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Otocinclus Otocinclus Affinis
Common Names:
Dwarf Sucker Mouth, Sucker Catfish Right is a picture of an otocinclus catfish. It is a small (2") algae-eating fish which is perfect for the tropical freshwater aquarium. It is a diligent worker, doesn't have an aggressive bone in its body, and is fun to watch interact with others in a group. Other names for otocinclus are "otos", or "dwarf suckermouth catfish". The picture left is of a nice fat female. Since otocinclus are mainly herbivores they need massive quantities of greens to keep them healthy. The best form of this is the soft green algae that is sometimes difficult to see. A fat Oto is a happy Oto! If your otocinclus is slim in any sense of the word then you need to supplement their diet with zucchini or spinach, or figure out a way to grow more algae! I cannot imagine having a community tank set up without some of these little beauties in it. They even have their own web site, which is where I got some of this information. You can supplement an otocinclus's diet with vegetables from the supermarket. Every fish is different, and some will flock to one vegetable type and shun another. It's important with all vegetables to wash them completely and make sure they are free of pesticides. Some of the more common vegetables to feed:
Preparation of the vegetables is a matter of taste and your experience of what works the best for your fish. What I have experienced is that the otocinclus will ignore a fresh vegetable in the tank, but once it has been in there for 12+ hours or more then it registers as food. My current theory is that after time the vegetable matter deteriorates to a point where it gets a little mushy and is more palatable to the rasping mouth of an otocinclus. One way to speed this along is to blanch/parboil the vegetable. Usually 30 seconds in a microwave while sitting in a small dish of water will be good enough to soften the vegetable. Cooking it will also help it sink sooner and much more easily. Instructions for the delivery of vegetables is pretty much universal. We need to weigh down the vegetables so it can stay in one spot long enough for the otocinclus to reach it. Floating vegetables will mostly go unnoticed unless you have very little surface current to move the food around with, and even then my otocinclus rarely go up to the top of the aquarium tank walls.
You can use "Veggie-Clips" sold in most fish stores to attach vegetables to the side of the tank with a suction cup. You can also use a rubber band and attach it to a small rock which is then placed on the bottom. Another method is to use leftover plant weights (the silvery strips that come with stem plants) and stick it in the vegetable to make it sink. I prefer the weights and sticking them into the vegetables, this provides more surface area for the otocinclus to suck on and cling to, but it's just a personal preference.
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