# otto fish markings



## Ryan Thang To (2 May 2015)

Hi guys

I brought 2 ottos nearly 10 week and i notices one has a different marking and was wondering if there was a name for him. Normally it all dark black but this one got grey patches.

Cheers
Ryan


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## tam (2 May 2015)

There's a few varieties I think. I bought more to keep my original company - he's solid dark grey on top and the new ones are more like the one in your picture sort of blotchy but the stripe also breaks before the tail.


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## Ryan Thang To (2 May 2015)

Cool. I thought i add a special one haha


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## tam (2 May 2015)

He could be  He doesn't look quite like either of mine (I'll take a pic tomorrow) and I don't know how many varieties there are.


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## sciencefiction (2 May 2015)

This is a coloration of a stressed oto. Watch him. What I mean specifically is the "white" between the grey patches. If he settles eventually I am pretty certain he'll colour up brownish as the rest of them.


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## Mick.Dk (2 May 2015)

I have had A LOT of Oto's swimming private tanks, test-tanks and expo-tanks. And I've been wondering, too, why they differ so much. To me there is clearly differences in shape of fins, shape of body, shape of head, coloration and adult size. It's not individual differences -'there seem to be several fish with same appearance, but different from another caracteristic group-appearnce. I can (more or less acurate) select 3 or 4 different "strains". The differences does not relate to fish of different stress-levels, in these cases, I'm absolutely sure.
The "types" happily mix in schooling, but when breeding, they actually also seem to prefere fish of same "category" (but this is defenitely not empiric, since it hasn't hppened that often).


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## BigTom (2 May 2015)

There are quite a number of distinct oto species, many of them very similar looking and never really distinguished in the trade. Take a look at planet catfish or somewhere similar. 

Sent from my Xperia T using Tapatalk


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## Vinkenoog1977 (2 May 2015)

Looks like an O. Vittatus.


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## sciencefiction (2 May 2015)

He looks like an O.vestitus to me but I find it hard distinguishing them. It's the blotch on the tail that tends to differ.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/image.php?species=otocinclus_vestitus&image_id=511

But those commonly sold apart from zebra ottos,  all get "brownish" coloured back once they are happy with their environment and stress has passed.  Black/white looking are ottos after an extreme stress. You can see them in this black/white colour in the fish shops when they have just arrived in the shops from transport.  At that stage the mortality rate is high and if you pick ottos, pick the "brown" ones as they have a greater chance of survival.


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## tam (2 May 2015)

This is one of my blotchy one, other one wouldn't cooperate.


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## Ryan Thang To (2 May 2015)

Thanks for the info. Really interesting. I never had a different otto before first time i see different markings. I had a quick look on google and i do see some like mine


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## Ryan Thang To (2 May 2015)

sciencefiction said:


> This is a coloration of a stressed oto. Watch him. What I mean specifically is the "white" between the grey patches. If he settles eventually I am pretty certain he'll colour up brownish as the rest of them.


I dont think this is stress. My otto love to Swim and eat all day long lol


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## sciencefiction (2 May 2015)

I hope that's not the case legytt. I am only sharing what I know.


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## Jay1 (18 May 2015)

Here are mine four and wow diatoms are gone!


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## sciencefiction (18 May 2015)

He, he, and a couple of mine. The one closer to the glass is my tank raised one year old otto.


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## naughtymoose (18 May 2015)

Two pics of mine


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## sciencefiction (19 May 2015)

Oh, wow naugthynose, what are those?

The second one seems to be telling you something about your co2 distribution


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## Ryan Thang To (19 May 2015)

naughtymoose said:


> Two pics of mine


Wow that is one fat healthy otto 
Isit actually that colour?


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## dw1305 (19 May 2015)

Hi all, 





sciencefiction said:


> Oh, wow naugthynose, what are those?


_<"Hisonotus leucofrenatus">._

cheers Darrel


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## naughtymoose (19 May 2015)

Yes, (Hisonotus leucofrenatus). I have 2, a male and the female pictured. They were sold to me as 'Black Otos'.



sciencefiction said:


> The second one seems to be telling you something about your co2 distribution


The drop checker had recently popped off the glass, so I hadn't refiled it!


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