (4) on last check.

There are now (21) eggs in the main tank. I saw both of the bigger wigglers that are about 2 weeks old now. Several of the smaller ones that hatched the other day.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Observation: strange activity in the second breeding tank today. Needless to say, this tank doesn't quite get the attention that the other Oto tanks do quite simply as it is currently waiting on some zebra oto's. In the mean time, I have two males and one female affinis in there. Had a nice layer of duckweed which I decided to finally remove and work on some more scaping. I topped off with 2g of fresh water to get a little less current going in there while removing the duckweed. 

After working in the tank for a spell, I went upstairs to take some zucchini out of the freezer to thaw. Went back down stairs and the oto's were acting rather oddly. Instead of the three of them kinda doing their own thing, they were all over each other. As I sat there and watched, it seemed like the female was trying to "coach" the males into something. Now I'm not reading anything into this but I found that rather odd behavoir. I sat there and watched them playing tag for the longest time. I was sitting on the floor so I could try to not be "up close and personal".

I don't have the same kind of flora in this tank but may have rethink this.

Back to the main tank, lots of activity there as well. New wigglers out and about. The two that are three weeks old are really active. The two week olds are seeming to hide out in the Suesswassertang wall. It's fun watching them dart in and out of there.

Added 1g of fresh water as I can't do a water change as yet.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-Feb-2010*

The password is ..... wigglers. ;o)

Check of the tanks turned out very nicely today. We'll start with the test tank. Actually found (5) wigglers today. I feel much better now. 5 out of 8 in a test environment sounds like a good ratio to me. I will duplicate the test if mama lays more eggs.

On to the main tank. Wigglers roving all about. Activity very high.

Second breeding tank. Found no eggs so maybe what I saw yesterday was just them having fun. It's ok as I wasn't expecting anything. I'm working on adding some different flora in there to get back to the same parms and set up as the main tank.

Now...here's the catch. I have to do water changes on all three Oto tanks. No way around it. Expecting some big snows moving in the next few days and I'm sure it will wreak havok on my water. Have to get them changed so I can get the jugs filled up before hand.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Water change on the test tank today. Found a nice little surprise! Went to rinse out the media, found (3) wigglers in the filter! Completed the wc and got the wigglers back in the tank. Will have to work on the other half of the tank tomorrow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 08-Feb-2010 - Snow Storm Recovery*

Disaster strikes courtesy of mother nature. Major snow storm hit the 
region. Power went out around 1330hrs on 02/06 and got it back shortly after 1700hrs today. It was a rough go at it considering we are in winter time. It got cold. Luckily we have a fireplace. Burnt up almost all our wood.

Luckily...casulties were kept low (as of now). Looks like I lost all but (2) wigglers from the Oto world. Other casulties include (4) endlers and (3) white clouds. Fish that are currently in distress are both BNPs, a couple more endlers, looks like (3) cherry barbs and two female Oto's (one of which is the female from the second breeding pair). I have the lights on now and will keep them on throughout the night to help with heating.

Water is way too cold to do a water change at the moment. Will do WCs tommorrow at 25-50%. Have fresh water in all the jugs getting ready to go.

So...here's what I did to help the fishies out:
1) Pulled out all CO2 feeds into the tank.
2) Every (2) hours, I would draw out 10% of the water in the tanks using a 1gal jug. I would fill the jug about 3/4 full, cap, and shake really well to oxygenate the water. I would then pour this water back into the tank from a higher distance to create turbulance and add more 02 to the water.
3) Temps in the tanks gradually dropped. Two of them dipped into the 40s. Crisis time. I scrounged what spare blankets I could find and began covering them up. All the other tanks hit the mid 50s. They are in the basement so kept it warmer longer. I covered them as well.
4) On the 29g tank, I increased the water aeration to once an hour. I also increased the amount of water to 25%. I had two jugs of fresh water left. I drew water from the tank then added the fresh. The water I drew, I placed near the fireplace to get warm. I repeated this cycle until the power came back on. (drawing water and replacing with somewhat warmish water).
5) After the 24 hour mark, I treated each tank with Prime at half capacity (I.e 10g tank was treated as a 5g tank). This was done again at the 48 hour mark.

Fishies look in bad shape when the power came back on. BNPs and Oto's are laying on their sides breathing slowly. The others are either on their backs or just sitting at the bottom. Again breathing slowly. I have air pumps going on all the tanks. Looks like Yellow and CR/B shrimps are ok. Can't tell about the Tigers though. Too many plants in there. I did see a few swimming around. Nothing I can do at this time but wait and cross fingers. I am not feeding at this time either. Will wait until after the water changes.

Here's the bad thing....another storm to hit tomorrow into wednesday! Will be rushing to get the water changes done tomorrow and jugs refilled in the event of another outage.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final check of the eve and things remain the same. Temps are coming up on the tanks. No further casulties but the distressed guys remain in the previous state. None have moved from their locations but are still breathing.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Morning update: Temps just about normal now in all tanks. I found no further casulties and the fishies that were distressed now appear to be on their way to recovery. The BNPs were getting active again. I moved a piece of driftwood out of the way and they zipped off. Both lady Oto's are now on the glass and no fishies are at the bottom of the tanks. Feeling much better now. Major water changes on tap for today. Snow will be falling soon and near blizzard conditions due to high winds are expected. This time around, the snow will be light and fluffy instead of the heavy wet stuff. The winds will be what we have to watch for with everything still out there on the trees and such. Could have more outages.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Afternoon and evening checks turned out well. All appear to be just fine. 25% water changes for all tanks. One tank left to go.

On the plus side, found (2) more wigglers that survived in the main tank. That puts the count at (3) for the main and (1) in the test tank.

Jugs are filled and treated with fresh water and ready to go if need be.

A nice wintery mix falling at the moment. Major portion to fall tomorrow morning.


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

Good luck James! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and the fish  I am amazed at your persistance and determination. I can't imagine going through what you went through.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx sweet tea...it was indeed a challenge. I wish I could have saved them all.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 11-Feb-2010*

Well...looks like we are no longer in the danger zone for power loss for this go around....yea!!!!

Check of the tanks revealed all fishies and shrimpies doing well.

Placing fresh DIY CO2 bottles back on the tanks. Prepping Zucchini for feeding.

Didn't spot the wigglers in the main tank today. I did find one in the test tank and boy has he grown! He is about the size of the biggest one in the main tank but a couple weeks younger. Wow!


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Cant believe I read all that! Great journal.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx MH


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-Feb-2010*

Happy's Valentine's Day! Love is in the air. Morning check of the tanks finds mama oto laying eggs. I may have interrupted the courtship as when I was watching, there was papa and two of the juvies all over her. Was quite comical to watch actually. Didn't notice the eggs at first until I was getting ready to feed the snake when I saw a couple eggs on a bottom leave of a L. x. arcuata. On closer examination, found several more eggs there and a couple on the Bacopa. Will find a nice stem that hopefully has a good number on it and move it over to the test tank for a second round.

Over in the test tank, the one fry there is still doing very well. Has colored up very nicely. Diatom growth in this tank has done very well. Ready for another round of fry.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Prepping for water changes after the big race today. Mama continues to lay eggs. She's now focusing on the crypt jungle. May not get a good number for the test. But, if no big numbers on a single stem, I will move two stems over.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 15-Feb-2010*

Got the water changes done just now. 20% wc's in both main tank and test tank.

Main tank: Best count is (25), however (5) are not viable which of course puts the count at (20) in the main tank.

Test tank: Moved over (14) eggs, however, upon closer check, found (1) not viable making it a lucky number of (13) in this tank. I scraped off a swatch of diatoms for a "viewing window" of sorts. Probably should have left it though. But we'll see how it goes.

Anticipated hatching tomorrow.

All other tanks topped off.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's a couple shots from today. Couldn't get any real good shots of the eggs. I'll try again before the lights go out.

First we'll start with the one little fry in the test tank. This guy is just over (2) weeks old. A bit of a science/development lesson. You can see all his inards developing. Really kewl!









And here's a good side shot:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

And now...a word from our sponsors.

Oto's love feeds from Ken's Fish. Veggie Sticks and Flakes are the bomb! This was the juvie tank right after feeding.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 16-Feb-2010*

Check of the tanks today was bad news. Almost all the eggs turned out not viable. (

Found (1) wiggler in the main tank and a few eggs still hatching. For the most part....all the remaining eggs fuzzed over. I'm now wondering if the juvies in the tank may have had a part in it.

Over in the test tank was the same. No wigglers and almost all eggs fuzzed over.

I'll get everything cleaned up, water changes and wait til next time.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Feb-2010*

Found (5) wigglers in the main tank. None over in the test tank. Might hold off on the water change today.

Prepping zucchini for all tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 18-Feb-2010*

All continues to progress well with the wigglers. I did count (6) today in the main tank. 

Trying something a little different this time. I'm running the air stone 24x7 for now. Thought is to keep plenty of O2 in the tank and increase circulation.

No water change on the main for a couple more days.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-Feb-2010*

Daily check:

Main: (6) wigglers still accounted for. Growing nicely. A few of them are nice and plump. Going back down in a few to try and capture some photos. Tank needs a top off. Still holding off on the water change and continuing to run air pump non stop. Mama is very nice and plump again. May have to begin egg watch this weekend.

Test: The (1) fry in this tank continues to grow like he's eating miracle grow pellets. Will try to get an update pic of him as well. At this rate, he'll be over in the Juvie tank before too much longer.

Juvies: All remain very active. Zucchini now stands no chance in this tank. Prepping more. Tiger shrimp thriving as well; even found (1) already berried. Will continue to monitor.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Best pic I could manage to get of the fry at the moment. You can see a couple Limpets in here with him.


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## andrew13 (Feb 20, 2010)

This is amazing, I searched everywhere on how to breed Otociclus, nothing. I read that is unlikely that it will ever breed in capcity, and you did. Great Job!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx. I'm hoping that it continues and I can expand.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 22-Feb-2010*

Media change today. Decided to turn off the air stone for a little while since fry are a week old. Will turn it back on later in the eve.

Very nice find today....(10) fry in the main tank instead of initial count of (6). Most excellent! This is making me wonder a bit about the constant running of the air stone. We'll keep it up and wait for next egg batch.

Will drop some veggie flake and sticks in the tanks tonight.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

How about some baby pics. Here they are at one week of age:









As usual...you're never too young to eat your veggies:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 24-Feb-2010*

Mama has started to lay her next batch of eggs. During my afternoon check of the tank, found (4) eggs. Will check again a little later to see if there are any good stems to move over to the test tank. Hoping to have better viability this go round.

Getting frustrated with the zucchini of late. Seems after blanching and freezing, they are floating back to the top after less than a day. Grrrrrrr...going to try and spear them with plastic toothpicks and see if I can keep them down longer. Normally one would remove them after they get mushy, but this is exactly how the little fry like them. Been trying to remove a carcase for two days now and they aren't giving it up. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Turned the air stone off for a while this afternoon. Final check of the evening had (24) eggs. All but (5) are in the crypt jungle. May not be able to move over many but will move some never the less. We'll see tomorrow how many may be good. Air stone back on for the evening hours.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 25-Feb-2010*

Check of the eggs revealled good news. Outside of finding more eggs, I only found (1) egg that was not viable and fuzzing over. I didn't bother trying to get a good egg count today. It is over (30) though.

I did manage to move over (4) eggs to the test tank. Mama laid pretty much all of them in the crypt jungle so can't do much with them. I turned the air stone back on and will leave it on from this point forward.

Removed the old zucs and prepping new. Ground up veggie flakes and added to tank. Took some pics of things and checking them now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So here's a couple shots to get you by for now.

This is one of the eggs in the crypt jungle. The only one that turned out.









These two are now in the test tank. You can see they are getting ready to hatch.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 26-Feb-2010*

As expected, hatching is on going.

Test tank: No good news. Two eggs went sour. The other two appeared to hatch but I can not find any sign of fry. Not saying they didn't make it, just didn't find any.

Main tank: Counted (11) wigglers. Most everybody is located in the back of the tank where lighting is poor so couldn't snap any pics. But then again...maybe play with the camera again see. Ground up some more veggie flakes and placed in the tank. Trying this time to ensure there are plenty fine particles around.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-Feb-2010*

Very quick check of the tank this morn. A lot of work ahead with horse pasture, olympic hockey and nascar. 

Quick count found (4) little fry guys. Mama has laid another big batch of eggs. She's still using the crypt jungle for the majority but did spot a few on stems so I will transfer those over to the other tank.

Again, this was a very quick check so no accurate numbers available at this time.


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## ellyabillion (Feb 20, 2010)

This is pretty amazing! Just out of curiosity, are you planning on selling the fry?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final check of the eve. Counted (57) eggs. (6) were not viable. Found (11) on one stem of L. Repens and moved it over to the test tank.

Surgically removed the bad eggs using a big needle. We'll see tomorrow afternoon if the number of good eggs stays up there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

ellyabillion said:


> This is pretty amazing! Just out of curiosity, are you planning on selling the fry?


Yes, when the weather warms up a bit, I will be selling the juvies. Too cold to ship such a sensitive fish.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

So James I was wondering about how many juvies do you have


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

archer772 said:


> So James I was wondering about how many juvies do you have



Currently have just over 50.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 01-Mar-2010*

Evening check. Found more non viable eggs. (

Test Tank: (4) bad eggs found and removed. That leaves (7) good in this tank.

Main Tank: Found quite a few bad ones. Seperated a few from good eggs. Didn't bother counting at this time. I may try later before the lights go out. Prepping water for a top off in here.

Hatching expected late night/early morning. Will know more tomorrow afternoon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-Feb-2010*

Hatching today. Little fry guys everywhere. 

Main tank: Found several little fry on the glass. Still have a few from the previous batches in there too.

Test tank: At first was discouraged. Checked the stem of L. Repens and found nothing. No bad eggs, no unhatched eggs and no fry. Initial check of the tank...nothing. Now this tank isn't designed for the best of visibility. It's an algae play field. Finally spotted (2) fry in here. Hopefull of more but we'll see. If successfull, it could be at least a week to find out judging by how fast the other little buckaroo has grown. 

Took some fry shots so we'll see if any turned out well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well....here's the only good shot for the day. This is one of the newbies hatched this morning.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 03-Mar-2010*

Test Tank: Still could only find (2) wigglers. Starting to doubt the capabilities of this tank even though ideal conditions.

Main Tank: Found (15) wigglers over here. Topped off tank and added veggie flakes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 04-Feb-2010*

All continues to do well in both tanks.

Main: Still counted (15) wigglers today. A few of them are getting nice and pudgy. Guess adding the extra ground up flakes might be paying off.

Test: Found a third wiggler in here. Yay!! That now makes (4) in the tank. Three that are a couple days old and the one that is four weeks old. Might be a good sign here that the tank will support fry development.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Some shots from today. These guys are about 2 weeks old.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 05-Feb-2010*

Nightly check and all still looking well. Fry numbers still up. Only found (1) small wiggler over in the test tank. Hard to see in there. ;o)

I'm not ready to draw in conclusions from this latest round of experimenting but it does seem to be better on the fry to keep the air stone on full time. Probably keeping O2 levels up and added circulation. Just my thinking at this time. May be able to verify with next spawn.

I know I mentioned it a while back but definately deserves repeating...it so cool to watch a little fry guy swim from the back of the tank and lite right in front of you.

On a side note....found (4) CRS shrimp berried. Kewlness!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 08-Feb-2010*

Water change Monday. Big test for the little fry guys. 20% changes across the board. Duckweed erradication still on going. Only find a few floating pieces here and there and they get removed when found.

Think I'm gonna fold up shop on the test tank and just convert it back. I haven't seen any fry for two days now. I would have thought under those conditions they would have done well. I don't know...maybe I'll keep it around for one more batch of eggs.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 11-Mar-2010*

Been a few days since last update.

Main tank: Visibily counted (6) fry guys yesterday. Looking quite plump and coloring up nicely. Moved over (3) Tiger shrimp from the juvie tank due to mysterious kill off over there. Duckweed erradication continues. Looks like I will need to trim the crypt jungle again soon.

Juvie tank: Found almost all of the Tiger shrimp dead the other day. Oto's are just fine, which is a good thing. Two water changes done with another slated for today. Best I can tell, (1) male tiger remains. He is being stubborn and doesn't want to leave the Java Fern. If I can catch him, I'll move him over to the Main tank as well. Very strange as nothing has been added to the tank. Leads me to believe possible bad water used for a top off.

Test tank: Failed again. In what I thought would have been excellent conditions for the fry to survive (lots of diatoms, excellent water quality and constant running of air stone), it wasn't meant to be. I had that one successfull batch prior the power outage and nothing since. And now the strange part....my big fry guy that has been in there has vanished without a trace. No remains found at all. Yesterday I started breaking down the tank to give it a cleaning and revert it back to where it was. I removed all the plants and rocks, cleaned the pre-filter and filter and even sifted the sand. Nothing and no clue. I left some diatom growth on the sides and back for now. I may try the tank once again. Maybe the power outage did something funky with it and just needed a good once over. I'm contimplating moving a pair of O. Macrospilus in here. It doesn't match the specs of the main tank but may be worth a looksie.

Second Breeder: Still seeing a lot of "playfullness" from this pair but no spawn as yet. I don't think they feel very "comfortable" at this time. The flora hasn't gotten very established yet either but it's getting there. I have a few more to remove and some to add. There is no dense section to this tank as yet.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 12-Mar-2010*

Finally able to catch the male tiger shrimp from the Juvie tank and relocate him to the main. That puts (4) tigers in the main, 2 females, 1 male, and 1 too small to know at this time.

Only found (2) fry in the main yesterday. Hopefully all just hiding.

Turned off the airstone this morning. Going to revert back to some earlier testing methods as I don't think running the air had the impact I was looking for.

Will be removing the remaining juvies from the main this weekend.

Test tank cleanup completed. I did leave the diatom growth on the sides and back panels for now as I will give it another go. Removed all the rocks and gave the sand bed a good cleaning. It's all nice and bright in there once again. I'm shifting around some plants in a couple of tanks to get more flora in here.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-Mar-2010*

Major changes today.

1) Had to thin the Crypt jungle. Always looks so different after replanting. At least it was easier to seperate all the different plants this time. The C. Retro was entangled a bit but nothing too bad. Wound up removing the mother plants of both species. 

2) 30% water change due to the replanting of the crypt jungle. Removed all crypts and performed a pretty good vac of the substrate. Removed alot of gunk. Running the air stone full bore during and after the wc.

3) Moved over (2) juvies to the juvie tank.

4) Only (2) fry remain in the main tank. Hopefully they will do ok with the major changes.

5) On a sad note...I lost Boris. I kinda expected it the way he has been acting of late. Makes me sad. He was such a big guy with character.

All the Tiger and Yellow shrimp doing just fine. One Tiger still carrying eggs. Got to see a yellow molt which was a pretty kewl scene.

Plan is to revert back to some earlier testing. Think I had better success. We'll see how it goes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 15-Mar-2010*

Kind of gotten away from posting water parms so I'll try to get that back on track. Here are the numbers from yesterday...the day after replanting the crypt jungle and doing a pretty good vac of the substrate:

Temp: 77
PH: 7.4
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 20
GH: 4
KH: 4
TDS: 101 (This number is way down from last recorded reading of 240. Guess I removed a fair amount of stuff when I re-did the crypts)

No room parms taken as I had moved the guages out temporarily. They are now back in place as well.

GH and KH numbers reflect the constant running of the airstone and inadequate CO2.

Recharged the CO2 and have it back in place under the filter. Airstone use back down to night time only after the lights go out.

Will be placing two small pieces of cuttlebone in the tank today. Have some Briggs on order. I'm just going to place (2) in the tank when they arrive.

Little more work to do with the Ludwigia and Downoi and that should take care of things for a while. I still have to trim down the Suesswassertang wall. Have to figure out the best way to do that.

Crypts are pretty thin looking without the mother plants in there. I hope I didn't make it too thin. I have others on stand to go back in there if need be. The lack of Duckweed is also adding to that effect.

Didn't find either of the two fry guys yesterday. I'm hoping they are fine and just hiding since the major overhaul. 

I think that just about sums things up for now. I'll get some pics of the tank once the dust settles.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 16-Mar-2010*

Eggs found! Came in to finish the scape with the Ludwigia and Downoi and found a bunch of eggs. Excellent! Hopefully this is a good sign that mama still feels comfortable with the environs after the change. Current count is (41). Cannot determine at this time if any are not viable however, there are a couple that I suspect of at this time. 

Didn't look like too many in the crypt jungle this time which is understandable. Majority appear to be in the Ludwigia and Bacopa areas. I'll get better counts later.

Found one stem of L. Arcuata with at least (14) on it. Have made the decision to move this stem over to the test tank. Getting ready to test that water to try and match parms closely. <crosses fingers>

Also found (4) on the drop checker. lol

Working on some pics now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Photos from 16-Mar-2010*

Final check of the eve yields (57). One egg has already been deemed unviable. There are a few that I am watching as suspect. We should know by tomorrow.

Now we'll see how the Tiger shrimp do with eggs in the tank. Hopefully they won't bother any good eggs.

Removed the stem of L. Acuata and placed it in the test tank. Counted (15) eggs on this stem. Water parms of test tank:

Temp: 75 - Turned it up a smidge.
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 10
GH - 4
KH - 3
TDS - 105

Airstone turned on for the eve. Prepping zucchini for all tanks.

Here are some shots from today:

I am watching these two closely. I believe the one on the right is not viable. Notice the color difference.









One of mama's favorite spots...the Bacopa:









Does yellow mean preggers...or is it the plus sign?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Mar-2010*

Evening check and all seems to be right on track in both tanks. Found (2) non viable eggs in each tank. Much better results than recent batches.

Hatching will be soon. As I was snapping pics...I could see them move around in the eggs. Pretty kewl.

Some shots from today:
Egg shot shows one non-viable egg and development of others:









A shot of the beautiful lady:









And here is their current home. Since it will be a spell before I can finish it, figured I'd get a current shot of it up.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 18-Mar-2010*

Hatching today.

Main tank: Was able to locate 11 wigglers around the tank. Mama also laid some more eggs today. Will try a get a count before the lights go out.

Test tank: Was able to locate 6 wigglers in this tank.

Prepping fresh zucchini to add to the tanks.

I'll leave you with this shot. This is one of the wee ones that hatched today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final update on the eve. Counted (59) more eggs. (2) were already non viable. I believe there will be several more tomorrow. Some looked like they are a little fuzzy. We'll see.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 21-Mar-2010*

Weekend check:

Main tank: Was able to spot (18) wigglers. As expected, a good amount of eggs from the second batch were bad. Everything seems to be doing ok so far. 

Test tank: Was able to spot (5) wigglers in here. Little ones have found the zucchini in the tank. That's a good sign. I have another thought to try out on the next batch I move over here to see if I can increase the numbers.

Prepping water for topping off the tanks.

Here's a shot from today. This little guy is in the test tank.


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## Zippy (Feb 14, 2010)

Thanks for your wonderful journal. I have been waiting for my 20 gallon planted tank to establish itself (it has been 3 months now) just so I can get some Otos. I am going to pick up 5 or 6 today to put in my Q-tank. Wish me luck!!!
:fish-in-a-bag:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Best of luck to ya!

Acclimate them very slowly for best results. That's where most people fail with these guys.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 22-Mar-2010*

Daily check and all is well. Numbers remain good. On the plus side, I can add one to the test tank. This now brings the total to (7) confirmed in this tank. Starting to color up nicely.

The little ones in the test tank are doing good with the zucchini. Ground up more flakes into a fine powder and added to both.

On a side note, over in the second breeder tank some of the CRS shrimp have hatched. I have a nice batch of CRS/CBS shrimplets roaming around.


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## Zippy (Feb 14, 2010)

I bought 5 otos yesterday. I examined them closely once caught and rejected one. I did a slow acclamation like you suggested and they have been doing just fine. Two seem a little lighter in color than the others, but so far they are active and eating. They are in a q-tank with no substrate so I can really see just how much these little guys can poop! I really hope they all make it cause I am already attached to these cuties.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

They are fun to watch. So much character. Just like cories. Just repeat the acclimation process when you're ready to move them to their permanent home. Hope all turns out well for ya.


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## Zippy (Feb 14, 2010)

Thanks for that last bit of advice. I would have skipped that step in my excitement to move them into their new home.

I discovered ich this AM. I have never gotten fish from this particular store that didn't so it is no surprise. Makes me happy I have a q-tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

oh no!

not sure what treatment route you are doing with these guys. Try to keep the temp no higher than 80 during the course.

hope all turns out well.


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## Julie-zhu (Mar 23, 2010)

I agree with you that journals are an excellent way of sharing information, thanks for your information.I really know much.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thanks Julie. I'm really hoping that I can put together some good information on these little guys.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 25-Mar-2010*

Little ones in the main tank continue to grow. I was able to visibily spot (11) fry today in the main tank. Little guys remain active which is a good sign <knocks on wood>.

Over in the test tank...only spotted one. I didn't give it a good once over so hopefully there are more.

Zucchini not lasting long in any of the tanks. Prepping more.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 27-Mar-2010*

Evening check of the tanks. Mama is laying more eggs. Counted (35) at the moment. One was non viable and has been removed. Found several fry still in the main. Keeping fingers crossed.

Over in the test tank, only located (1) fry still. Very dissapointed with this. Have to decide if I should keep trying or now. At the moment, mama has laid many eggs on a single stem so may not transfer any over this go around. She will probably lay more this evening so we'll see.

Here's a shot of a group of eggs from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-Mar-2010*

No further eggs were laid last night. The final tally looks to be (40) with (4) being non-viable. Hatching will begin tonight/early morning.

I'm going to try a different feeding method. I'll still feed as normal like I have been doing: 
blanched zucchini
a few veggie flakes and sticks for the big guys
ground up flakes for wee ones (I just used my fingertips to do this)
and now adding ground up flakes using a mortar and pestal (this is to make an even finer powder)

This will allow for (3) varying coarses of food. Just a thought.

I will be looking to get a smaller tank ~ 5g for a new test tank for fry development.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Think I'm gonna bust a theory here. I had a gallon of aged and treated water ready to go. This morning I placed an air stone in the jug to get it well aerated. Just a while ago, I performed a 10% water change. Since I was getting a little slag on top of the water, I placed the air stone back in the tank after the water change.

Within minutes, I lost two fry! WTH! I just don't get it. Temps were fine, parms were fine, all was fine. Just a simple itty bitty water change. Dang that ticks me off. I think what I am going to do now is just do routine top offs while there is fry in tank. I need to go back and review my notes to see what I'm doing differently and back all the way up. I believe my best results came with little air stone usage.


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## Zippy (Feb 14, 2010)

James,

In your experience, what kinds of algae will otos eat and what will they reject?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

From the aglae's that I have dealt with, diatoms are their staple. Haven't seen them mess with anything else.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 29-mar-2010*

Counted (14) wigglers today. Didn't find the other older fry. I think they may have perished with that last water change as well. Very odd.

Running the air stone for about an hour to break the surface. Debating on whether I should continue the 10% wc/day test. I have a gallon aerating as I type. If I decide to do the change, I'm going to trickle the new water in the tank. This should hopefully avoid any major swings.

Prepping more zucchini for the tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's some parting shots from today:

Eyes haven't developed quite yet on this guy.









Wee one with Mama Tiger keep a close eye









Here's a little interesting one. I didn't notice the little surprise guest up top until after I was going through the pics.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 31-Mar-2010*

Another 10% water change today. This time I drew the water out slower and trickling a new gallon back in. It is half way done now....an hour later. Better safe than sorry. The interesting thing though...my snails obviously know the difference even at this slow drip rate.

Only found (5) fry today. On the brighter side of things, found (23) new eggs. I don't think I'll add any additional food today. I still see fragments floating around.


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

That's really interesting about the small water changes James. I would think that dripping the new water slowly into the tank would help if there was actually any sort of shock from the change. I drip acclimated my otos for hours before placing them in my tank...so I would imagine dripping in a water change would have the same slow effect???

I really find this thread interesting! Thanks for all the updates.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 01-Apr-2010*

* DISCLAIMER *

We interupt your normally scheduled journal update to announce that this is not an April Fool's joke. We now return you to your programming.

* DISCLAIMER *

Picked up a new/used 5 gallon tank today. Going to use this for a fry tank...hopefully. Being that it was already set up, it shouldn't take much to keep it going. Will be putting old water in it to keep it cycled.

Anyway...daily check of the tanks.

First stop was the main tank. Since mama laid some eggs yesterday, I had to check on everything. Mama Oto literally "eggs-ploded". Eggs, eggs everywhere. Between the eggs she laid yesterday and the ones found today, the count now stands at (105)! One is non viable and I will remove it shortly.

Now...the startling discovery. I was walking from the backside of the main tank through the doorway which takes me past the Juvie tank. Something catches my eye. Upon closer investigation...FRY! Most Excellent! I looked further and was able to find a total of (4) fry in this tank. I think it is safe to say that this is no longer a Juvie tank. ;o)
Over 50 Oto's in this tank and there will be absolutely no way of know who the parents are.

Simply Awesome!

Getting ready to do another 10% wc in the main tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I'll leave you with this shot from today. Mama and some of her handy work:


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Very good read. I wish someone as enthusiastic about oto's as you lived nearby- very healthy looking fish. Would love to get my hands on some!


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

I'd really like to know more about your flora, James. Been thinking about setting up a 10 gal just to get some experience with live planting before going crazy with my 55. Seems like otos would be good fish to put into the tank when I get it figured out- not to mention that after reading about their wild capture method I'd love to distribute tank-breds to my friends if I had any success at it. Them not eating their own young definitely helps a beginner! 

Out of curiosity, do you keep a consistent algae level by shining more light than usual to sustain these kinds of populations or do you do it straight-up through dropping zucchini for them?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jeffro0050 said:


> I'd really like to know more about your flora, James. Been thinking about setting up a 10 gal just to get some experience with live planting before going crazy with my 55. Seems like otos would be good fish to put into the tank when I get it figured out- not to mention that after reading about their wild capture method I'd love to distribute tank-breds to my friends if I had any success at it. Them not eating their own young definitely helps a beginner!
> 
> Out of curiosity, do you keep a consistent algae level by shining more light than usual to sustain these kinds of populations or do you do it straight-up through dropping zucchini for them?



Thanks Jeff. Otos are such a great little fish. What would you like to know about the flora?

As for the algae, I do not try to maintain any certain levels in the breeding tank. I just set up a new fry tank that I will be attempting to maintain diatoms and also will be using green water. For feeding, I am using the Ken's Veggie flakes and sticks and keep a constant supply of zucchini in there as well.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

James0816 said:


> Thanks Jeff. Otos are such a great little fish. What would you like to know about the flora?
> 
> As for the algae, I do not try to maintain any certain levels in the breeding tank. I just set up a new fry tank that I will be attempting to maintain diatoms and also will be using green water. For feeding, I am using the Ken's Veggie flakes and sticks and keep a constant supply of zucchini in there as well.


Interesting, let us know how that turns out.

What species of plants do the otos like to frequent the most? It looked to me like most of the plants in the pic are tall grasses or long and vine-like.

Also, how is your mortality rate among fry? I'm really surprised that the two you have breeding are also the first two you bought and put in the tank. From what I've been reading I've been expecting about 80% of the specimens I get from the pet store to die within the first couple days. Any tips on getting a higher survival rate? I am going to be using the DIY mineralized substrate method that Orlando was nice enough to post in the plants forum- think it would be easy to prepare the water for them?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I'll be posting more info on that (fry tank) soon.

The four in there now pretty much work over anything. The only exception I would say to this would be the Sueswassertang and the E. Angustifolia. The fry are constantly in the Sues so it will pretty much stay for now. I am thinking of changing out the E. but we'll see. The main stay seems to be the crypts. I'm sure that it is due to the leaf size and density. Gives them more places to hide in the shade.

Rearing the fry has been a challenge. If I can get them to the 3 week mark, that is usually a good sign. Which is what I'm currently working on. I've come up with some more things to try which is what lead to a smaller fry tank. We'll see how it goes.

The major hurdle that Oto owners have to get over is the acclimation to their new tank when you bring them home. It has to be done slowly. Just as if acclimating a fish such as the Discus. Another thing to do while acclimating...drop in a slice of zucchini during this process.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update: 07-Apr-2010*

Started setting up the new hatching/fry tank yesterday. Got it cleaned up and put in SMS and a container of sand. Having issues with the temp at the moment. Can't seem to get it below 80. I'm going to unplug the heater and monitor to see where it gets me. This tank is one that has the light in the hood and it's hinged. I can take it off if need be but would have to make a new light for it. 

Today I started placing some plants in it. I put in two small Anubias 'petite' and a small wad of java moss. Will be putting some more stems in later.

Went over to do a 10% wc on the main tank. Visibly saw a fair number of fry in and about. Didn't bother counting as I was on a mission. I took my gravel vac and removed some detrius/mulm from the tank and placed in (2) quart jars. I'm going to use this to make green water for the fry. So finished removing the water and started the drip of the new jug going in. Kinda made a mess of things as there is stuff floating all around and coating the plants. I really wasn't taking my time as I didn't think much of it other making sure no fry were in the area.

Added a small vial of my pulverized food for the fry guys.

While that was dripping, I scanned the tank to make sure all was going well. SURPRISE! Found eggs. Mama beat me to the punch. Quick count found (26). Kewlness. Didn't even get a chance to finish the fry tank. So now I'm debating if I should attempt to move any eggs over to the tank even though it has just been set up. Hmmmmm....decsions, descions. Any thoughts?

Over in the holding tank, I was able to locate (2) fry there.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Good to know that these things spawn like crazy if they spawn at all!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

That's the thing. They aren't very easy at all to breed. I'm glad they are for me. Hopefully be able to help fellow hobbists out. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 08-Apr-2010*

Quick spot check of the fry guys. I was able to count just a little over (30). Little guys are growing nicely showing excellent color at this age. Getting ready to pull another 10% wc. Did not see any other eggs from yesterday.

Might not be able to get to the fry tank today. I believe I will have a few more days to work on it.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

James0816 said:


> That's the thing. They aren't very easy at all to breed. I'm glad they are for me. Hopefully be able to help fellow hobbists out. ;o)


Out of curiosity do you think otos can survive being shipped from a regional retailer? My local petco has them, but they only keep a few of them at a time- and seeing as how they have a pretty high mortality rate I want to get enough of them to the point of being able to expect survivors in a tank mimicking your water conditions and vegetation. Really hoping you master the art of initiating spawning and raising viable fry, and not just for the good of the species- I've been looking around for tank-breds and the little I found is that they are in high demand in hobbyist circles.

on a side note, I actually pointed the fish expert up there to this thread when we were talking about how otos are caught in the wild being related to their bad survival odds.

I'm probably going to set up a tank exclusively for them when I can afford it and have planting/substrate down to a point where I can predictably control conditions in a tank(still new to planted tanks). Right now I'm trying cheap aerated topsoil covered in gravel- Unfortunately I couldn't find pottery clay that wasn't sold in huge quantities to mix with the soil, so I pretty much just covered it with gravel and crossed my fingers. None rose to the top and my Egeria seems to be rooted and growing fine. 

In my 55 gal I'm going to use the expensive pre-mix substrate and I'd like to mimic your setup in my 10 gal when I get my big tank going. What do you do to control your invert pop? I've had snails in a non-planted cichlid tank years ago and they were just out of control.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Never had an issue with snails. I only have Briggs and (1) Ramshorn. Pond snails are a no go in this tank. I've had them sneak in before, but I'm very diligent in keeping them out. Now over in the bigger tank, they are numerous. I'm going on snail hunting expedition this weekend. ;o)

As for the shrimps, they haven't really produced many in this tank. I've had the thin the yellow's out once but have had no breeding since. The Tigers are reproducing now. I spotted a couple little ones in there yesterday.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-Apr-2010*

Ok, lots of going on today.

- First off...Mama has started laying her next batch of eggs. I didn't bother to count at the moment as I have too much to do.
- Quick scan of the tank and found (6) of the bigger fry guys. Didn't look too hard but didn't like what I saw. Hopefully with how well these guys are growing, they might make the magic mark.
- 50% water change in the fry tank in preparations to move over a very small test batch. I found a stem of L. Arcuata that looks to have about (5) eggs on it. We'll see. Current Flora includes (2) Anubias 'petite', (2) small wads of Java Moss, (1) small Java Fern. I might add a couple assorted stems later. Just want to make sure to have good coverage for them. Still no sign of Diatoms yet but should be starting to develope any time now.
- 25% water change in the holding tank.
- Dripping new water in both the main tank and the CRS tank. This will be my new staple for these two tanks.

Heading back down to finish up for the eve. Will try to get base count of the eggs as of today.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 15-Apr-2010*

Ok, was contimplating moving a crypt over that has (9) eggs on it. After carefull consideration, decided to leave it alone. Moved over 1 stem of L. Acuata and 1 stem of L. Repens for a total of (5) eggs.

10% water change, dripping new gallon as I type

Counted (8) wigglers in the main.

Glad I only moved over a very small amount of eggs. Think the PH in the fry tank is too low (for me at least). It is right around 6.2(ish). Might actually be lower. My goal for the fry is 6.6 for this round of testing. But I can work on the low number and adjust using crushed coral (very tiny amounts) to get it right where I want it.

On a side note, I caught another yellow shrimp molting. Again...Wayyyyyy Kewlness! I tried to snap some pics so we'll see how they come out. He popped out of the skeleton too quick.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 16-Apr-2010*

As expected, hatching occured today.

The main thing I'm watching in the fry tank. Out of the (5) eggs moved over, (2) were bad. This is not attributed to the tank itself as over in the main tank, most of the eggs in Ludwigia area went foul. The L. x Arcuate stem that had (3) on it faired better. I found one wiggler on the glass and another on a leaf. This particular stem is dying and wilting pretty fast so I can't get a good look at it. The main thing is, with the PH at this level, the eggs will hatch. That's a plus. The tank also has low lighting. It's a Irridescent bulb at "25" watts but not bright at all. Funny thing about it, they say it is designed to grow plants. Doubt that it would at all to grow anything. But it doesn't matter in this tank as darker is better.

Over in the main tank, I did find several non viable eggs on the substrate. Interesting as it took a while for them to foul. Usually in the first 24 hours, I can spot a non-viable egg even before it goes all white. With that, I did not find any wigglers in the Ludwigia area. Didn't seem to be that many eggs there.

Over in the Bacopa and Crypt's, nearly all of those eggs hatched and i found lots of wigglers. I'm putting the hatching rate of this brood at ~ 80%. Rough calculated guess. On the one small crypt that I was going to move over, there are (11) wigglers around it. 

Now we see what we can do to keep the numbers. Since it is a small brood, I can experiment just a little. 10% water changes to start tomorrow on both tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Apr-2010*

Quick morning check before walking out the door.

I started with the main tank first. Still counted all (8) of the older fry. Getting close the magic number. Keeping fingers crossed. Still lots of new wigglers hanging tough at the two day mark. If I get home in time, I may try to get a count. This was a good hatching.

Over in the fry tank, I was also welcomed with a pleasant surprise. Out of the (5) eggs that I moved over, I knew (2) eggs were non-viable. I immediatey found the (2) I knew hatched out. I then located the third wiggler. To my surprise, I found (2) more wigglers. So I moved at least seven eggs and have (5) wigglers in the fry tank at the moment.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 18-Apr-2010*

Checked in on the fry tank and was able to find all (5) little fry guys. Very promising out of the gate. <knock on wood>. Prepping some more food for them as I type. Will introduce a small slice of zucchini at day 5.

Over in the main tank, not as much success there unfortunately. Didn't find too many of the new hatchlings. All the bigger fry guys are still doing their thing.

Water tests pending on both tanks.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Are you just using lower light to stimulate diatom growth in your fry tank?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jeffro0050 said:


> Are you just using lower light to stimulate diatom growth in your fry tank?


Actually, it's lower light than normal. It's an irredesent bulb so not sure how well it will promote growth but we'll see.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-Apr-2010*

Doing 10% water changes today in the main and fry tanks. While removing the water from the fry tank, figured I would see if I can find all the wee ones. Big surprise...I counted (7) in there! Very pleasant surprise I must say. A few of them are growing pretty big for their age. The others are staying within average. Prepping more food for them.

Over in the main tank, uprooted the Bacopa and Ludwigia areas to do a quick vac of those areas. Will be gone over the weekend starting Thursday so need to make sure the water quality is pretty good. Trimmed up the Bacopa and replanted. Running the air stone for a few minutes while things settle. Both adults and fry are very active at the moment.

Will be working on the holding tank tomorrow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 20-Apr-2010*

Well...I did a bad...not just a bad but a double bad...and it cost me.

Yesterday's water change. I broke from my usual routine (wasn't thinking). Normally, I would pull out (1) gallon of water from the main tank, take that water and use for the water change in the fry tank. Well...yesterday, I used fresh water on the fry tank.

To make things worse, I wound up doing a 20% water change on the fry tank instead of 10%. Forgot that it is a five gallon tank and need to only pull out 1/2 gallon.

Found the bad news today. Only found (2) fry today. Man am I so upset with myself.

On a better note, I found a so much better way to control the water flow going back into the tank. Instead of tying a knot it the tube and adjusting accordingly, I found an old two-way air manifold that I was using. Hooked it up to the tube and easily adjust the rate to two drops per second. So much easier.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 21-Apr-2010*

Last update until Monday. Heading out of town for a few days. Crossing fingers that fry will manage with a sitter.  

Over in the fry tank, I found both remaining fry in this tank. They are pretty active at the moment. I placed a small piece of zucchini in there yesterday. Will remove it tomorrow before leaving and have another small piece added on Friday.

In the main, all still doing well. Fry guys zipping all over the place in there. Adding another 3/4g fresh water to last through the weekend. I'm anticipating mama to lay eggs at any point. I might even get lucky and she might still lay some tonight for me to move over to the fry tank before leaving.

That's it for now. We'll see everyone back here on Monday.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 26-Apr-2010*

Well, finally got down and looked at the tanks. Very dissapointed in the sitter. It is bad. All the tanks were overfed. Absolutely horrible! Where to start:

1) Fry tank. I did not find the two little fry guys when I turned on the light today. I'll check again shortly.
2) Main breeder. Green bottom and some food fuzzing over. Didn't immediately find any casulties in here. Didn't find any of the existing fry but I didn't look very hard at the moment. And...as expected....tons of new fry all over this tank. Puts me in a major quandry of what to do with this tank. I can't adequately remove all this excess food without adversly affecting the fry. I'll do a water test and see about my ammonia level. I have a feeling that I am going to have to sacrifice this brood to get the water quality back. I will pull out 1/2 gallon and fill in with a full gallon. I might be able to syphon some of this out but will have to gravel vac.
3) O. Macrospilus breeder w/ CRS/CBS shrimp. This tank was by far the worst. Almost the entire bottom of the tank was green from all of the food that was at the bottom. Several, several dead shrimp. No adults but all babies. :rant:  :rant:  :rant: . Still have alot of shrimp in there but I sure did loose a lot. So not happy! I immediately started a 10% water change sucking out as many of the dead and most of the food as I could. I will have to do a gravel vac tomorrow to repair the rest of the damage.

Other tanks overfed as well, but not as near the damage.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So I went back to check on the tanks. Nothing at all in the fry tank. Test 1 is now officially closed due to human error. 50% water change scheduled for tomorrow.

I turned on the light for the main tank to better assess the situation. I was really surprised at what I found. I did find all (8) of the older fry and man have they grown. This is the critical week for them. If they make it to Wednesday, their odds increase to nearly 100%. As for the new fry...all I can say is WOW. The tank is absolutely teaming with new wigglers. I have decided to leave the tank as is...for now. There will be no feeding of the tank but will monitor the NH3 very closely.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 27-Apr-2010*

Main Tank: Fry guys swimming all over the place from just a few days old to three weeks old. Chomping at the bit to do a water change but don't want to mess with anything at this time. Topped off with 1g fresh water.

Fry Tank: 50% water change and ready to go for next round.

Holding Tank: Delayed water change as I was running out of time. Topped off tank with 2.5g fresh water. Annnnnnd....found lots of eggs in here. Not sure but they look like they will be hatching any time now. If not for that, I would move some over.

Here's a couple shots from today: These guys are approaching the three week mark.


















And here's a nice group shot. Papa on the left, mama in the middle and another female to the right. Look closely to right of papa oto...you'll find a wee one there. That little guy is just a couple days old.









That makes two males and two females in the main tank.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Whoah man, your oto's look so.. meaty compared to mine that have survived thus far.

I also noticed that the discussion on your oto thread over on catfish planet has a lot more in depth discussion from other oto owners. Very good read indeed!


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## jstnice (Apr 16, 2010)




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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Yeah...it looks like mama is ready to drop some eggs. Starting to make me wonder if the latest batch of eggs actually came from the other female.

Not sure about what jstnice posted....salty fish in a freshwater scape. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-Apr-2010*

Quick update as I have a bit to do before the hockey game tonight. Rock the Red!  

Holding Tank: Checked this on first since I knew there were eggs that were going to be hatching today. Readily found (6) freshly hatched wigglers. Too much a jungle to see if any others are about. Especially if any are laid in the huge Java Fern. I would never know.

Main Tank: No eggs spotted but decided to see how many fry guys I could count. So ranging from a few days old to my magic three week mark, I counted upwards of (50) in here. <knocks on wood>. Still holding off on any water changes on the tank at this time. The older fry are really working on the excess food that is sitting at the bottom which is why I'm leaving it.

I will do water tests today in leiu of any regular maintence.

Blanching some fresh zucchini as I type. Will add some fresh slices to the tanks later even though there is an abundance of food already in them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

After quite a bit of searching and finding a decent price...I am finally, finally acquiring some O. Cocama. I just ordered (5) of the little guys. Shipping is the kicker but had to do it as couldn't find any one anywhere close to get them. Should be here on Friday. Going through the final prep of their future tank. 

I did a last minute audible and chose the 10g with the Flourite substrate over the SMS. It's been aging a lot longer. And since the guys in the holding tank are breeding with the sand substrate, I don't think this will be much an issue. However, if I locate my O. Flexilis, then I will do the tank switcharoo.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 29-Apr-2010*

All looks well today:

Main Tank: Activity and fry visibility remains high. I will have to do a wc tomorrow. Just not liking the condition. The wee ones have discovered the zucchini and life is good...or at least they are acting like it is. ;o) 

Holding Tank: Counted (13) wigglers on the glass today. No maintenance scheduled at this time.

New tank will be referred as the Cocama tank. Which as I just learned will not arrive tomorrow as planned. Vendor states that post office said delivery would be two days and not over night. They only included a single 24hr heat pack. So now it will be sometime next week. This will however, allow me to do a little more scaping. I have crypts thinned and sorted. Will be adding/rescaping more tomorrow. Will put up final specs of the tank once complete.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 01-May-2010*

Getting ready to head out to the race. Quick morning check of things and all looks well.

Over in the main tank, the fry are growing very nicely and still remain extremely active. Keeping fingers crossed that this batch will yield quite a few.

Was able to find a few wigglers in the holding tank. Saw a couple of them already hitting the zucchini.

Making another different swing in the O. Cocama tank. This may not be permanent but will aid in the introduction of them to thier new home. I found a piece of Maylasian driftwood that I wasn't using. Bigger than I want but will comfortably fit in the 10g. I will also be adding a piece of slate. With these and the placement of the crypts, this will provide nice spots for them. There is no pattern for the flora so it will be mismatched at this time as well.

Will be adding them tomorrow and adjusting the flora. Will be all set and get my initial readings and other info posted.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-May-2010*

Kind of a slow start today. Just now getting around to working on the tanks. Go downstairs and the first thing I wanted to check on were the fry in the holding tank. Seeing some of the adults swimming around, thinking nothing of it. Spot a couple fry. Things are doing pretty well. Then a female comes swimming up from behind the java fern and has (4) males tagging along. She stop on a dwarf sag and the males pounce! It was just amazing to watch this. The guys were all over her. A spawn was occuring right in front of me. Didn't have the camera at the moment and didn't want to make any sudden moves to distract them. 

So there I sat in front of the tank for a good 20 minutes watching all this activity all over the place. Saw where she had laid a few eggs on a java fernlet (this one will be moved to the fry tank). Found more eggs on the sags. I then decided that I needed the camera. Got the camera and came back down and the spawn was still going on. They would do their thing and then take a small break and back at it. Was able to snap some shots and video. Going through them now to see how well they turned out.

Shot a couple videos over in the main tank as well. Stand by while I check them out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ok...first off...I'm not a peeping tom...I'm scientist. The video you are about to see is in the name of research. ;o)

Luckily it's not too good. This is best one of the spawn. I may upload another one but again, not a good as this one. You'll see the poor little gal literally being hounded by the four males.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 03-May-2010*

Quick update while I fire up the grill.

Doing a 10% water change in the main tank at the moment. Still using the drip method to add the new water. Seem to be getting good results here lately doing it this way. Either that or I'm getting lucky. Fry count and activity remains high. I'm not sure how many eggs were laid while I was gone but I can say that at just over a week, there still remains quite a few in here. It's interesting as you can see the difference in the age groups from 1 to 4 weeks. Only frags of zuc remain. Preping new as well as the new food diet/routine that I do now. This will be the first feeding since returning. Tells you how much gunk was in there. Surprisingly though...the water parms remained consistant. Didn't fluctuate at all. Guess the plants enjoyed it.

Over in the holding tank, I was able to find a few more eggs laid after yesterday. Also counted (6) fry in this tank. Moved over (3) eggs to the hatching/fry tank.

Which now brings us to the fry tank. I'm not sure I will officially call this a test as the egg count is only (3). With such a low number, won't really have much to compare. With that said....pH is sitting nicely at 6.2. One minor adjustment I made to this tank was to add a very small amount of crushed coral. This is how I will regulate the pH. I've started out with a very thin layer at the bottom of a milk jug lid. I'll continue to test daily over the next week to see if I need to adjust it down any. The target of this tank is no more than 6.6.

Confirmed with vendor today that the O. Cocama will ship tomorrow for Thursday arrival.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks for keeping this thread updated. Its the first one I look for when I come into the forums. Thinking about Starting a second 10 and migrating all my non-otos out and getting my oto tank started. The oto that survived of the group of 2 I had seems to be flourishing and is now looking fat and happy. Seeing this as a good sign, I think my tank is appropriately algae covered for a group of them. Thread algae is my current battle. Do you know if they eat this? Because it seems like my oto is doing much better in this thread environment than he was when it was diatoms.

Also found a local SAE source! Do you think these would make compatible tank mates? Asking because I know there are some types of algae that otos do not like.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Unfortunately, they won't do anything against your thread algae battle. The SAEs will however and they can coexist with Otos. Might not be very suitable in a 10g though. 

Oh...and make sure that it is a true SAE.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

One more video to get you through the night.

Here's one that shows the wee one snarfing a zucchini.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 04-Apr-2010*

Quick update on the hatching today. Let's see if I can start simplifying this a bit.

Main: Added 1g of fresh water. Still visibly counted over (50) fry guys in here. Being very careful of what goes on in here as this is the highest brood to date. A piece of zucchini has floated to the top and I had to rescue (4) fry from the top. Otherwise, they would have been trapped as they were on the topside of it.

Holding: (need a better name for this tank) Maybe I'll hold a contest. ;o) Found a few of the new hatchlings and a few of the older fry. Will be going on a pond snail raid soon.

Fry Tank: Of the (3) eggs moved over, I found (2) wigglers today.

OC: Final preps to the tank will be completed tomorrow. Tried to get confirmation from the vendor that they actually shipped today. Haven't heard back as yet.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 11-May-2010*

Kind of quiet the past few days. Nothing much going on. 10% water changes in the Vittatus and Cocama tanks. No new eggs, but mama Oto showing very nicely.

The Cocama's are still progressing and getting more comfortable with their home.

20% water change in the holding tank. Went on a pond snail raid as well. Thinned the herd quite a bit.

Still have (2) fry over in the fry tank. That's still promising considering that there were only (3) eggs moved over that latest round.

Renewing the CO2 bottles on all the tanks. (2) of them were completely spent. The others are still producing but won't last much longer as the jell-o is almost gone. Using the rice seems to have produced much better results.

Fresh zucchini added to all tanks.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

How can you tell when you have oto's that are likely to breed? I about to acquire a 15 gal that I'm going to move all my other fish into, leaving my original algae infested 10 gal for an oto refuge. My single oto seems to be getting very pudgy in the heavily planted 10, so I think the tank is ready for a colony of them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Shot another video just a while ago. Been working on another tank and I went to check on the main tank and just saw a swarm of activity. They were just all over the place.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jeffro0050 said:


> How can you tell when you have oto's that are likely to breed?


Hmmm...good question. It's hard to say with just one Oto. You would really need to have a pair to be able to tell if they are ready to breed. However, breeding age is about 5 months.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

So I just went to my local petco and noticed that they probably unknowingly have a different species of oto other than vittatus in this shipment. Trying to decide if I want to go back tomorrow and snag them while I can.


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## fishrule (May 16, 2010)

Man, what a great journal. Really like the updates. It's inspiring that's for sure. I should do some more day by day documenting on my new 75G. Love the videos too, looks really good.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jeffro0050 said:


> So I just went to my local petco and noticed that they probably unknowingly have a different species of oto other than vittatus in this shipment. Trying to decide if I want to go back tomorrow and snag them while I can.


Try and get some pics if you can for ID. The other species that I have seen them get in regulary are O. Macrospilus. They have a big black spot right before the tail fin.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

fishrule said:


> Man, what a great journal. Really like the updates. It's inspiring that's for sure. I should do some more day by day documenting on my new 75G. Love the videos too, looks really good.


Thx. It's fun to do and hopefully will be able to provide some good info for other hobbyists such as yourself.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 18-May-2010*

Water changes in all tanks today. Fresh zucchini added and a couple tanks I'm trying sweet potato in to see what they think.

Over in the main tank, I tried a new powdered based food. I'd have to say it got pretty good results wouldn't you:









The Cocama's are doing really well. Being very active and eating nicely.

Continuing with my snail raids as I go.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-May-2010*

Came home today and found the Cocama tank cloudy. Interesting. Not sure if it was/is the sweet potato or not. The other tanks with the sweet potato though aren't cloudy. Hmmmm......I originally took it out but then I put it back in for now. I'm finding that it disentigrates easily. May not use it much after seeing this.

20% water change. Found the filter was pretty well clogged up too. Had to do a cleaning on it as well....brush out the tubes and squeeze out the sponge. I went ahead and started working on the scape a bit early.

Going to be pulling out alot of plants from some tanks. Just have way too many C. Wendtii and Pontederiifolia.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I started doing major rescaping. I'm starting with the holding tank. Pulled out several crypts, small sags and others. Still will be difficult to work with as I will be keeping the huge java fern in there. So I'll work around that. I kept one wendtii and (3) small pontederiifolia. Will be keeping 4-5 of the larger Dwarf Sags, few stems of Bacopa Monneri and L. Repens x. Arcuata. Might do some other things as I go...we'll see.

Over in the Cocama tank, it is clearing up. I doubt it was the SP that caused the cloudiness. I moved it over to another tank and it is fine. I believe it to be the remnants of the new food I was trying out. Now granted it was in the tank for quite a few days so it does make sense. 

Fresh zucchini added to all tanks.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

Its truly a pleasure to read this thread!

I wish there was some sort of scientific database in which you could add this information, because I doubt many professional aquarists have had the success you have.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thanks for the comment. Maybe I should create a website for all of this? I have toyed with the notion. If I locate some Flexilis, then that might be an opportune time to do so. Not that I would have any breeding success with the Cocama mind you but that would be awesome if they did.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 03-June-2010*

Been a spell since any updates. Well...not really a whole lot going on at the moment.

Just routine maintenance in all the tanks. Removed one C. Wendtii from the Vittatus tank. Might have to remove a couple more. Since last thinning of the jungle, it has just blown up. Half the tank is Crypts. The two females are just enormous. 

I think mama oto is going to split if she doesn't unload soon. I'm thinking I have two variables going on here. The first is the amount of babies in the tank. Just a ton of em in here. Takes me back to last time when there was a large brood. After I moved a majority of them, she dropped over 100 eggs.

The second variable is regarding the outside environment. Now last year at this time, we were running the AC for my father. This kept the environment pretty fresh and cool. Right now, we still haven't turned it on. Room conditions are currently sitting at 74F and nearly 60% humidity. These are higher than normal. I'm going to start by using a couple of fans down there and see if I can get some circulation going and removing some of the humidity. We'll probably be turning the air on soon but in the mean time, I have to come up with something else.

The Cocama's continue to progress well. Pretty active. All look about the same size. Noone standing out just yet. I'm sure hoping that there is at least one male and one female. As it looks now, I might have four males. Youch. I'm contimplating looking to get a few more from another source to ensure I have a mix. We'll see. Still a couple months to go before a positive ID can be made.

That's it for now. Stay tuned.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*I wish my otos would breed. Cant believe a small fish like that can hold 100 eggs. Nor can I think about having 100 otos . Congrats.*


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> *I wish my otos would breed. Cant believe a small fish like that can hold 100 eggs. Nor can I think about having 100 otos . Congrats.*


Thanks...I'm in amazement too of the number of eggs I find when she lays. Tank is a tad on the crowded side and she's bigger than ever. I have a couple more weeks before I start moving the juvies over to the 20. But, since I'm heading out on holiday next week, I may go ahead a start moving some this weekend. Then start finding homes for the others when I get back.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-June-2010*

Well back from holiday and as expected, I wasn't too happy with what I found. We had a different house sitter this time. While overall she did a good job, there were casulties:

The worst tank was the holding tank. I found (4) dead and the state of the tank was bad. The corpses were fuzzed over so they had been there for a spell. To make it worse, we spoke to the person on the phone yesterday while on our way home and was told that all was fine. Immediate 50% water change and stirred up the sand bed. Also had to move the huge java fern out of the way and vac'd around that area. Running (2) air stones in here at the moment to increase the O2 content since the sand was stirred up. Bad, bad, bad.

Next was the Cocama tank. While I didn't lose any of my little guys, the tank is absolutely disgusting. There is crudded up food all over the place. Way too much food fed. Have some fresh water getting ready to do a 25% wc.

Over in the Vittatus breeder, the only casulties were a Brigg and (2) tiger shrimp. Overall state of the tank was ok, but I'm sure the NH3 level was high due to the deaths. Immediate 25% water change. Running air stone currently.

Other tanks had no losses and seemed ok. Working on getting them cleaned up and water changes.

Plants in all tanks grew very well during that spell. Will have to do alot of trimming in the coming days.

On a good note, I was able to find homes for (25) little guys as well today. Wound up selling them for $4/each. They wanted more but had to hold some back to offer to fellow fishy friends out here.

New zucchini prepping now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 09-Jul-2010*

Things getting back to normal again. Goodness. 

Over in the Vittatus tank, mama still waiting. I will start moving juvies over to the holding tank this weekend. Most are ready to move over. Had to do some trimming yesterday. I think it's time to also cut back the Suesswassertang and Downoi.

Still have a little more work to do in the Cocama and Holding tanks. Will be doing larger than normal water changes this weekend in both these tanks. I may have to spit up the huge Java Fern in the holding tank. It is nearly taking up an entire side. I know they love to hide in there so I may just continue to work around it.

Have several pieces of plants still floating on the top. I may just rid myself of these. I have a habit of trimming and replanting but leaving the other portion floating.

Started dosing ferts again in all tanks. I hadn't done this since returning from holiday. Wanted to ensure the water quality was good before resuming.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-July-2010*

Activity levels are once again picking up in the tanks. This is a good sign that things are getting back to normal.

Mom and Pop Oto in the Vittatus tank are hanging out again. The juvies are just swarming all over the place including one of the other adult females. Will be thinning the Crypt jungle in here today. The Suesswassertang and Downoi will also be trimmed. I might add Duckweed hunting as well.

The Cocamas have found themselves a nice spot. On the backside of the heater of all places. Thought for sure they would go for the hidden nook that I created with the driftwood and plants. But...that's what they do...they pick their spots regardless of what we make for them. This tank still needs a lot of help. I don't understand how this guy went sooo bad during the spell that I was gone. I'm going to be looking to remove the Flourite for something different. I knew I should have put them in the SMS tank instead. It was a gamble.

The holding tank is looking a little bare. I have rehomed most of those little fellers. Have a few sub adults left. Prepping tank for next arrival of juvies. I'm still debating on this rather large Java Fern that is in there. I'm toying with the idea of removing it all together and starting with a smaller piece and adding a planting of Trident. I just feel it has outgrown the tank if one can believe that.

I'm soon to be looking into building a rack for 10g tanks. Here I will house some other varieties of Otos and see if I can continue with my experiments.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*I love Otos, favorite algae eating fish cause they stay small and are cute. You are lucky to have spawn so many. Congrats with the Otos! *


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thanks kindly! They are a hoot when they are in larger numbers. This has definately been a fun and exciting project. I'm hoping to be able to continue it and expand to other species as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update: 20-July-2010*

Taking a major swing at the Cocama tank to see if I can get this tank to turn around. The history with it is that it just doesn't produce like the others. Plant growth is very slow in comparison. This is using Flourite as a substrate, dry ferts and CO2. It is puzzling me greatly.

I'm starting out with a big vac. This will be a two day process so I don't stress my little guys out too much. They didn't seem to mind day one. Was able to remove quite a bit of gunk and the TDS dropped way down. Didn't think it was all that bad. Original level was just over 120. After first vac, it dropped 30 points.

Will be snail hunting during the reconstruction as well. The scaping will be switched up a bit as well. Moving some plants around and swapping out others.

If this doesn't coax the growth rate any, I will be pulling the substrate in favor of something else. I may just switch with the SMS that is in the O. Flexilis tank (which is currently waiting stocking).

As for the Vittatus, someone must have thrown some happy pills in both tanks. The activity the past couple of days has been really high. I think it's just that the tanks are getting back to where they should be again. Glad to see that.

I think I have decided to remove the big Java Fern and replace it with a small plant as well as add a plantlet of 'Trident'. It's just too big for the tank. So if anyone is looking for a huge JF, let me know. 

More water changes and prunning on tap for the next two days. Still haven't moved the juvies over yet with all the work going on. I changed things in mid stride and didn't want to cause them any undue stress. They should be ready to move by the weekend. The holding tank is kind of bare. I have about 12 or so left. Will get a better feel once the fern comes out. Hope they are all doing fine in their new homes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 30-July-2010*

Transfer begins. Moved just over 20 little ones to the holding tank. Have a few more to go. Will get those tomorrow.

Not a whole lot other than that going on. Still alot of scaping to do in all the tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 04-Aug-2010*

Well this is an update I've been waiting to post. I'm home today waiting on the insurance agent to arrive (weekend washing machine disaster).

Just went to check on the tanks and come up with a plan of attack to do water changes. I didn't get the chance to do them this weekend for being out and then cleanup.

All tanks doing really well. Haven't found any further casulties from my previous tank move. Still have at least (5) more juvies I need to move from the Vittatus breeder.

Checked the holding tank last as usual. Nice discovery. I found a fry on the front glass. Kewlness! Did a quick scan of the tank and found a few more here and there. And just when I was about ready to pull out that big Java Fern too!

I'll do a minor top off of that tank and do regular water changes on the others.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 08-Aug-2010*

Removed the last of the juvies from the Vittatus breeder. It's strictly an adults only party now.  Holding tank is full once again. Weather permitting, will start looking for homes next week.

Part 2 of the tank rebuild is underway. The crypt jungle is once again being thinned. These things are growing like crazy! Pulled out (6) more plants. These ones are pretty big. Still leaving the mother crypt in there. Thinned the Subwassertang wall just a bit more. Major gravel under the jungle since they have been uprooted. Jugs were black from the goodies under there.

Shrimp are definately loving the stuff that was stirred up. Will get the crypts replanted and then work on the left side of the tank. This will take a few days to complete. Think I should have it back together by Tuesday.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Tried to do a little late scaping...didn't bode very well. Command decesion was made to remove the mother crypt. Just decided that she has outgrown this tank and really needs a larger tank to thrive at this size. 

Replanted the smaller ones around and will again rescape in the coming days. Will probably go with (6) smaller to medium size plants and go from there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Activity levels are on the rise again. That's great news. Did water changes in all the breeders. For some reason, I just can't seem to come across a happy medium in the Cocama tank. Not sure what it is but I still can't get the asthetics where I want them in this tank. Still making progress though albeit very slowly. Think it is finally coming together.

Any of you Oto lovers out here, just so you know, the females run the show. My goodness it was just so fun to watch. I removed everything floating in this tank, did a little rescaping as well as the 20% wc. Started working on another tank and looked over there. They were all doing their customary laps around the tank. So I took a break and pulled up a seat not too far from them so I could observe better. There are three nice plump females in here and they were driving the boys crazy! One would have about 4-5 followers with here. Another female would swim by doing her "bump and run" thing and all the guys would then give chase. This went on for quite some time. 

Back in the main breeder, mom and pop Oto are finally hangin out together again. They have been taking a break for a spell. We'll see where this goes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 11-Sep-2010*

Egg watch officially over ...... Mama's laying. 

Heading out to the race today so did my checks early. Nice discovery. Very quick count yields (28) with (1) non viable. Unfortunately no time to get water parms. Temp is a nice 78 in the tank. I did catch that one. Everyone remaining active in the tank.

Activity levels in all the other tanks are up as well. On egg watch in the second breeder.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Keep up the good work. How many otos do you have total now? *
*
I have 5-6 Otos in my 20g, I wish they'd get to business. How are your water parameters? The GH KH pH temp and nitrogen levels.*


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> *Keep up the good work. How many otos do you have total now? *
> *
> I have 5-6 Otos in my 20g, I wish they'd get to business. How are your water parameters? The GH KH pH temp and nitrogen levels.*


Thanks. Not sure on the total count as of now. I believe I have about 20 left in the holding tank. Sold almost all of them already.

I'll be getting water parms later today after topping of the tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 12-Sep-2010*

I was obviously incorrect on the day of which mama laid the eggs. Must have been Thursday some time. Went down to check on things just a while ago and found fry. Best I could find was (14) at the moment. I'll check again later to see if I can get a better count.

Here's the best shot out of the group I just took.










And a shot of the current home front. I still need to trim more off the Subwassertang wall as you can see and move the Downoi forward a bit. Some trimming needs to be done as well.










Today was supposed to be a water change day but with the newly hatched fry, will just do a top off via slow drip as usual. Prepping zucchini and algae powder for feeding.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Final check of the eve. Counted (23) wigglers. Most of them are in the Bacopa area. This has always been mama's favorite spot. No other good pics at the moment. Will be starting the drip of the top off water shortly. May make one check during this process. The other ladies are still plump and being that this was a small batch, I'm anticipating a bigger lay within the week.

Also have a few baby tiger shrimp as well. Must be a baby kinda day. Little tigers in this tank, little Blue Pearls in their tank, little CRS in their tank....lol....must be something in the water.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 13-Sep-2010*

Routine check looks good. Was able to physically count (21) wigglers. Mama, Pop and one of his mistresses are hanging out together. Looks like egg watch again.

Annnnnnnnnnd....over in the holding tank....wigglers! Found (4) in there. Most excellent. Never saw any eggs in this tank. They must have laid them all in the Java Fern this time.

Fed one tube of prepared powdered food to each tank. When it clears up a bit, I'll see if there may be any photo ops.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 15-Sep-2010*

As expected....more eggs today! Counted (20) so far. Mama not playing favorites as to where she lays at the moment. Seems to be pretty well distributed between the three areas.

Activity is way up in the main breeder. Wigglers moving all over the place. Hard to get a good count but managed (12). They were'nt staying put long enough which is a good sign.

Don't think I can put any of the powdered food in here with the eggs. Don't want to contaminate them.

Lights were already out in the other tanks so couldn't check them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 16-Sep-2010*

Eggs found in the holding tank. (5) non viable at the moment. Will try to get somewhat a head count to know how many may be there. With that big Java Fern there's no telling. The other thing is, I have no idear who the parents could be.

Back in the main, wigglers coloring up nicely and remain active. They continue to move throughout the tank making a count difficult. I did manage to count (8). Hatching of this next batch of eggs expected tomorrow. With anticipated hatching window open, I fed the tank the powdered food. Will be running the air stone for a few minutes tonight to break up the surface.

Zucchini prepping for all tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here are the best shots from today:

This is an egg laid yesterday. You can see the development. Will be hatching tomorrow.









These were found in the holding tank. Couple of non-viable ones as well.









And some fry guys. These guys are a few days old.


















And how bout one of dear mom. Ain't she purty.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Sep-2010*

Latest round of hatching has begun. Still a few eggs to go. Fry guys continuing to be active and really work things over. Powdered down the tank again. Between the baby Oto's and baby shrimp, they are keeping things all cleaned up. May have to start uping the food amount but not just yet.

These last two batches have been different. In the past, I would notice the hatching with all the new fry on the glass. Now they are staying on the leaves. I still find a couple on the glass but not as many. Hard to find them that's for sure.

Here's some shots from today. We'll start with a newbie. Did you find him? He's in camo mode.










And here's some of the others at 5 days now:










Lady Tiger watching over things:









Bet I can clean this leaf before you!









These guys are zipping all over the place. Glad to see that.

Til next time.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Wow they are very cute looking, especially the 2nd picture. Also, thats a good camera you got there.*


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> *Also, thats a good camera you got there.*


Thx...just a little Olympus Stylus. I have my moments with it. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-Sep-2010*

Water changes on tap for today. 10% in all tanks except the holding tank. 20% in progress over there. As usual, dripping the new water back in. 

Fry activity remains very high. Even over in the holding tank. I even found more wigglers in there. Still no way to get a count in this tank.

In the main breeder, I was able to count (22) wigglers between both batches. From just a couple days old to a week. The Subwassertang again has turned into a great spot with them. Diving in and out of it.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*1-2 of my Otos looks extremely fat. Ive had them for a long time and they never looked like this. Instead of a Q-tip sized belly its more like 2x-3x Q-tip sized. My camera doesnt work but my Oto looks just like this picture here. I've also noticed that the lower area of the Oto is yellowish compared to her underside white belly. Does yours look like that when pregnant?*

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/CatfishesPIX/Loricariids/Copy of IMG_1192.jpeg

*EDIT: Also do yours chase each other around the big leaves? Do they lay eggs on the underside of the leaves or on the top? Do they clean the leaves prior to laying eggs? Can you visually see the eggs? Some articles were saying they only lay eggs in clean areas. Like lets say there was a big Crypt. If some leaves were dead or decaying, breeding would halt. And resume when the entire plant is clean and the leaves are healthy. What do you think about that?*


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> *1-2 of my Otos looks extremely fat. Ive had them for a long time and they never looked like this. Instead of a Q-tip sized belly its more like 2x-3x Q-tip sized. My camera doesnt work but my Oto looks just like this picture here. I've also noticed that the lower area of the Oto is yellowish compared to her underside white belly. Does yours look like that when pregnant?*
> 
> http://www.wetwebmedia.com/CatfishesPIX/Loricariids/Copy of IMG_1192.jpeg
> 
> *EDIT: Also do yours chase each other around the big leaves? Do they lay eggs on the underside of the leaves or on the top? Do they clean the leaves prior to laying eggs? Can you visually see the eggs? Some articles were saying they only lay eggs in clean areas. Like lets say there was a big Crypt. If some leaves were dead or decaying, breeding would halt. And resume when the entire plant is clean and the leaves are healthy. What do you think about that?*


The females will be significantly fatter when egg laden. The boys will be swarming about her if she's ready to mate. It's a funny scene.

She will lay eggs pretty much anywhere she feels comfortable with. By visually see them, do you mean when she lays them?

As for the cleaning part, I can't say for sure on that one. I haven't actually witnessed the laying of eggs.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Things remain good. Still have over (20) wigglers in the main and (4) in the holding. All four adults are hanging out together. Tons of baby tiger shrimp too. And...it's ready for another trim.

Water tests pending. Will post results.

How bout some shots from today:










No diffuser leaves until it's inspected









What are you looking at?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

And water parms from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

More eggs found in the holding tank today. Only found (4) at the moment. All around the Java Fern. One is (was) on the glass. I was doing a 20% water change and somehow knocked it off the glass. Crud! Hopefully it's on the sand and will still do ok. The others I found on a single leaf. And here I was about ready to pull this thing out and get rid of it. lol Found all (4) fry in here. Getting pretty big for their age. Dripping in new water now.

The main tank has turned into a jungle again. Everything is just growing like weeds. The Subwasertang wall has overtaken the Downoi in front severely hampering it, Ludwigia has stretched to the front of the tank, Bacopa stretching to the back, RI throwing runners. Wow. This on top of all the fry and baby tigers still doing very, very well. Percentage wise, this is best group to make it this long. They are all over the place.

I'm thinking my new feeding routine may be playing a part in this.

On egg watch in the main. I think this is a bit early but they are starting to show signs. Mom and pop are bumping against each other while on the glass.

Charging the battery in the camera so will have to wait a bit to see what pics may have turned out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 26-Sep-2010*

Water changes on tap for today in all tanks except the holding tank. What little eggs I saw in there have hatched out. All (4) babies in the tank still accounted for and growing very fast.

Over in the main tank, activity is increasing with the adults again. Will be interesting to see how the ladies handle all the fry in the tank. The little ones continue to work over the tank very well....to include the parents. I went to pull the CO2 bottle and saw a baby working over mom. As usual..no camera available when the best shots present themselves.

Recharging CO2 bottles today.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 28-Sep-2010*

Breeding activity increasing. Found more eggs in the holding tank. Counted (11) that I could quickly see. I turned the light on only briefly to check on the Sunkist shrimp when I noticed them. Was going to do a water change in this tank but wound up working late. Will do one tomorrow prior to the hatching. Four wigglers still accounted in here and getting fat.

In the main, it is safe to say that there are over 30 fry guys in here. Everywhere you look, you see them. All have colored up very nicely. I do need to thin out some of those small snails though. Noticing quite a few of them in there as well.

Over in the Cocama tank, I found another berried Sunkist. That's two now within two days. Gotta get the hatchery set up pretty quickly.

Running through some shots I took so we'll see what turns out.


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

What do the sunkist shrimp look like? I'm guessing orange


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's the best shot I could get today. Turns out it was the toughest though. Here are a few eggs under a cypt leaf.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Chillwill007 said:


> What do the sunkist shrimp look like? I'm guessing orange


I'm going to start a thread over in the Invert section. Stand by...


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 05-Oct-2010*

Eggapalooza in the holding tank. There are eggs and new fry hatchlings all over this tank today. The females must not have been able to wait to lay eggs as they even placed them all over the glass. Here's a nice shot to illustrate the findings. You'll even see a fry that is only a couple of days old in the pic.










Over in the main breeder, did a 20% water change in there. Didn't like what I found. The filter cartridge looks like it has been dyed a greenish color. Swapped out the media for new. Also pulled the pre filter to give it a good squeezing. The water from the sponge was the same greenish color. This is consistant with the water stains in the sink and tub that we get. 

Definately not good. Just shows how bad the well water got during the drought. On top of that, well water is now brown due to excess rain. From one extreme to the other. Will have to buy a few jugs of spring water to get this one back in order. Will have to get a TDS reading but fear it's going to be pretty high. Youch!

On a brighter note, the fry continue to grow and remain extremely active. The plants are growing increasingly fast. And this is without any fert dosing. I stopped dosing due to the drought so keep water changes minimal.

Wow!


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Hey james What is tds


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Chillwill007 said:


> Hey james What is tds


TDS = Total Disolved Solids


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 06-Oct-2010*

Found (2) dead tiger shrimp in the main tank. That bothers me after the copper thought. I have placed an order for a copper test kit and some CupriSorb just to be safe. Will be getting several gallons of spring water tomorrow to do at least a 25% water change.

Juvies are so active. I went to the back of the tank and they were just swarming in the back. Here's a video snippet:







Over in the holding tank, there are new wigglers all over the glass. Still have a lot of eggs to hatch out tomorrow. Here's a better shot of the ones yesterday. You will see one of the wigglers that hatched yesterday.










Topping off tanks this evening. Blanching fresh zucchini.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Copper test kit arrived. Great news! No detectable copper in any of the tanks. Whew! I feel better now. So I'm guessing now that my theory of the powdered food is what caused the green stain. As long as it wasn't harmful I'll do it again. I believe that method helped to attribute to the the higher success rate of the fry.

Little guys are all over the zucchinis. Giving it a good work over.

Over in the holding tank, there are new wigglers all over the place. Almost every pane of glass has some on it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 09-Oct-2010*

I know it's early but I wanted to share this with you. Stand by for a major posting.

Went down to the basement this morning to start working .. ok actually cleaning. As usual, I always check the tanks first. I walked into a major hornets nest.

Details to follow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Alrighty then. As mentioned just awhile ago, I walked into a major hornets nest when I walked downstairs this morning. By hornets nest, I meant major spawning! Again it's in the holding tank! There are eggs all over the place......again.

When I first checked the tanks, I saw some spawning activity. Needless to say, I didn't have the camera so I just watched for a couple of minutes. Then I thought maybe I should try to get it but they would be done by the time I did. Wrong. Started filming and the activity never stopped. Actually increased at times. Shot a ton of video and some pics too.

So we'll just start with a couple of still pics.

Here's is one of the older fry in the tank:









Some of the eggs found:









And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you....The Double Spawn:






Now if I can just figure out the deal with the lighting. May have to play the camera in video mode more.

They were still going at it when I came back up here to post this. These two gals were just overwhelmed. I'm sure they will have a nice relaxing break when all is said and done.

I don't know if I should classify this as a holding tank anymore but as another breeding tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Definitely a lot of bidness going on there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Today is definately a scratch for doing any work down there. Just went down again.....(3) ladies are now in the fray! Incredible!


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

James0816 said:


> Today is definately a scratch for doing any work down there. Just went down again.....(3) ladies are now in the fray! Incredible!


Hey hey hey do you have a license for that brothel you got going on down there


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Chillwill007 said:


> Hey hey hey do you have a license for that brothel you got going on down there




I gotta tell ya...that sure was a sight to see. The end product is pretty impressive too! This tank isn't very good at yielding great pics. I think it is the bright light and sand substrate. I'll try and fire off a few more shots today and see if they turn out any better.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 13-Oct-2010*

Check of the tanks. Found (14) visible wigglers in the holding tank. All continues to look good in here. No telling how many may be hidding in the fern. Will be topping the tank off and stirring the sand a bit.

20% water change on tap for the main tank. Juvies continue to grow and doing very well. Really working over everything.

Topping off the other tanks as well. Prepping fresh zucchini.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sounds like they keep you pretty busy.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Sounds like they keep you pretty busy.


As long as I stay on top of things, daily maintenance and such goes by pretty quick. It's only when I fall behind when things can get time consuming. But then again, I always wind up spending more time just watching and observing.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 17-Oct-2010*

Major maintenance on the holding tank today. Actually started yesterday but continuing into today. Removing most of the sand and giving it a good scrubbing/cleaning. It was turning colors and even though I kept it shifted, it wasn't working. So had to pull it out, wash it and then put it back. One section looks too far gone. It looks permanently stained gray. I have it out in the sun right now to see if that will help.

I did wind up sucking up a baby yesterday during the process. Luckily he was up far enough on the side of the jug that I was able to use a turkey baster and pull him out. Whew! He swam right off as soon as I put him back in the tank. Hopefully he will be just fine.

Continuing with cleaning and trimming the tanks. Pulling quite a few Dwarf Sags as well. They wound up growing behind the big plants amongst the crypts. Two very nice size runners with several plantlets. Nice.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 19-Oct-2010*

Fry in the holding tank seem to be doing well. Really not sure how many I have in there though. I do seem to see quite a few out and about. Constantly on the go. Still working on the rescaping and sand cleaning. Should have it all cleaned up by the weekend.

Juvies in the main tank are growing like weeds. I may have to start thinking about moving them over to the bigger tank.

Prepping fresh zucchini.

On a side note, was at PetSmart earlier today and looked in the Oto tank. Was a bit surprised that there a couple of O. Macrospilus in the mix. Just what I've been looking for. I picked up (3): 2 males and a female. This balances out the numbers for that tank. Still a bit young but we'll see how it goes.

My search continues for O. Flexilis and O. Mimulus.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 23-Oct-2010*

Quick check of the tanks before heading out the door. More eggs found in the holding tank. This is a very good sign considering all the work that I have been doing in this tank lately. Counted (12) at the moment.

Unfortunately, I didn't find any fry.  Hopefully there may be some in the Java Fern. I've been working some late hours and didn't feed them using the new method.

Will be doing more work on the holding tank tomorrow to try and get that finished. Water changes on tap for tomorrow as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Found a fry guy yesterday and this morning in the holding tank. Makes me feel a little better. More eggs were laid yesterday. Will see how many I can count in a bit.

Messed around with the wife's DSLR camera. I might be getting the hang of it. At least in regards to my subjects standing still.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Cool pic.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 27-Oct-2010*

Fry is the word for today. Eggs in the holding tank hatched out today. There are (4) different age groups of fry in here now ranging from a few hours to a few days. This was an interesting period of time in this tank. There were eggs laid one day, more the next, hatching and eggs, more hatching and then today's hatching. Very, very busy beavers in here. All the ladies are still very eggs laden so I'm expecting a big round of eggs within the next few days.

Here's the best shot I could pull from todays pics. Waiting on the macro lenses to come in and see if I can improve.










It's about time to move the little ones from the main tank over to the holding tank. They have grown up nicely.


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

very nice james. Looks like I am getting a small mainland eclipse 12g tank to make a pea puffer(feel in love with them) tank and the only tank mates they can be with are ottos so guess where I'm coming to get mine along with plants. And you won't have to worry about cleaning of the plants since the puffers love snails. In fact I plan on getting some and trying tio breed them in my 5g guppy tank. So I will be pming you soon. Placing order for tank tomorrow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Sounds good. Puffers are interesting little characters...and surprisingly mean for all that cuteness. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 30-Oct-2010*

As expected, the spawn has began in the holding tank. I can see (6) eggs at the moment. Ladies are sooo plump. The question will be if this will be the major or just continue the trend of minor laying? So far the females aren't really unloading but when they do, I can only imagine what it is going to look like in there. 

Fry in this tank are getting increasingly active.

The main tank has just overgrown itself. Hard to believe that it was trimmed no too long ago. Might not be able to do any good maintenance this weekend with all the halloweed festivities but will have to try to do some.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Easy way to tell male from female? I have two of them, was just curious.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Easy way to tell male from female? I have two of them, was just curious.


Males are smalle and will have a more slender body. 
Females are larger and have a more "roundish" frame.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Thats clear as mud, lol


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Thats clear as mud, lol


lol...look on the first page of the thread. It will show a pretty good shot of mom and pop Oto. They are the original pair.

I'll go through my pics and see if I have a pic of them looking straight at the bellies. Will give you a better idear.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 31-Oct-2010*

Ladies still haven't had the big spawn that I was expecting in the holding tank. They seem to just be laying a few eggs here and there each day. Very interesting behavior. They laid a few more last night including one on the glass. Counted (23) at the moment. Ladies remain very plump. Will continue to monitor.

Over in the main tank, the ladies there are the same way. Looking to bust out of the seams. I think it's overcrowding issue as before. They seem to hold onto the eggs when there is too much activity in the tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-Nov-2010*

Went down for a quick check of the tanks. All doing very well. Little fry guys all over the holding tank. The older fry have started to color up.

Walked over to get a glimpse of the main tank. Boy was I shocked. There weren't any eggs but there was activity. Needless to say didn't have the camera, but I did have my phone. Let's how this video turned out:







I would have to say that my estimate of 30 fry is a little shy. All I can say is wow!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

So here's their current home. I'm in the process of a trim. Only thing I'm not messing with this go around is the crypt jungle and the Subwassertang wall.










Think I'm going to change it up a bit and move the Ranunculus Inundatus in front of the Sub wall and move the Downoi to the forefront. The way it is now, you can't make out the Downoi very much and the Sub has overgrown on top of it preventing it from growning and actually hampering it quite a bit.

I should have snapped a pic of the Sub wall when I had everything from out front of it to show just how much this has grown out. It's amazing.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Everything continues to progress well. Doing some small water changes in the main and holding tanks. Too many little ones to let it go a week. Going to see what, if any, impact a 10% water change every three days will have.

Rearranged the RI and Downoi. I think it will be a good look once the Subwassertang wall is trimmed again. Still waiting to move out the little ones before I do that. On a funny note, while I was replanting, one my briggs came up to my finger and crawled up it just a bit. It then started rasping on it. Felt weird. lol. I didn't let him do it too long as I don't know if it would bother anything.

CO2 was recharged today and prepping new zucchini as I type.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 14-Nov-2010*

More spawing going on now in the holding tank. And here I was about to do some more work with the rest of the sand in there. Oh well...that will have to wait a few more days.

Have to go back and check the ages of the juvies in the main tank. They may be old enough to move over now. Which would be interesting with all the other little ones over there. ;o)


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## Kaosu (Nov 13, 2010)

this is amazing! 
i fell in love with ottos just this year...i have 3 in my guppy tank and was daydreaming about having the time and space to try breeding. Such cute little cats^_^


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thx..they are definately easy little guys to fall in love with that's for sure.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Most of the eggs in the holding tank are non-viable.  That was a pretty big blow. Only a few left to hatch tomorrow.

Topping off tanks today with minimal maintenance. Will start to do a pretty big gravel vac in the Macrospilus tank tomorrow. Since there are CRS in this tank, I'm going to be doing something a little different. I'm going to filter out the gunk and put the water back in. Only since the tank was just topped off and the water parms are perfect.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 18-Nov-2010*

Another spawn in the holding tank today. So far I was able to count (41) eggs however (6) were already non-viable. Hopefully this batch will fair much better than the last. The last spawn wound up a complete fail.

Here's a shot from today:









Came up with another idea for filtering out the Macrospilus tank like I want. I gravel vac'd into (2) one gallon jugs. I'm going to let this settle for a couple of hours and the drip the water back into the tank through the filter. No idea why I didn't think of doing it that way at first but we'll see.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 20-Nov-2010*

Well this is a rather unique situation. I was expecting hatching today in the holding tank so made my morning rounds to check on things. It's an egg-splosion down there. Yet more spawning going on in the holding tank. This spawn is a little different than the others in this tank as it appears they aren't going to be holding much back this time. The amount of eggs so far will make this the largest single day spawn.

I didn't spend much time observing since they are still in progress. I did notice a couple non-viable eggs though. I'm beginning to wonder, if you can imagine this, that there is just too much activity and competetion for the males to handle leading to the non vertilized eggs? Just a thought. I know there are at least (3) egg laying la-fems in here and if they are all spawning at the same time as before ... I can only imagine. 

Will check again later in the day and see what we get. Between newly hatched fry and freshly laid eggs, this is going to be a busy tank for the next few days. I won't be moving juvies over just yet. Need to go back and check their age and see if they are ready for new homes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Friends, I can honestly say in a year and a half of doing this, I have never seen anything of likes of what is in the holding tank. Never. I know Mama Oto over in the main tank has had her share of spawns but it just doesn't compare. I'd be willing to bet that there were at least (3) females involved with this spawn session. Absolutely no way of counting the eggs. There are just that many. And, they are litterally everywhere to include the sand! Yes, you read right, they are even laid on the sand!

There are quite a few non-viable eggs and most of those are the ones on the substrate. However, there are still a ton on the sand bed that are good. It seems that almost every plant has eggs on them. No eggs on the glass or driftwood though which I find surprising in that they are on the sand. Very odd.

I'm also wondering if the amount of non-viable ones could be partially my fault as I walked in on them while the spawn was in progress. Just a hunch. I snapped off quite a few shots and getting ready to go through them and see what comes out. There's a bit of current going through the tank due to water level so we'll see what turns out.

Stand by....


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ok...here are some shots from today:

Here's some eggs on a couple of small crypt plants:


















Eggs on the sand (yellow balls):









And here is a shot of newly hatched fry with new eggs below:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Just got back from removing non viable from the leaves. Counted just over (60) on the ground. There were about (12) on leaves. The light went out before I could suck them out but that will be ok until tomorrow. The Java Fern is just littered with eggs. All up in there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Pretty busy day seperating good eggs from bad. Some of the eggs were non-viable and started fuzzing up. Problem is, they were next to good eggs. Had to get them seperated. Some were pretty easy as I just took a needle and was able thread it through the good and bad and then seperate.

Others were a little more difficult. I would up removing the group of eggs which were mostly groups of three with one bad egg. I would scrape them off where they would fall on the ground. Then, using a dosing syringe, suck them out and place them in a lid with water. Then using two needles would seperate them. The good eggs were placed back in the tank.

Here's an example:









What was very interesting, is the second group that I seperated, when the eggs were released back into the tank, they were hatching. Way kewl! One egg got to about two inches from the substrate when the fry guy broke loose and swam to a near by leaf of a sag.

I would probably have to say it's about 50/50 from good to bad. There are fry guys all over the tank and eggs still waiting to hatch. I'm still astonished as to how many total eggs there are in this tank. I think tomorrow I'll be able to start removing all the bad ones.

Here's a few more shots from today:

This is a pretty good developmental shot:









And a couple of new fry guys:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 26-Nov-2010*

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Morning check of things was promising and yet strange at the same time.

Yet another spawn taking place right now in the holding tank. [scratches head]. Two females engaged in this one that I observed. Here's the interesting part of it. While the tank parms are showing ok, the tank itself is not all the great. Zucchini that was placed in the tank two days ago has fuzzed over and of course it's a bit on the messy side with the feeding of the new fry. Found a few roaming around this morning, so at there are some survivors from last spawn.

I'm still going to do a large, well...25% water change today. Hopefully won't disrupt things too much. There are still some bad eggs in there from last spawn that I wanted to get cleaned out.

That's the good thing about research. Just when you think you have a grasp on things...they can change in the blink of an eye. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Looks like I'll start moving some of the juvies over the holding tank today. They are pretty nice sized at this point. Did a 25% water change in the tank yesterday. Didn't see any of the eggs this morning. Interesting. I'm starting to wonder if there may be some snarfage going on in there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 02-Dec-2010*

Another spawn in the holding tank. And as the pattern goes with the past few spawns....more non-viable eggs. Can't quite figure this one out. {scratches head}. Removed (8) bad eggs. Hopefully I won't find any tomorrow but that seems unlikely.

Still need to remove the juvies from the main tank. I have to at least thin them out this weekend regardless.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update 03-Dec-2010*

As expected, I found more non-viable eggs. Hmmmmm....puzzleing. I will be doing a water change and some cleaning in there tomorrow. Have to figure out a time when I can split the Java Fern. I'll make a big swing at when the fry allow.

My plan is to pull the big fern, replace with a smaller one and add a snippet of 'Trident' as well. Then I'll add some additional stems for more grazing area.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update: 12-Dec-2010*

Fry Catching Day! Oh what fun. Taking a quick break. 15 minutes in and only caught 8 so far. Gotta luv it! I can't use my trap with how many shrimp are in there....but then again...maybe get it set anyway and use it as a secondary method. Hmmmmm...why did I just think of that. I can always fish out the shrimp later. ;o)

Back at it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Fry catching for the day is done. 20 little fry guys are acclimating to the holding tank. What a challenge! lol. I'll slowly work on the rest throughout the week. My trap worked a little bit. Wound up even catching one of the Briggs. He got out before I could get the camera.


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## Lil Gashog (Dec 1, 2010)

Nice!I plan to getting like 3-4 for a 20g is that a good number?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Yep...that's a good number to have.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

While checking on the Propinqua shrimp this morning, I noticed eggs next door in the holding tank. Good sign as the latest additions to the tank didn't have any impact on spawning. Now the question will be of course, are these going to be good eggs or not?

It's funny, how these spawns always seem to occur the day before a scheduled water change. Interesting. They aren't set days either (just to rule out a timing thing). I just tell myself "self...tomorrow you will do a water change". 

And another interesting find in this tank, I saw a fry that is only a couple days old this morning as well. So obviously, there was an additional spawn (partial probably) that went undetected. I never saw any eggs so must have been in the Java Fern.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

A late check of the tank last night, and I discovered one non viable egg at the time. A couple looked to be on the fence this morning so should know about those come this afternoon. Did a 10% wc yesterday to follow up with an additonal 10% today. Zucchini is going bad much faster than usual which isn't good but the parms are staying right on par. Heat looks to be hovering around 74 at the moment.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Update: 17-Dec-2010*

Was able to physically count (19) wigglers today. Found about (10) non-viable eggs from this batch. This one is a bit odd too. The fry are actually bigger than usual. Real pudgeballs this go round.

Doing another 10% water change and prepping fresh zucchini.


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## smurfette1175 (Dec 17, 2010)

This is a really great thread. Keep up the great work.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thanks! It's a fun little project with these little guys. They're simply .... awesome!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Catching little guys from the holding tank was a fun little task this morning. The fry kept getting in the way. From the newbies to the ones that are a few weeks old. I would place the net over a juvie on the glass and one of the fry would lite just above it preventing me from sliding the net upwards. Sometimes they would even lite right next to one I was getting ready to net. Was comical actually. ;o)

Stirred up a couple of huge females during this process. There may be another spawn in the works within the next couple of days. Activity levels are on the increase again.

Will be pulling the remaining juvies out of the main tank between today and Sunday. I may decide to do some trimming in there at the same time.

Getting close to the 100 mark of Oto's rehomed. May have to do something special for that milestone. Maybe offer that package free of charge (not counting shipping of course) to the lucky person. Have to do something kewl.


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## Scyry (Dec 1, 2010)

Quick question about feeding your Oto's. Do you blanch the zucchini so it sinks or is it so it is easier for them to eat? Also have you tried any other veggies? I dropped a piece of cucumber in there and they went over to it semi quickly, but they aren't staying with it. So I am not sure they actually like it. 

I've had them for one day and they have stripped the tank of any algae.

Edit:
This morning they are all over the cucumber. I stuck a nail in the cucumber to keep it from floating.

All three seem to be doing good. Their bellies are looking full, they're active and they each is passing waste. Hopefully they will all make it. They still don't seem interested in the algae waffers though. My Cories and Minnows are fat and happy off the waffers though.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Scyry said:


> Do you blanch the zucchini so it sinks or is it so it is easier for them to eat?


Both actually. But after a day or so, they have the tendancy to float up to the top. I now use bamboo skewers to spear them down into the substrate to keep them in there longer. They aren't as strong of raspers as plecos so it has to be a bit softer for them. And of course feeding fry, it helps to be softer as well.



Scyry said:


> Also have you tried any other veggies?


Zuchinni is definately the veggie of choice. I have also used yellow squash, cucs and sweet potato from time to time.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 03-Jan-2011*

I like surprises. Water change in the holding tank yesterday morning as scheduled. All going well. Still a few little ones left in that tank. Will have to transfer over the others from the main tank this week.

Later that day while checking on things, I found a wiggler on the glass. Never saw any eggs so they must have laid some in the Java Fern. Only saw the one though.

Looked over the tank pretty good yesterday and this morning but saw no sign of eggs.

Main tank needs some major work. Might be too thick for them to move around in.  Trimming on tap for this week as well as relocation of juvies as mentioned.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Spotted some more wiggle waggles in the holding tank today. Awesome. Doing quite nicely considering I didn't know they were there. 

Getting ready to start on the main tank. Gonna be a big task involving trimming, minor vac and catching of juvies. Yay Me!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Work continues on the main tank. I have captured 10 more juvies. Looks like I may have about 10 more to go. All the crypts are out now. Small vac is next and then I'll start replanting.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 09-Jan-2011*

More eggs found in the holding tank today. It's really crowded in there as I have been pulling plants from the main tank and just laying them in there. Obvisouly hasn't detered the activity. 

Almost done with the main tank. Have a small issue with the crypts though. I have no medium sized ones to put in there. They are all large or small. Has made the tank pretty bright. I think I can work around that.

This tank continues to amaze me between the Oto's, plants, (2) clutches of Briggs eggs and now the shrimp. I have blue tigers appearing and just yesterday found one with orange eyes.

Prepping zucchini to feed and need to recharge CO2.


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## Mark1988 (Jan 9, 2011)

Just want to say that I spent a few hours last night reading this thread from first post to last and really enjoyed it. My wife and I really enjoyed all the photos of the fry. This is some awesome work, and as a fellow Oto fan I say keep it up!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thank you very much! I love my little Oto friends. It definately is fun working with them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 17-Jan-2011*

Mom and Pop Oto hanging tight today. Activity picking up in the tank. Did a small water change in it today. The Tigers and Briggs are cruising all over the place.

Over in the holding tank, found a couple of wigglers. Big water change in there.

Fresh zucchini prepped and fed tonight.


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## Mark1988 (Jan 9, 2011)

I've been eagerly awaiting an update for a week now 
My otos finally discovered the joys of zucchini last night and are nice and fat. tried for 7 days without so much as a nibble and all the sudden I wake up and all that was left was the skin!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

That's always a good sign.


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## tscott (Jan 7, 2011)

I read through this entire thing earlier, and I was so impressed I went out and bought a little baby Oto. I was gonna get 2-4 but all they had was one left. Hes less than an inch long, seems to like people though.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Latest spawn was a dud. Every egg was bad! Dang!  Gonna go do some water tests to see if anything stands out. After which, I'll clean up the eggs, do a small water change and start over.

Will be recharging the CO2 today and prep up a fresh batch of zucchini.


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## Lil Gashog (Dec 1, 2010)

Where do you put the continuos fry?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I have a holding tank that they go into until they are sold.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Bad incident this morning. Lost power sometime early this morning. Was out for a few hours. Around 0600ish, everything came back on. I checked things and at first glance, everything seemed ok. I did have to restart two filters. Would know more when I get back home after work.

Only one tank turned out to have issues. I lost two little ones in the holding tank. Doing a 25% water change in there now.

Also scrapped off all the bad eggs. Must have been well over 50. Bad sight to see.

All other tanks were just fine. The only other casulties were in my salt tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 22-Feb-2011*

Still not much happening in the breeding world. Hopefully they are just taking a break after the last failed attempt. The females are huge like they are getting ready to explode!

Taking this opportunity to do some major trimming. Working with the holding tank first. Wow. The Sags and Crypts have done very, very well in here. I know I keep saying it, but definately need to work on that Java Fern. It's half the tank!

I want to rescape it and replace the cypress knee with something else and of course this would eliminate the JF for the most part. I'm still thinking though.

I'll follow this up with thinning the crypts in the Cocama tank and then hit the main tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 14-Mar-2011*

Still dormant in the breeding. 20% water changes in all tanks this weekend. Some plant trimming. CO2 needs recharged so will work on that the next couple of days. Water tests pending.

Funny thing....I found a boat load of Tiger shrimp in the filter of the Vittatus tank. Was completely shocked at how many were in there. I will have to put on a better prefilter I recon. There are no gaps between the filter and the intake which is leading me to believe they are some how working their way through the sponge as babes and then getting sucked up. I have to do some major population control on them now.

Some good news on the Cocama front. I am soon to receive a nice donation of a couple of beautiful ladies in the next week or so (weather permitting). This portion of the project will finally get under way. The guys have been by themselves too long. I was getting ready to place another order for more when this opportunity developed.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 20-Mar-2011*

Great News! Morning check of the tanks and I found (5) wigglers in one of the tanks. Awesome! Funny thing, I never saw any eggs so this placement was in secrecy.  I didn't stay down there too long as there was a lot of activity going on. Females are scanning the terrain with males at a close distance. Might have a bigger spawn getting ready to occur.

This was ahead of a planned 20% water change today. I will hold off on the WC in the tank with the fry and just do a water test and see what kind of parms we have. The fry are in one of the tanks that had a higher than normal nitrAte level.

Fresh zucchini to be prepped.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

No sign of the wigglers today. Would be very hard to spot just (5) anyway if they aren't on the glass. Will continue to monitor. Activity level still up so will keep a watchful eye on things.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 28-Mar-2011*

Got back from the docs office with my daughter. All is well with her hand. They confirmed an incomplete non-conforming fracture. Whatever that means. Nothing serious and should heal up nicely.

Went downstairs to dose the tanks with ferts. Made it to the bottom step when I noticed the "hornets nest of activitiy" going on in one of the tanks. Tell tell signs of a spawn. I did notice (2) females and it looked about (4) males working over the Bacopa section.

I'll go back down in a bit a check on things.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Confirmed the spawn in one tank. Was able to locate a few eggs in the Bacopa as suspected. The ladies are working deep in the Crypts and Java Fern at the moment. Now the the Amano's are at test. We'll see how they do with eggs in the tank. Granted I can only see a few eggs at this time, but at least I know where to look at the moment. If they go missing, the Amano's get moved; plain and simple. Did manage to dose the tanks while I was down there. Limiting my activity around there since the spawn is still going on. Probably won't be returning until later this evening.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 29-Mar-2011*

So far so good with the Amano's. All of the eggs that I can see are still accounted for. They (Amanos) are pretty close to where the eggs are but so far have left them alone.

15% water change ahead of tomorrows anticipated hatching. Prepping fresh zucchini.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 30-Mar-2011*

As expected, the eggs are hatching. I didn't make it home before the lights went out but using the lighting in the room, I was able to find (3) wigglers. Still no idea as to how many may be in there or how many to kind of sorta look for. We'll give er a go tomorrow and see what may be.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 01-Apr-2011*

No sign of any wigglers today. 

Will continue to monitor the tank over the weekend. Otherwise, just routine maintenance.

I did unfortunately find a dead Tiger shrimp in the tank; female with eggs. Been a while since I tried to artificially hatch any eggs so I'm gonna give it another go. I striped the eggs and placed them in a tea ball. This was then placed directly over the air bubbles from the stone in the same tank. At last check, the eggs were getting good movement in there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Been a rather busy day. Did manage to spend about 10 minutes in the fish room. I did spot a wiggler today. Awesome. Hopefully there are more but at least I managed to find one.


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## Fredpuma (Apr 2, 2011)

Hi! I'm new to this forum, and just wanted to tell you how awesome this "blog" is. Thanks for continuing to post- it's really fun to read.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 06-Apr-2011*

Tried to snap some pics yesterday but they didn't turn out well. The fry I have seen are hanging out on the top side of crypt leaves near the water surface. Makes it hard to get the shot.

Water changes on tap for today.

Think I have formalized my rack plans (for the moment). Here are my planed tank assignments:

O. Cocama w/ Caridina propinqua (Special thanks to Todd who is donating a couple of female Cocama's. My original shipment was all males)
O. Macrospilus w/ Caridina serratirostris (Ninjas still not available as yet)
O. Vitatus w/ Caridina gracilirostris (Special thanks to Rachael who has made a contribution of Red Nose for the breeding efforts - and Amano's too)

Still have tanks waiting for O. Flexilis and O. Mimulus if I can locate them.

Lots of big plans on schedule for the warmer days. Ton of work to get things better organized. Looking forward to the expansion and continued efforts.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 09-Apr-2011*

I think my photo taking skills have dimenished greatly. I can not get any good shots of the fry guys. They are growing up nicely. Great coloring. They will meet their first water change this weekend.

At the main Vittatus tank, things still not looking so good for the Tigers. Losses continue to mount up. While not giving up, I have all but resigned to losing the colony. In a last ditch effort, I have removed about (50) babes and will relocate them. I have them in two seperate specimen containers which are inside another tank to keep heat on them until I'm ready to put them in their temporary home.

After which, I have broken down this tank but not completely. I have uprooted all the plants except the crypts. Even the great wall of Subwassertang has come down. To be safe, I had a large bowl of water standing by to keep the wall in while I did the work. I knew there was going to be shrimp hiding in there and was correct. Once I placed the wall in the water, I began to see several shrimp swimming about. As mean as it sounds, I unfortunately was willing to sacrifice these few for the good of the colony. The water was aged and I'm sure the pH was off by a good 1/2 point.

After this, I did a major gravel vac of the entire area; about 1/2 the tank. Now granted the water parms didn't support a major task as this but I felt I had nothing to lose. Pulled out all kinds of goodies. The two jugs are just completely dark. Took about 30 minutes for this and made sure to hit it as good as I could. When done, I started adding fresh spring water back to the tank via drip method. No filter is running at the moment due to the water level but have an air stone currently running. I dumped the bowl with the Subwassertang back into the tank. Hopefully those shrimpies will be ok.

Taking a break while the tank is slowly refilling, I have been watching the Oto's just going all over the place. Their activity is so high at the moment. It's as if this is what they have been waiting for. Papa Oto is so confused. He starts following one female around when another passes by which causes him to shift gears.  They are just everywhere at the moment. Several shrimp are getting blind sided by them as they swim through the crypts.

Once the water level has topped off, I will reassemble the Subwassertang wall and get it back in place. I'll eventually be removing all the Tigers in favor of the Red Nose only to keep the numbers in check. This should allow the Otos open range of the tank with minimal activity.

Will recharge the CO2 after all is said and done as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 10-Apr-2011*

Best shot I can manage to fire off at the moment. These little guys are just under 2 weeks. The made the water change just fine ... so far. It's only been a day.










They are grazing the leaves well going after the powdered food.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 12-Apr-2011*

Started putting the main tank back together again. Not real happy with the way the Subwassertang wall turned out but I think it will be ok once it gets bushy again. I think I made it too compact. It just looks different. I think I have it lower than it was last time. I may build up that corner a bit but we'll see. Probably will wind up redoing it using a thinner portion of Sub. 

Activity remains high so I have to get all the stems replanted and soon.

On a plus note, there have been no further Tiger casulties of late. I'm working on the new Tiger tank so they will probably make the move in the coming weeks. Once they have been relocated, the Red Nose will move in permanently. Being a low order breeder, this will keep the shrimp population/activity down for the Otos while at the same time maintaining the tank.

CO2 to be recharged today. I pulled it during the past week due to all the craziness going on in the tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 13-Apr-2011*

Fry are still doing well and continuing to grow. No idea as to how many may be around as the Java Fern is one heck of house.  I see a couple that will hang out from time to time on the other side of the tank.

On a plus note, the female Cocama's are on their way! They should be here by Friday.

Hoping to get things started on the rack and finalize the tanks so there won't be any more disturbances.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - 14-Apr-2011*

Things are looking good in all tanks. Have found no further casulties, fry guys still hangin with me annnnnnnnnd ..... THEY'RE HERE! The lady O. Cocama's have arrived today. They are in the process of being slowly acclimated to the tank. This will take several hours. I placed a freshly blanched slice of zucchini in there for them while they wait.

I bought a new heater for the main Vittatus tank. My plan is to slowly replace the old heaters whether they need it or not. I don't want to have another issue like I just went through. I have the initial temp set to 76 at the moment to see where we stand but that should just about right.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Work in the Cocama tank. Was debating if I should start a seperate journal for them.

Water change done with minor gravel vac. That was done just to prepare the area as I plant so as to not stir up a bunch of stuff. I'm going a little bit different on this tank from the Vittatus due to the nature of the Cocama's. I'll do a water test Thursday (wont be home tomorrow) after this to get some readings to see where I'm at and if it hits the numbers I'm looking for. 

Also in the process of swaping filters. This tank had been run on a ZooMed 501. While it worked well for the time, I'm looking to create a bit more of a centralized current. The outflow from the HOB should flow over the piece of driftwood creating a nice subtle current. I'll swap media from the Vittatus tank with a new pad and use it's established media to help get started on the new filter. I'll over filter for a while by leaving the ZooMed on for about a week.

Here's a current species list:

*Fauna:* (6) Otocinclus cocama - 4 males and 2 females, (5) Caridina cf. propinqua, (5) Caridina gracilirostris. The C. propinqua will be permanent residents and I'll be adding about (5-7) more. Being low order breeders, this will actually keep the numbers and activity level down in the tank. The C. gracilirostris will be moving to the Vittatus tank once I relocate the Tigers to their own tank. Other future additions will be (2) Pomacea bridgesii.

*Flora:* Bacopa caroliniana, Bacopa monnieri, Bacopa sp. 'Colorata', Cryptocoryne balansae, Cryptocoryne wendtii (bronze), Hygrophila polysperma. For a low lying plant, I originally was going to go with a few Dwarf Sags but I'm rethinking that. I may still look into though. I have Downoi and RI in the Vittatus tank. I know as foreground plants of that nature, the options are pretty limited. If I can master Lobelia cardinalis, I may even try that. I'm also still looking to acquire Littorella uniflora.

*Substrate:* Flourite

*Lighting:* This is also tricky as it is a shared light with another tank. 32w T8. I'm actually looking to scale this down to around 18w. It will still be a shared light so I'm looking to find a 36" fixture. I could go with an indepent fixture but I was trying to cut down the amount of equipment being plugged into one source. I hate cables. I may go CFL in the future with the new rack but we'll see where this takes us.

*Filtration:* Current: ZooMed 501 mini-canister. Planned: Standard HOB w/ sponge prefilter.

*Decor:* I'm actually going with a flat piece of field stone and manzanita driftwood. I will have the stone sticking straight up and try to position the DW to lean on top it. This will provide more surface area for grazing and extra hide spot. This may go away if I can build a moss wall but I'm looking to do that with Fissidens.

I think that just about sums this tank up in a nut shell. It will slowly piece itself together. All the stem plants were trimmed low so they can fill out as the environs dictate. I will also be using DIY CO2 on this tank. My choice of dry ferts to start will be a PMDD mix. Might be a bit sensitive to try and mess with EI at this point.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here is the current shot of the House that Cocama built. lol









Pretty much have the crypts where I want them. Seem to be a nice spot around the rock and driftwood. Driftwood was swapped out yet again with a nice piece of Malaysian wood. Fits nicely into the scape.

Plenty of floor space for now until I get a moss wall up. For now, I'll just incorporate stem plants around. As you can see, they need to fill in.

Zucchini is placed right up front under the wood. 

Removed a few more Duckweed plants. Will stay on top of it. Didn't see anything floating up top after I was done but I'm sure it's lurking.

Water test definately will be done tomorrow. Was too cloudy to do from planting the crypts.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

And now the numbers for the Cocama tank:

Temp: 80 (Ouch...immediately unplugged the heater and will go without one for now. Fan blowing over the tank to cool down. Will monitor to see where it stabilizes. May do the same thing as the Vittatus tank. That temp is a nice 75)

pH: 7.4
NO3: 10
GH: 7
KH: 5
TDS: 167

Inside Room Parms: Temp - 72, Barometric Pressure - 31.65, Humidity - 39%

New CO2 is prepping and I expect the big 3 parms to adjust slightly after 24hrs. Will take new readings on Friday to see where we are at after CO2 recharge.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Temp already down to 76. Two degrees away from target. Turned the fan off and air stone on to oxygenate the water.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Morning check of the tank found the temp at a nice 74 degrees. Right on target. Now to wait until this afternoon for the flex and see if there will be any swing.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Went down to dose the tanks this morning and found a lot of activity in the tanks. Since the lights were out, I couldn't 100% confirm that this is a spawn in the makings but from what I saw, it displayed all the tale-tale signs of one. Hopefully. We'll see this afternoon.

All tanks received a 20% water change yesterday. Will be doing some more plant thining in the coming days. The crypts have really taken off recently and have really overgrown the area again. I will also be swapping out the main C. Wendtii 'green' with bronze again as the green one has now became too big for the tank it is in.

Briggs arrived of Friday and have them in their new homes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 09-May-2011*

Very sad day today. Came home and made a startling discovery. Mama Oto has passed away.  I'm at a loss for words actually. I took her out and gave her a quick exam. Her underside between the mouth and belly looked a grayish brown as if it were burnt actually. Temp in the tank is 74.

I'll do some maintenance in the tank today and get things tiddyd up. So sad.

All other tanks look normal. There was no spawn as yet but the Oto's remain active.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Not much activity going on of late. Things have kind of settled down. Just regular maintenance items planned.

Working on relocating the Tiger shrimp from the Vittatus tank. For the most part, I have most of them moved out. I'm still finding one or two here and there and remove them when I find them. The plan is to replace them with Red Nose, Caridina gracilirostris.

Tons of rain these past few days which has turned our water brown. Grrrr! Hate when that happens. Water changes will be done with spring water.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Re: The Oto Journal - Cocama Update - 26-May-2011*

Still waiting on the tank to fill in. Everything is just soooooo slow growing. I really need to consider swapping out this substrate. If the plants aren't growing well, it will certainly impact the project. I'm contimplating setting up a tank for Eco and get it ready for a swap or even another SMS. I can't do a ton of changes in here that will impact the over all environment but may need to seriously consider the substrate swap. The plants are the key to this.

I have Eco in the O. Macrospilus already but don't want to disturb that tank. Those two are finally spending more time together which hopefully is a good sign. The Caridina 'Dark Greens' are getting a bit numerous so will have to start thinning.

The Cocama ladies are doing outstanding. Found them together yesterday. Probably gossiping about the boys. We know how that goes right?  j/k ladies.

The Mopani wood with the rock seems to be a big hit as well. This seems to be the major hang out. With the crypts nestled right beside it, makes for good cover.

Search continues for O. Flexilis and O. Mimulus to round out my Otocinclus projects. One day ... eventually ... hopefully.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 27-May-2011*

The reset of the Vitattus tank is now complete. I didn't change the format or layout of tank though. Just gave the entire substrate a very thorough cleaning, trimmed and replanted. Main crypt switched back to a 'bronze'. Have some small touch up things to do with it still but nothing major. I'll get a water test done this evening to see where we stand.

Just checked the status of the Caridina serratirostris. They should be here today. These will be the new clean up crew for this tank instead of the planned Red Nose at this time.

Now we wait to see how Papa Oto will be without Mama. The question is, will he decide to hook up with the others after the loss.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well...I've heard the stories....but never believed...until now. I have a missing fish. My female O. Macrospilus has gone AWOL. I have scoured the tank, looked in the filter, around the outside of tank and on the floor. Nothing. There is absolutely no sign of her anywhere. Not even a fragment of a bone. G-O-N-E ... gone. I am completely cornfused. I run a prefilter on the HOB so there is no chance of that. LOST is what I am. Oh...and no critters in the basement that would have taken her. I really don't know what to say actually.

The Vitattus are showing signs of spawning so will keep an eye on that. There have been several false spawns in the past so we'll see.

Cocama's are doing well. I'm actually seeing the guys hanging closer to the ladies. Now granted this means nothing, but hopefully it will be a start.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 23-Jun-2011*

And the moment we have all been waiting for. Eggs! Woohoo!

Looks like Papa Oto is no longer in mourning. I was affraid with the loss of Mama, he wasn't going to have interest in the other two ladies. Today finally tells a different and much welcomed story.



















These were found today. Now I didn't check the tanks yesterday as I didn't get home in time but judging by their appearance, they were laid last night/early this morning. I have counted (78) at the moment. There is (1) that looks like it will be non-viable. I have some other work to do in the other tanks but will try and count again later.

Majority of the eggs are in the Bacopa and Crypt jungle. There were very few found in the Ludwigia this time.

I'm so relieved now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 24-Jun-2011*

Eggs looking good today. The one that I thought was going to be non-viable, was. I found two more non-viables as well. Along with that, there were a few more laid yesterday. One on the glass.

Hatching expected tomorrow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 25-Jun-2011*

As expected, we have a hatch. Counted 21 fry guys at the moment. Some are in perfect photo op places...but...wife has my fav camera. DOH! I'll try to use her SLR and see how well it goes. 

Found Ninja zoea in the tank too. Not sure how I missed that female. They aren't called ninja's for no reason.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 26-Jun-2011*

Counted (20) fry today. Here's a couple shots for ya:










And how hard is it to spot them when they are under a leaf:










I'll start feeding the fry this evening. Now here's a minor problem...I go on holiday Wednesday for a week. Hopefully the sitter will be able to feed according to the directions. Shouldn't be too bad but will cross my fingers while I'm gone that I come back and all will be well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

The winds of change are a blowin. Just not getting the growth I'm looking for out of the Flourite in the Cocama tank. This tank just hasn't performed since it was set up. Today...things are about to change. I'm calling in a relief pitcher. Prepping new SMS at the moment. Will be pulling the Flourite in just a few minutes. I'll pull it out, do a good bottom vac of what is left and then drop in the new substrate. Will stay with the same plants for the moment and recharge the CO2.

I'm going on holiday next week so we'll see how it does if I can get any marginal differences by that time.


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## theguppyman (Jan 10, 2010)

very cool I love this Tread


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

theguppyman said:


> very cool I love this Tread


Me too! 

Thanks!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Flourite is out and SMS is in the Cocama tank. I have to add just a bit more though. I'm kinda in crunch time mode as time is running out before going on holiday. I might not be able to snap any pics before leaving. I still have to scape and such as well. I'll probably just throw things in there for the moment and scape when I get back.

I have decided against recharging the CO2 before I leave. Don't really want to chance the sitter not turning on the air stone (no timers on this tank as yet).


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Vittatus Update:

Last update for a week due to holiday. Counted (12) wigglers actively moving about. Haven't seen them swim in and out of the Subwassertang as yet but then again, they are only a couple days old. 

Performed a water change on the tank and added a piece of zucchini. Hopefully all will be well upon my return.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 29-Jun-2011*

And a parting photo for you:

Starting to color up nicely:









I counted (13) fry guys just now. Fed the fry and lights are out. They are pretty much on their own for a week. I hope they will be able to find plenty of food in the tank. I did place a slice of zuc in there as well. Feeding is a bit complicated for the sitter and spotting fry could be a challenge. I may just have the sitter feed the powder food in a couple of days just in case.

Hope everyone has a safe 4th and we'll see you in a week. I'll probably still be monitoring while on holiday.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Back from holiday now.  They are always soooo short. But this one was especially short but time well taken. Anyway, got home very late last night so really couldn't check on the tanks. I did go downstairs to turn off the tanks with the manual lights. Too tired to really examine them. I was very curious in the Vittatus tank and almost turned the light on to look. 

Right as I was reaching for the switch on the timer, I saw a fry guy swim to the front of the tank. Using just the lighting in the room, I was able to scan around and found (3) wee ones on the glass. Very good sign. Will get a better look later this afternoon.

Another tank I noticed...Duckweed! This will tell you how fast it will grow. Before I left, I removed almost all of it from a 20long tank. When I checked last night, the entire tank was again covered from side to side. This in just a matter of a weeks time. Wowsers! Duckweed anyone? 

I'm going to stop by to get some spring water for water changes today in the breeding tanks.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 07-Jul-2011*

Check of the tanks after holiday. All looks well. No casulties to report. Whew! Always nervous when I leave for an extended period of time.

Best part of all....I counted at least (15) fry swimming around. All looking nice and healthy. This is a very good sign as the fry didn't get their special food.

Now the tank on the other hand, it needs some help. I need to scrape the front glass and .... I found Hydra in the tank. Very odd I must say. Not sure how these guys wound up showing up. I won't be scrapping the tank anytime soon though with the fry in there so I'll just deal with it for now.

Water changes are going on as I type.

Here's a couple shots to get you by for now:


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## Pigeonfish (Jun 23, 2011)

Glad they're doing well :3


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 11-Jul-2011*

Babes continue to do well and growing up nicely. Count is nearing (20) as the activity increasing. They are zipping all over the tank. Prepping new zucchini to put in for them. This group is more visible than those of past. They don't run in an out of the Subwassertang as much. I'll refresh the CO2 as well and do a water change tomorrow.

Here's a couple of shots from today:









I like this one. Shows a good shot of the belly developing and ... well ... the path of poo. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 13-Jul-2011*

Sad news...I watched a little one pass away. ( Poor thing. I tried to catch it to see if I can possibly isolate but it disappeared. I'm sure it's gone by now. All others that I can see are doing well, very active and grazing on things. Some of them look like they are really going on a growth spurt. There are all different sizes in here.

Did a water test today after yesterday's water change. Here are the results:

pH: 7.4
gh: 6
kh: 5
no3: 10 (no fert dosing until wee ones hit three weeks)
tds: 144
temp: 76

Room parms: temp: 68 / humidity: 44% / barometric: 25.75

Plants already need a good trimming since the rescape. They grew really fast. I'm going to transfer a couple Downoi crowns over to the Cocama tank.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Cocama Update*

Finally working on this tank again after returning from holiday. Ok....removed all the plants from the tank. Placed back (5) C. wendtii's. I'm pretty much using the same format as the original layout. I have (3) Wendtii's in front of the driftwood and (2) behind.

I'm going to transfer over (2) Downoi crowns from the Vittatus tank. I'll work in the same stems that were in there previously.

Also planned will be another ledge. With this one, I would like to use Fissidens, but that is going to be a tall order. I may just make two ledges and reserve one for Fissidens when I can acquire enough of it. The other I will use Subwassertang again. On top of the ledge, I plan on using Lobellia. Just have to make sure it grows properly and not leggy. But I don't think that is going to be an issue.

The canister filter has been officially removed and filtration is strictly HOB now. Current looks to be doing as planned.

Once the scape is complete, I'll get my baseline water parms and we'll go from there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 14-Jul-2011*

Vittatus fry continue to develop and are doing very well. Some are getting really dark as well. Piglets I must say.

Now...on to the interesting. The Macros are finally in spawn mode. However, unless the boys get thier act together, this is going to be a dead spawn and the lady will loose her eggs. Here's why. There are three boys in here. As of right now...I'm calling them the three stooges. The gal is trying her darnedest to get the boys to .. well .. you know. She leads them to a spot and then they swim away in their little pack crazily. Quite funny actually. Then she will track them down again and it repeats. She's so big, she's about ready to explode. I'm sure if she was able she would smack each of them upside the head. 

I think I may be partly to blame as well. I'm in the middle of a big water change and maintenance in the tank. The only thing she has to work with are C. pontederiifolia. I pulled all the stems to rescape. DOH! She is trying to work the Ponts though which is good.

Now if the guys will just get thier act together.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 21-Jul-2011*

Babes continue to grow nicely. Have colored up extremely well. I'm comparing this to last groups where they weren't as dark at this age. As mentioned before to, the sizes of some of them makes me think that someone smuggled in some steroids or something. I may have to look at random testing.  Tried to snap some pics but that group didn't turn out well. They are on tap for a water change today and their first exposure to CO2 and ferts.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 24-Jul-2011*

Little piggies what can I say. Zucchini slices aren't lasting very long at the moment with the fry guys. Excellent sign. On top of that, during this morning's check, I walked in on spawning activity. Was quite comical once I found Papa and Mama2 Oto. She was under a crypt leaf and Pops was on top. They both were looking at me as if to say "What? We're not doing anything". 

I was going to be doing a small water change in the tank today with the plant prunning the other day. However, after that discovery, I will have to wait and see what happens with the spawn first.

I also need to pull (2) ninja's and put them in isolation. Hopefully be able to do that today.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Spawn is confirmed. I was curious so I did a check look in. I saw two eggs sitting in the Ludwigia area. A quick glance in the crypts where I saw mom and pop earlier yielded about 10 more. I'm sure that come tomorrow there will be a lot more.

I have started the process of moving the Macrophilus to another tank. The new one is more set up for breeding with one exception..pH. It's 7.6 in this tank. Substrate is Eco for Planted Aquariums. It's very odd in that I am using straight tap water for this tank as it was advised not use buffers like crushed coral which I do in the other tanks. Interesting indeed. I went ahead with the move despite that number as it will provide the female more opportunities to lay her eggs. The other tank wasn't very suited for that. Maybe now the three musketeer's will get their act together. ;o)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 25-Jul-2011*

Well, well, well...we have a shame on me moment here. That spawn I was referring to...actually started two days ago. The eggs I found yesterday ... hatched today! So that tells me they had a dry run the other day and what I stepped in on may have been the beginings of the big one. No additional eggs today though so I think I disturbed them too much. Drat! Anyway, (6) wigglers found today.

Now for the problem. I am also seeing and increased amount of Hydra in this tank. A few I can deal with. There seems to be a lot in here now. They are probably getting fat and happy on the fry food. Maybe zoea from for the Ninja shrimp too. Need to find a good way of controlling these guys under these circumstances. Gonna be rough.

I'm going to do another water change in the tank this evening. Maybe scrape a few leaves to see if I can remove some of these buggers. Water change will have to be very slow dripping back in the with the fry guys.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 26-Jul-2011*

Found (11) wigglers today. Awesome deal! Will start feeding tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Hydra are gonna like that too. I'm going to start with some squishing and rubbing of plants to see if I can remove most of them that way.

As for the Macro's, well...she's trying again in the new tank. The boys as usual are being immature.  I don't know what this poor gal has to do to get them to work with her. Anyone have any studs to loan out? lol 

I'm sure things will be ok the more they get used to their new home.


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## retiredsemi (Feb 8, 2011)

thanks for the great journal I found it very interesting makes me think that I should do the same with my cichlids that are breeding.. I have about twenty little guys in my hospital tank right now and four in my 40 gal long tank


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 27-Jul-2011*

Vittatus update: (17) eggs found today, (3) wiggle waggles, didn't try to count the older fry guys. I'm really curious on the spawning activity. Of course I don't know if it is one lady or both. It's almost as if they are laying in test batches. Either that or the Hydra are actually interferring with it all. Either way, I have order some meds to erradicate them. I've been speaking with a very knowledgable person about and have been ensured that no harm will come to anything in the tank other than Hydra.

Macrospilus: The female is still trying to get the guys' attention. ADHD still taking over them. She reals them in, a little nudge game and then over to the plants. It's at that point where the boys "see a toad and then chase after it". Only explanation I gots fer it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 02-Aug-2011*

Another spawn taking place. Not sure if it will be another mini or not though. I counted (27) eggs at the moment. Most of these are laid in the Bacopa area. I've only seen a couple Hydra there which I wondering if it plays a role. Either way, I will be eliminating them soon and hopefully safely. Snapped off a few pics. Time to see how good they may have turned out.


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## jpdysart00 (Jun 26, 2011)

This is very cool. I'm thinking of getting some of these little guys for my 30g.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Got home late again today. Hatching already took place. No wigglers on the glass at the moment. Most are still on the plants. I went ahead and did the water change. Normally this is done right before the hatching but I think it will be ok. Didn't get a chance to count them before the lights went out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 08-Sep-2011*

Been a while since I've update this and the site having issues....any way....

Had a spawn just the other day but the eggs dissapeared after the first day. No clue as to what may have happened.

Pleasant surprise today. While I didn't find any eggs, I did find one freshy hatched fry. While searching for others, I started seeing more older fry. I wound up counting (6) now that look to be approaching a week in age. Very nice! I will still have to do a small water change today and will do so slowly just as if the eggs were hatching tomorrow as was expected.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Cocama Update 16-Sep-2011*

It is with great sadness that I make this entry. I wasn't going to post at first but decided it wouldn't be true to myself or to the people reading this.

I just encountered my worst tank disaster in my fish keeping years. I lost all my Cocama's due to a busted tank. Some time during the night, the left side of the light fixture broke free which fell onto the tank breaking the side pane. I have suspended lights over most of the tanks. I didn't have time to investigate as yet this morning. 

Also lost were (7) Propinqua shrimp and maybe my Brigg. I just got these beautiful Propinqua guys in yesterday too. The Crypts that were on that side of the tank were snapped. Most likely cut by the glass as the water gushed out.

Cleaned up what I could before leaving. Remaining shrimp should be fine without a filter for a while. Hopefully it is still operational. Have about 2" of water above the substrate.

This is not the end of this project. I will rebuild. I'll have a new tank put together today and then start the search for a new group of Cocama's.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Cocama update:

Still working to get the new tank the way I want it. I'm actually going to set it up more similar to the Vitattus tank this time. The Fissiden wall took a nice beating as well. Guess I didn't have it tied down good as I thought. I patched it the best I could so we'll see how it will fill in. Hopefully I'll be satisfied with it in the next couple of days.

Remaining shrimp seem to be doing ok. A couple still showing signs of stress and that is understandable.

I've also started the search for new Cocama's. Nothing has shown up on the importers lists as yet.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 13-Oct-2011*

*Cocama Update:*

Ok, dealt with another surprise today. Got home today with two boxes waiting on me. Odd, I only ordered one plant package so was only expecting one box. Opened the first one and it was the plants. 

On to the second box. The sender had my name and addy on it as well for the recipient was me too. No other markings on it. Ooooooooooook.

Opened the box to a small note inside. "Here's a couple guys to get you started again. Thanks for all you are doing with the Otos and Shrimp." Signed.....Annonymous Fish Fan.

Removed the styrofoam top and foam padding to find a bag. Inside the bag where (2) nice little O. Cocama boys!

I'm speechless at this and don't know who to thank. So whoever you are....Thank You Very Much!! That truely was a Random Act Of Kindness.

Little guys are acclimating as I type.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

aww that was really sweet of whoever did that. I'm enjoying reading back through your journal and look forward to more!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 17-Oct-2011*

Big update from yesterday. Only big by virtue of action taken in the main breeder. The Hydra are really popping up and I needed to take immediate action in this tank. It was finally time to dose the tank with Flubendazole. As nerve wrecking as it was, it has to be done.

Hundreds of shrimp zoea floating in the tank so I'm sure the Hydra are staying well fed. Time for them to be erradicated.

I moved the Briggs out to another tank. Then, I mixed just under 1/8tsp of the Flub with tank water and poured it behind the filter media. I did it that way so the media could catch the undisolved particles.

Now we wait.

{Crosses Fingers}


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

No sign of Hydra yesterday. I only focused on the areas where they were prominent. I'll get a much better scan of the tank today. All shrimps and Otos (even the wee ones) seemed just fine.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

That's good! Hydra are mean lil blighters


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 25-Oct-2011*

No signs of Hydra for the past few days. Have scoured the tank as best as I could for signs. Started to transition the tank back to normal. Began with a 50% water change and put carbon in the filter. Will run it this way for a week and repeat the process. Probably won't be for another couple weeks (at least) that I try to re-introduce Briggs back into the tank. Ninja shrimp continue to do their thing. I'm still finding zoea all in the tank. Flubendazole appears to have done it's job. Now we wait to see if there is/was any impact on breeding. {crosses fingers again}


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 13-Nov-2011*

After weeks of nail biting after the Flubendazole treatment, I can finally relax. There is a spawn in progress. Whew! I was so worried even though everyone was trying to reassure me. I didn't bother trying to count the eggs at the moment since more eggs are being laid every time I go down there. I am trying to minimize my travels for now. I'll get some pics and a count later. Right now, the majority are being laid in the Ludwigia area.

Yay!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

My photo skills have really diminished lately. I just couldn't snap off any good pics. Sry. Hopefully I can get a few before the hatching. Then it's on to focus on new fry pics.

I also tried to get somewhat of an egg count. That as well turned out to be difficult. After I left, they really worked over the Bacopa area and just laid a ton of eggs in there. I counted as many as (10) on one leaf! Only visibly saw (8) in the crypt jungle. The best news was that I haven't found any non-viable eggs this time. Usually there are a few.

Topping of the tank ahead of the hatching.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 16-Nov-2011*

Fry guys all over the place.










Mean looking ain't he?









Can you find me?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 20-Nov-2011*

Fry guys doing well. Starting to graze over everything. Beginning to feed them now. They are really popping in and out of the Subwassertang wall. Seems to be the perfect addition to a fry tank. 

Here's some shots from today:

Here's one in the wall. Just a good example of the protection it affords.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 26-Nov-2011*

Been a few days. Have been stuck at work for the past several days. Some pretty long days. Luckily...the wee ones have been doing fine. They are grazing over everything nicely. Tons of fry all over the place. Coloring up very well.

Found a few more fresh hatchlings today as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 29-Nov-2011*

Fry continue to do well. Very active. Turned on the airstone for a few minutes. Here's some shots from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Well....I hate to say this....but....I think my Macrophilus guys....are.....well.....gay! There... I said it!

The ladies are trying so hard to get the boys to get busy but they are just too interested in goofing around with themselves. It's funny and painful to watch at the same time. I think it's time for drastic action. I've given the three musketeer's plenty of time to get their act together. I think it's time to seperate them. If they don't spawn this time, I will remove all but one guy and one gal. That would put me at two Macro tanks but...gotta do what I gotta do right? 

I'm getting ready to order another group of Cocama's as well. They should arrive in the US on Sunday. Hopefully the two guys will have a lady or two to say hi to. LOL


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## mestar (Nov 17, 2011)

I have just finished reading the whole thread. Great job! Kinda like a fish opera with all the ups and downs. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. Keep up the great job!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 05-Dec-2011*

Daily check on the tanks on the positive side of things. Babes are doing very well. They have been introduced to Zucchini the other day. As of today, one slice is completely gone and they are working over the second really well. Best guesstimate on numbers from this batch is upwards of (50) at the moment.

Also found today were more eggs. The Bacopa area once again appears to be the area of choice with over (20) eggs found there. There are a few that I can see in the crypt jungle.

Turned on the airstone for a few minutes. Will be feeding some algae powder shortly as well.

Pics to follow.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Here's a couple shots from today:

Nomming on a zuc:









And some of the eggs from today:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*Cocama Update:*

I have placed an order for some more Cocama's. They should be here sometime this week. <crosses fingers that there will be at least one lady in the bunch> 

The two guys are still doing well. They are literally piglets; can go through a slice of zucchini in just over a day.

Going to look at changing the some the scape around a bit. Not too increadibly happy with how it's growing so we'll see. May just have to work with what I have at the moment as shipping plants this time of year isn't all that great.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Cocama Update:

New guys (and hopefully gals too) arrived and acclimated just fine. These ones have a different look then the ones I've had in the past and the two that are currently in the tank. They have big black and white bands and the white portion is bright. Very beautiful little guys. I'll snap a couple pics and get them posted up. They are already eating zucchini and cruising the tank very actively.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

And finally a descent shot of the new Cocamas:










You can see how these guys have a broader striped pattern than the others.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Took a bit of a hiatus over the holidays. Let's try to get caught up a bit right quick. About the only thing that I did to the tanks during that time was feed and top off the water. Still have quite a few wee ones in the tank. They definately love zucchini as it barely lasts two days in the tank. There are a couple of juvenilles that I need to move into the holding tank.

The tanks themselves, jungles. Really over grown. I'm in the process of trimming and doing gravel vacs. TDS numbers are a bit on the high side from where I like them. All the CO2 bottles need to be recharged.

The Cocama's have been really active of late. There is one definate female. I believe there may be one more but still a bit on the young side to determine. The older lady from time to time does have a couple guys around her but I haven't seen any tell tale signs of a hint of a spawn. Just social get togethers.

As with the old tank, this tank as well just doesn't seem to want to produce the nice lush planted environment as the others. I'm leaning towards the lighting now actually being a bit too much. I will be making an adjustment to this as I clean up the tank a bit. The Fissidens didn't even take hold which surprised me a bit. I'll try to salvage what I can of it and see if I can work with it in another tank for now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 19-Jan-2012*

Been a spell since I've udpated this. My apologies. I've kind of been letting things run their course so far through the start of the winter season.

The Vittatus tank has gotten severely overgrown. I started a massive trim on it yesterday. The TDS got pretty high as well. I have removed the HUGE Subwassertang wall and did a small vac of that half of the tank. Had to give it a good shaking out to make sure none of the Oto fry guys were in there. Hopefully they all left. I have submerged in a bowl of water just in case. I'll give the wall a good trimming and get it back in place today. Next will be a thinning of the Crypt jungle. The Bacopa has as well went crazy. There are shoots all over every stem. Almost like this tank went on steroids or something. The funny thing is, I have dosed ferts or refreshed the CO2 in the tank during this run. Quite interesting.

As for the fry, looks to be around (20) or so that may have made it. Hard to get a good count at the moment. A few are big enough to move over to the holding tank now.

I'll get the tank pieced back together and get it back on it's normal routine. It was good to see what would happen by just doing top offs on it.

The Macrosphilus still haven't got their act together. I did a trim on thier tank and put some more plants in there for them. Guys still being distracted with each other. Have not split them up yet even though I keep telling myself I need to. I'm trying to be as patient as possible with them. I'm pretty sure the ladies are losing patience. 

One major goal that I would like to see accomplished this year is to find both O. Flexilis and Mimulus. Of course a Cocama spawn is still on the list, but I have no control on that one.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

The great wall of Sub has crumbled. Wow was there a ton of it! That side of the tank looks so bare now.  All the babes are extremely active after the work done. Zipping all over the place. It's really neat to watch as there are all different sizes of wee ones. I'll give it a couple of days and then I'll do the other half of the tank; the crypt jungle. I noticed one mother crypt has a double spathe under water. Pretty kewl I must say.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Revamp of tank is now complete. Just have to let the dust settle and let things take their course. CO2 recharged and in place. She's a bare tank now.  Looks that way at least. I'll snap a new tank shot tomorrow.

Wee ones seem unphased by all the commotion that was going on around them. A few of them even landed on my hand as I was replanting.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 25-Jan-2012*

Well I got a nice little surprise today. Got home and checked on things and look what we found:



















And even one on the glass:









I didn't originally notice them. I went to check on the tank and noticed that the MM that I had "attempted" to plant was gone. When I got to looking around, that's when I found the first eggs.

It's good to see that all the hacking that I did to this tank had no effect. I was going to replant the MM and adust the airstone back but if the spawn is ongoing, I don't want to interupt it any more than I already did.

Here is the tank after the hack. Notice the wall of Subwassertang is soooooo small now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 28-Jan-2012*

Hatching as expected occured yesterday. Wiggle waggles all over the place. Here's a couple shots:










Something about this one I really like.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Another one to not get my hopes up, but I went down to go on the great snail hunt and I walked in on spawn activity from the Macrosphilus. We've been down this road before but I took a break from the hunt to give them their space. Let's see if the boys can get their act together. We'll see where it leads. {crosses fingers}


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## ashes2ashes13 (Jan 29, 2012)

Really excellent James! I love your Breeding project journals, and the pictures. Also, the baby Otos are just so freaking cute! I love the pictures of them by the shrimp on the zucchini in the first few pages. =)


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 02-Feb-2012*

All looking good with the Vittatus. Looks to be about another (20) or fry guys so far. This group is grazing like little piggies.  The other Juvies continue to do well. There isn't alot of cover in the tank since the big trim so it's dog-eat-dog when it comes to finding a leaf to sit on. They are encroaching on the adults area. Will be moving them soon to a holding tank to finish growing out.

I think I'm going to change tanks around. Since I can't seem to find Flexilis or Mimulus ....... yet, I think I'll move the juvies over there where there is a ton to munch on.

As for the Macro's, no dice...again.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 07-Feb-2012*

Vittatus tank is way overcrowded at the moment. Counted (33) young fry guys yesterday. Survivor rates are going up. That's a great sign. All of them except for (6) where on two slices of zucchini. I need to get the older juvies out. Hopefully be able to work on that today some. All in all, there are somewhere around (60) Otos in this tank! The older ones are just about ready to find new homes. Will be doing a water change in the tank today.

Going to try and do some scaping in the Macrosphilus tank. See if I can change things around just a bit to see if it will help. I'm doing everything I can not to seperate the boys but I just don't feel that's going to be possible.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Started moving some of the older juvies out last night into the new holding tank. I think they are in hog heaven with all the diatoms in the new tank. I just moved over one small batch to see how they were going to do. As of this morning, all were just fine when the lights came on. Will move over another group this evening and that should take care of the older ones.

The younger fry continue to do very well. One piece of zuc was gone yesterday and the other piece was in a black out conidition. There were that many covering it. I really should keep a camera down there for times like this.  Will put in fresh pieces today.

I delayed the water change since I was catching the fry. Will do that once all the bigger juvies have been relocated.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

This round of Oto rodeo is complete. All the juvies are now out of the breeding tank and in the holding tank. Some were pretty easy to get. Others were just plain stubborn. It'll be about another two weeks and they will be able to find good homes.

Prepping fresh zucchini for both tanks. Will have to recharge the CO2 as well but that will be a weekend project.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 14-Feb-2012*

Approaching the one month mark for the latest arrivals and all is just perfect. Today I visibly counted (37) babes in the tank. Fat and happy. Zucchini's don't stand a chance. I'm going to start adding an additional slice in there just to ensure everyone partakes...I.e ... the adults. 

Over in the holding tank, the babes there are doing well too. Think I will hold on to these guys til the end of the month and then find them some homes.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 05-Mar-2012*

Babes have done wonderfully and continue to grow rapidly. Looks like I will have to start moving this batch over next week at the rate they are going. The tank is literally swarming with activity. I'm going to leave one additional male in the tank this time. Let's face it, papa Oto is a bit old now but still having fun. ;P

20% water change with mild gravel vac in all tanks. Will be recharging the CO2 today and adding fresh zucchini. 

I have finally decided to split up the Macros. I've been saying it for a long time but giong to pull the trigger this time. It will probably be tomorrow when I get around to it. The ladies are just so plump and they are really trying to keep the guys' attention.  Maybe with one gentleman in the tank, things will change.

Nothing new on the Cocama front. They remain active and doing well. Just no sign of a spawn. I need to tweak the scape in their tank just a bit too.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 06-Mar-2012*

Came home to a pleasant and very unexpected surprise today. No...nothing with the Cocama's. 

While checking in on the juvie Vittatus, I found a wiggler on the front glass. Closer look and I found a total of (4)! Did not expect this at all. There were no tell tale signs and the tank has been too active for a viable spawn. I never saw any eggs either. Which such a small amount of fry, this spawn had to be very small. A lead up to a bigger one in the coming days. Kewless.

Checked in on the Macros and all seem to be doing well. I need to get a few more after splitting up the boys and putting them in a different tank. Might just get a female and throw in there with them so they don't feel too left out.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

i just read this entire thread..wow about 12 hours of reading with me coming and going..how do you tell the males from females..and a very good job on raising them and a great journal.

Rick


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Thanks.

The females will be larger and have more rounded bellies. Especially viewable from the top. The males on the other hand are smaller and are more streamlined from head to tail.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

ok thanks..i really enjoyed this thread..very inspirational..

Rick


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## George71 (Oct 3, 2011)

James this great, your journal has been a life saver for me the last few days
Don't suppose I could impose on you for a bit of advice to save as many of my Oto fry as possible.

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f86/yay-oto-babies-beginners-luck-33583.html

Again great thread

George


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Impose away.


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## George71 (Oct 3, 2011)

I have about 20 fry in a 3 litre tub floating in my tank. I'm doing three 50% water changes each day and replacing with tank water with good stats. I've also started feeding them Liquifry and placed a good handful of gravel in the tub, which they seem to already like and staying next to - a bit suprised by that for 2/3-day old fry.
I don't have room at home to set up another tank to raise them. 
As I've managed/been lucky to have 4 fry survive from eggs within the tank for a month now, so my tank conditions must be fairly good.
All I'm hoping to do is keep as many as possible alive until they are free swimming enough to release in a couple of the more secluded spots and hope they win through like the others.
I've sourced a shallow 6 litre tub and I'll tranfer to that soon.
Basically if I thought that keeping them in the tub for too long would mean certain death I would release them now and let them take their chances

Situation is not idea, but any advice would be great
Thanks


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Been a spell since I've updated. Time for the younguns to move out.  In the process of moving them and finding new homes. Did a partial trim on their tank. Think I overly hacked the aquatic Kudzoo (Subwassertang). I didn't feel like removing the wall this time to trim it. It's not too bad but.....

Ladies are showing signs that they are ready but there is too much activity in the tank with the wee ones. I'm expecting a new spawn any day now.

Unfortunately, nothing new to report on the Cocama's or Macrosphilus.

O. Flexilis and O. Mimulus are still on me hit list so if anyone has any leads, certainly drop me a line.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update - 13-May-2012*

Good news! Good news!

Routine maintence today in all the tanks. Using my typical method of a drip line to add the water back into the tanks one gallon at a time. Just went down to check the jugs and replace the empties. A look in the Macrosphilus tank and ..... drum roll please ..... Houston ... we have a spawn in progress!! YaY!

The bad part though, most of the eggs I saw are not viable.  Very typical with a first spawn though. Finally a break through for these guys. Now all eyes are on these guys to see the progression. Get the routine down and hopefully we'll be good to go.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update: 14-May-2012*

Quick check of the Macro tank and I was only able to find (3) eggs. I snapped a few pics but none turned out. After analyzing the pics, I found that one eggs is non viable even though by eye it looked good. Wonder what happened to the other eggs?

Light bulb <insert voice of Gru here> .... it dawned on me ... I have (3) Pygmy Cories in this tank to. Know how Cories will eat their own eggs .... I'm pretty sure they would eat others to if they find them. Hmmmmmm ... might be time for a relocation project for them guys.

I'm getting ready to go back down there and give it one more glance over before the lights go out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

No eggs or fry were found yesterday. Will continue to monitor for future developments.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 26-Oct-2012*

I always love present surprises.

Let's back up and then get back up to speed. It's been a very long time since I've updated my journal. Got busy with work and such I just haven't really done much with my tanks. They are pretty much just "surviving". I really let them go and am ashamed of myself. I haven't noticed any new spawning during the very brief moments I get down to the fish room to feed and top off. Heck..I haven't even done any water changes <ducks for cover>. And to be completely honest....I haven't a clue the last time I did a water change. Just feedings and top offs. About all I had time for. I barely have enough time to get on the puter from time to time.

Fast forward to today. Tired of seeing these tanks in their current conditions, I decided to take a stand and get some better time management going. I'm starting with my high tech tanks. The first one I started yesterday. The plan was to pull all the plants, scrape the glass and get rid of all the <blankety blank blank> duckweed.

Today, I finished pulling the plants. Netted out about 98% of the duckweed. I then fabricated a duckweed filter using a small powerhead. I put the filter in the tank and turned it.

As I was watching it do its thing, I saw something swim up and lite on the front glass. Upon further observation...it's a wiggler! WOW and KEWL at the same time. Then I saw another on the side glass. I decided to remove the filter and then put a sponge over the HOB intake. I wound up counting (4) wigglers in the tank. I parent group is (5) and they are still rather young which surprises me. I wouldn't have thought they would be ready to breed yet.

This particular tank wasn't even a planned breeder tank. It was really more of a test tank for Otos as the pH is extremely low (<6). They are Vittatus by the way.

So now, I need to get the water cleared up again and get the plants put back in.

I'm really limited on time but will try and keep this more update and I apologize for all those that have been following and not getting their fix with updates.

Annnnnnnd....if people are still following......I am still looking for O. flexilis and O. mimulus.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Now I really feel bad. I just went and installed the pre-filter to protect the fry. Started looking around and found a newbie. Not more than 24hrs old! Crap! Now I'm wondering if I washed away any eggs and/or other babes when I rinsed off all the plants. Ding Dang It!


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

I absolutely love this thread (now that I found it LOL). I love otos and wish they were easier to get here. I totally understand the feeling of thinking you have thrown out babies. I am sure I have done that with some mouthbrooding species babies before without knowing they were in there. Hopefully there weren't that many in there at that time.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 30-Oct-2012*

Now that the dust and Superstorm Sandy have cleared, I looked in the "other" tank today and was able to find (3) wigglers out and about. Didn't know if they would make it or not since I broke the tank down and scrubbed down all the glass. Active little buggers I must say. I'm not doing anything special in feeding these fry guys. Being a high tech tank, I have to keep the balance. So far, they are doing well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 04-Nov-2012*

Went to do a water change on the new tank today and found (2) older wigglers and (7) new wigglers on the glass. Never found the eggs. I think the plant arrangement in the tank will make it hard to find the eggs. There are only two broad leaf varieties in there. I will have to look harder from now on.  Proceding with the water changes on the breeders and go from there.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 08-Dec-2012*

Check of the tanks today and discovered a mini spawn in the main breeder. I didn't look thoroughly but managed to count (8) viable eggs and (1) non viable one. It was actually the non viable egg that caught my attention as it is a white ball sitting on the substrate.

This comes on the heels of a major rescape of that particular tank. Its part of my de-duckweed and de-snailification process. I completely removed every plant and ensured they were snail free, scraped the glass and removed the moss wall. I hadn't put the moss wall back in as yet and is on the schedule for today.

So today will be a water change, CO2 change and placing the Subwassertang wall back in preparation of the hatching.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 09-Dec-2012*

And hatching has begun. Found (3) wigglers so far. Several more eggs left to hatch. This will be a bit of a challenge to keep since the scrubbing of the tank. Have the food prepped and ready. Need to get past the 48hr mark.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 11-Dec-2012*

Spotted (10) wigglers yesterday. Started introducing prepared foods for them. Tank isn't a very thick jungle as yet so used a dosing dropper to target spot where I placed the powder.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Everyone likes pictures of fry guys right? Wee ones are starting to venture around the tank more.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

D'aww, wish I had more than a 5 so I could have a few, they're the cutest things ever!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 16-Dec-2012*

Found (10) wiggle waggles this morning. All still doing fine and coloring up nicely. Very active bunch. Really working the tank over good.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 17-Dec-2012*

Wee ones continue to progess very well and remain very active. Water change on the tank and added a couple slices of zucchini. Being how active they are, I went ahead and fed early to keep them grazing.

On a disgruntled note, I'm still finding pond snails in the main tank. Grrrrr. Just shows how resiliant they are. One here and there but managable. I squish when I find them. What's worse is that I cannot put the moss wall back in until I know they are gone. That would provide them a big hidey spot which of course I don't want.

And on a positive note, I did find a baby green shrimp in there this morning as well. Maybe a good sign for them as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 19-Dec-2012*

All is well in Oto land. Wee ones have discovered just how good zucchini is.  Still grazing nicely.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 30-Dec-2012*

All babes present and accounted for. Colored up very nicely and remain extremely active. These guys took a little longer to hit the zucchini but now have learned its a good nummy num. They aren't so skittish now when I walk by as well. Scrapped some GSA off the front glass and will be recharging the CO2 tomorrow. Think it may be safe (snail wise) to but the Subwassertang wall back into place.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 31-Dec-2012*

Might by my last update for 2012....we'll see. 

Just went down to dose the ferts in the tanks today and walked in on a potential spawn. Crap! I walked past a breeder to get to another tank and I was opening the lid, I caught the two doing the dance in the tank. I very carefully and slowly dosed both of those tanks and then low crawled away from that area. 

Good thing I don't have a live cam on that tank like I planned. Woulda been funny to see that. 

Finished dosing and started a little mainenance on the Cocama tank. There's a male and a female hanging out together. This tank is in dissarray as I'm doing a big TDS clearing and rescaping. But I haven't noticed a male and female hanging out in a while. My only problem with these guys is that I have (6) guys to (1) lady. I need to get a couple more gals in here.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Just went down and did a stealth peek in on the tank and confirmed that it was in deed a spawn. I could only see the Bacopa area and there are quite a few eggs in there. I'll get a better look tomorrow and see what's in the whole tank. Great way to end and begin a year.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Woo, new years babies! Nearly...


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Happy New Year!

Went and checked on the spawn from yesterday. Pretty nice numbers. I found a total of (51) eggs this morning best I could tell. Pretty much even split between the Bacopa and Crypt jungle this time with 23 and 26 respectively. Found (2) isolated on a different plant.

Here's a couple shots of the new (not quite ready) arrivals:


















And here's a shot of one of the older siblings:









Guess it will be a bit longer before I put the Sub wall back in.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 02-Jan-2013*

And we have a hatching today. A double hatching actually. The Otos hatched out and a mama green shrimp also hatched her young uns.

I was able to visibly count (29) newly hatched fry guys. Here's a couple of shots for ya:


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 03-Jan-2013*

Got home a bit late today but was able to get a quick check of the tank before the lights went out. I was able to find (41) wigglers during my quick scan. I went and began feeding as well. Some of these guys look like they are gonna grow pretty fast by the size of them. Adding new zucchini as well for the others.

Snapped some pics but they are all pretty crappy. Didn't get the opportunity to do a do over today.

One interesting thing going on with the tank now is the appearance of BBA. Not really sure why this has cropped up as the lighting, ferts and CO2 haven't changed. Have to think on this one for a bit.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 10-Jan-2013*

So unfortunately, I regressed a little with this lastest batch. I made a rookie mistake but was a good learning experience to add more data. Being that the spawn was mid week, I didn't do a water change but instead just made sure the tank was topped off. I had a good hatch out and at day two, I was able to count over 40 wigglers. The next day, the numbers diminished greatly with just under (20) being visible and found a few wee ones on the substrate that had passed. I immediately suspected something wrong with the tank and did the water change then.

As of today, I'm still able to visibly count around (12) wigglers. The new guys were really actively grazing yesterday when I checked them. The juvies are still do really well and continue to grow nicely. They are just about ready to move over to the holding tank.

Lesson learned. Always so a fresh water change prior to hatching.

Will have to do some plant prunning in the tank this weekend as well.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 15-Jan-2013*

Question: How do you make short work of a planned tank maintenance day? 
Answer: Walk in on a spawn in progress!

Soon as I walked into the fish room to grab some jugs to fill, I caught one of the male Otos swimming off. Closer look at the tank and found a bunch of eggs in the Bacopa area. I immediately grabbed up the jugs and left the room.

I'll have to check my notes, but I think this is the first time I've had (3) spawns this close together. Now...will go back to my normal deal of a water change before they hatch which will be tomorrow afternoon.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 17-Jan-2013*

And we have a hatching today.

Went down last night and did the water change right before the lights went out. Came home today and was able to visibly count (19) new wigglers lounging around. Took my usual photos and will check them out when I get back from the gym. There was one shot I hope turned out. There was a fry guy from each of the three spawns right next to each other. Looked pretty kewl.


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## chipmunk1210 (Jul 3, 2012)

I hope that your pic turns out good. I would love to see the difference between each of the spawns. I love following this thread with all the lovely otos and the luck you have spawning this often difficult to spawn catfish is awesome.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 18-Jan-2013*

Count goes up today. Saw (23) new wigglers on the glass. Trying something a little different this time around. I went ahead and administered the first powder feeding a day early. Wondering if by chance this may help with getting better results. If anything, the others in the tank will have lots to graze on. 

Got lucky as well with the water change. With all the rain we have had lately, our well water is turning to the brown side. I filled all the jugs up the other day so have plenty of good water to conduct all other WCs tomorrow as planned.

Now for the bad news. The "money" shot from yesterday was bad.  Man I wished that would have turned out.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 10-Mar-2013*

I'm thoroughly convinced now that my fishy friends have ESP.

Why you ask? Well simple....today I had planned to go in and trim the main breeder, do a good vac and replant the Sub wall. Guess what? Yep...a spawn in progress. 

I'd really like to know how they do it? And it was random this time as I just this morning decided to do the work on the tank. Unlike before where I would pick a date. Too funny.

I didn't bother trying to count eggs yet since it's in progress. The Bacopa area seems to be the point of focus right now.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Late check on things last night before lights out and all is well. I didn't stay too long so I didn't count eggs as yet. Just more of an observation at this point. I'm thinking this may have been a spawn from the young female in the tank. I found (1) egg on the front glass and (2) on the back. This is highly unusual which makes me believe it is the young one.

Another interesting note in regards to the plants. This will be another spawn where there are very minimal to no eggs located on the Acmella repens or Ludwigia atlantis. Very interesting and not sure why. That area of the tank was a the #2 egg area early on. It has become #3 now behind the Bacopa monnieri and Crypt jungle respectively. I think I will pull those two plants out and try to score some L. ovalis to replace them.

After this batch grows up, I will need to thin out the Crypts again and at that point I will replace (or put back in that is) the Sub wall. That's a big fry trap that's missing. I may just attempt to put it in today, but don't think I'll be able to squeeze the time in to do so.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 14-Mar-2013*

Much bigger spawn than I thought. I managed to count (48) wigglers yesterday right before the lights went out. I would say a good 80% of them are in and around the Bacopa area and mostly all wee ones are on the glass. This is another unusual aspect for this batch. Now normally they all eventually migrate to the glass, but it usually takes some time. It's more common to find them staying on the plants for the first couple of days. Interesting.


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## knowles3 (Oct 15, 2011)

fascinating , keep the updates comming, also what temperature do you keep the otos in?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

knowles3 said:


> fascinating , keep the updates comming, also what temperature do you keep the otos in?


Thanks.

I keep them in the mid 70s. 74-76 to be exact.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 17-Mar-2013*

Wasn't finding very many wee ones in the tank so I started questioning my food availability for them. I decided I needed to move some of the Green shrimp out of the tank. Might have turned out to be a good decision as there were a lot more in there than I thought. Pulled out a good 30+ small ones out of there. Might shoot for more today or tomorrow to be safe.

As I was rumaging through the plants, I would stir up the Oto fry and the good news is that there are still good numbers alive in there. Was funny watching them swarm out of the crypts as I used a bamboo skewer to help flush out the shrimp. 

Mixed up the first batch of powder feed and fed accordingly. Gave the big areas a nice coating.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

just a question for you about the oto journal.will thay eat the hard green algae off side of the glass?thanks


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Sry..they wont eat GSA.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

*The Oto Journal - Update 24-Mar-2013*

Time for some drastic action in the main breeder. Algae has really set in. I've always had a little bit of BBA but it has not really bothered me. Now, hair algae has set in and grow rampant. I had to take action even with the wee ones in the tank. I'm pulling out all the plants and getting rid of the most infected leaves. The hard plant will be the Littorella uniflora. Will have to very carefully rub it off so as to not damage the plant.

I just removed all the crypts and I found all the wee ones. Counted just over (20). Yay! Good batch even though still not 50%. Real test will be to see how they do with this tank maintenance. It's gonna be a big hit. Will also be gravel vac'ing to get the TDS down as well. I will also need to scrape the glass for the BBA but will leave the back alone for now. Will just have to provide plenty of powder food for now until things can build back up.

Pulling even more shrimp out as well. That will lighten the load of this tank considerably. Two ladies are ready to pop so need to get things back in order for them.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Man did I stir up a hornet's nest. 

All the plants are now out of the tank. There are Oto's and shrimp swimming all over the place. It's real funny to watch as an adult shrimp will settle somewhere and out of the blue a baby Oto will swim right into it. Sometimes even landing on the shrimp. It only lasts for just about a second but pretty funny to see an Oto on a shrimp. I snapped a couple of blurry pics but might post them anyway.

The wee Otos are just litterally working over every inch of the tank. The substrate looks like someone kicked over an ant hill.

Have all the plants cleaned and ready to go back in. Now just have to wait to vac out more of the substrate. Long process but hopefully be back to normall in a few hours.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Working in the zebra tank this weekend. Time for another big swing at it.

Cleared out the tank of all plants and driftwood to clean them up. Removed a ton of snails. Still have a few more to get this morning as I spied when the lights came on but nothing major. Found some egg sacks on the glass to remove as well.

As for shrimp, I have relocated the C. thams. I also have a small Tangerine Tiger project in this tank as well. My TT's threw a couple of white/clear tigers with orange eyes. I've seperated all them and put them in this tank. So there are a total of (6) of these shrimp in this tank now.

Today I will do some more gravel vac'ing and washing off the plants to put back in. I'm in the market for some small flat(ish) driftwood as well to build a ledge.


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