# My Oto Fry



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

Spotted several oto fry several days ago on my glass. They grow bigger everyday. I think now they are free swimming so I only found one on the glass. The pattern is showing up nicely. They are about 1 cm in size. My breeding pair is on the go again today, been laying eggs on my mushroom plant. It's quite interesting, they clean up the area first, and only drops 2 to 3 eggs at a time. Sorry for the picture quality, but you can vaguely match out 3 slightly yellow eggs on the leaf.


----------



## Nomo (Jan 21, 2012)

Congrats on the egg and hatch. What's your water perimeter for them to breed?


----------



## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

Way to go!


----------



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

Nomo said:


> Congrats on the egg and hatch. What's your water perimeter for them to breed?


Hi, thank you all for your kind words. I keep discus in the tank, so my pH is around 6.8 through a controller. Temperature around 82 ~ 83. Ammonia, Nitrite 0, nitrate close to 0. It is a new tank. Before I had many plants, I recall an algae bloom. Increase in food might have triggered their spawn. But I'm not 100% sure. I'm pretty fired up after discovering all these new eggs. Haha!


----------



## Nomo (Jan 21, 2012)

haha is always nice to get a good surprise in the tank.


----------



## archgop (Sep 19, 2010)

Wow amazing job!! 
I thought that Otos can't be bred in captivity.. And almost all of them in the stores are wild caught...


----------



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

Thanks! Ya, I've heard that it is rare as well. Maybe they had a lot of food due to my initial algae bloom. How are the glossos doing?


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

That is amazing.. congrats on the new fry ! Hope they all grow up nice and healthy for you.


----------



## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

what do you feed your otos?


----------



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

Symplicity said:


> what do you feed your otos?


Hi, I don't really feed them extra stuff. Just the brown algae growing in my tank. The female's ready to spawn again. Saw them doing the ritual couple days ago.


----------



## Scotmando (Jul 10, 2011)

How many adult otos do you have in the tank? 

Great job!


----------



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

Scotmando said:


> How many adult otos do you have in the tank?
> 
> Great job!


Thanks. Just 3. One female and 2 males I think. It's a 90 G tank


----------



## Scotmando (Jul 10, 2011)

baozi2089 said:


> Thanks. Just 3. One female and 2 males I think. It's a 90 G tank


Well, I'm impressed!

Will you take the fry out to a grow out tank?


----------



## brigitteisveryspecial (Dec 2, 2009)

Very cool! What's the update? Any more fry?


----------



## Jiinx (Apr 5, 2012)

Wow! Congrats! I bought a few zebra otos but I figured, even if they did spawn, their eggs would be eaten! I'm surprised your discus hasn't eaten them!


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Any chance you might be selling some of the fry when they are old enough ? If so, I'd be interested in some.


----------



## brigitteisveryspecial (Dec 2, 2009)

Fishfur said:


> Any chance you might be selling some of the fry when they are old enough ? If so, I'd be interested in some.


HA! That's what I was wanting to get at! I hate buying wild caught, so this makes me happy!


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Me too. It especially bothers me that they use cyanide to stun fish to catch them.. and Otos are one they use cyanide on. Which no doubt explains their tendency to perish soon after you get them home, no matter what you do for them. It must do terrible damage to their immune systems, being poisoned like that, and then caught and shipped. No wonder the attrition rate is so high. I for one would not mind paying more for tank raised Otos, if only because the chance of their surviving is going to be so much better. I really hope there are going to be some for sale !


----------



## brigitteisveryspecial (Dec 2, 2009)

Fishfur said:


> Me too. It especially bothers me that they use cyanide to stun fish to catch them.. and Otos are one they use cyanide on. Which no doubt explains their tendency to perish soon after you get them home, no matter what you do for them. It must do terrible damage to their immune systems, being poisoned like that, and then caught and shipped. No wonder the attrition rate is so high. I for one would not mind paying more for tank raised Otos, if only because the chance of their surviving is going to be so much better. I really hope there are going to be some for sale !


UGH! I TOTALLY get you! I find it such an appalling practice. People are still not even knowledgable enough about laser pigmentation techniques used to dye fish, and how horrible that is. I think I will be a long way down the track before people start to speak up about the atrocities that go along with wild caught fish.

I want ottos so bad! But this year I made a promise to myself to only buy 'second hand fish' from the fish forum, Craig's, kijiji or friends. I love stores like Menagerie, to name one, but really, by supporting pet shops, I'm just supporting something that I don't agree with. Since my money and status as a consumer is my loudest voice, I have pledged to boycot the fish trade.

This is a disgrace to our hobby, and why my friends are so confused as to why an animal-loving vegetarian owns a fish tank!

I would indeed pay more for a tank raised Otto!


----------



## baozi2089 (May 17, 2009)

brigitteisveryspecial said:


> HA! That's what I was wanting to get at! I hate buying wild caught, so this makes me happy!


Haha, sounds like I could start a mini oto breeder. I've been out of the country for a month, and will be for another. I haven't seen how they are yet, but I hope to get a mini hatchery started as soon as I get back. Fingers cross!


----------

