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growing algae for otos

J

jamesandrewgreen

Seedling
Joined
13 Jan 2012
Messages
12
Contrary to most of the posts here, I actually want to encourage some algae growth for food for my team of otocinclus.

I have read that people do this by putting stones in a separate tank in a sunny windowsill, which I have tried for a week but nothing has happened!
I used water from the main tank and added a little extra fertiliser. Does the algae tank need filtration/ water movement/ aeration?

Any advice appreciated.
 
Give it another week. I had some plants in an ice cream tub on the windowsill and the inside of the tub was coated in green after 2 weeks. :thumbup: (You arent changing the water though right ?)
 
I added or was growing on some java fern and within a week, plenty of algae.

Did you use water from tank, always goood to use old watter frm a water change. Good chance Algae and bacteria exist to trigger a bloom.
 
I always do this for both my ottos and shrimp.
Leave a basin of water in the garden and chuck some cobbles and stones in it, leave a few weeks and they are nice and green. chuck them in the tank and let them eat, meanwhile there are more going green for them.
 
My otos also seem to browse extensively on the biofilm on the dead oak, beech and indian almond leaves that I add to the tank, so you could try those as an additional food source. I have no visible algae and don't feed the otos anything else, but they always look good and plump so it seems to do the trick.
 
mark4785 said:
Do otos only eat algae?
Click to expand...

Some say they can't get Ottos to eat anything but algae, which is why some die in newly established aquaria.
On the other hand, some seem to be able to chuck in anything and the ottos will have a go, blanched vegetables being a particular favourite.

So its just dependant on the ottos themselves I guess, fussy little blighters.

:D
 
Whitey89 said:
Some say they can't get Ottos to eat anything but algae, which is why some die in newly established aquaria.
On the other hand, some seem to be able to chuck in anything and the ottos will have a go, blanched vegetables being a particular favourite.

So its just dependant on the ottos themselves I guess, fussy little blighters.

:D
Click to expand...

I was advised to buy some Ottos to clear up an multi-strain algae issue in one of my tanks. On a positive note, I rectified the algae issue, but on the negative side, both of the Ottos died due to lack of algae growth. They wouldn't eat anything I offered including several types of veg, Tetra Tabimin food and other manufactured foods. Perhaps LFS should ID the one's that eat algae only and the ones that don't mind a varied diet so consumers don't waste their time like I did thinking they eat anything.
 
I do the slate in a tub of water, place several stones in tank water on the kitchen window and they soon get a nice covering of algae.
My otto does like veggies aswell though. I hardly see any algae if at all in my tank but he/she always has a nice round tummy


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I,ve got 5 ottos in a fluval edge which don,t touch the algae on the glass or the Bog wood but eat away on cucumber all the time .
No idea why the, batch in the main tank won,t touch cucumber but just scrounge around "looking for algae"

I,m going to swap them over at the weekend to see what happens .
 
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