Talk:Otocinclus

Lots of opinions on this fish. I am going to get a few from my local fish store to try them out. When I follow the links I see much disparity of facts on this fish. Seems to good to be true: an algae eater that won't grow beyond two inches. For such a miracle fish you would think that there would be encyclopeadic tombs written. But, alas, no. Can anyone contribute something, anything, substantive, here? Please. Anthronify 04:45, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

They don't grow that big, they do eat algae, lots of it, the trade off in aquarium terms as that like any other fish they produce waste. The more fish you have the more Ammonia in the water and the more electric filtration systems become important. It's not a myrical fish, but it does cut down on algae, you'll still need to scrub your tank bimonthly or so and keep it filtered. Ask your local Petsmart, that's where I learned about fish.71.94.63.105 (talk) 15:56, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Aquarium hobbyist addition: I've kept these fish for many years, and there are a few details that should be added. You will have the best luck initially if you buy these in groups of at least 3 or more. It is my understanding that they require a particular bacteria in their gut to be able to digest their food, and if they stop eating due to transfer stress the bacteria can die off. When they settle and start eating again, their bellies can become fatally distended if they do not have access to the feces of their fellows to replenish the beneficial gut fauna. Otos do not eat many types of "nuisance" algae, only the soft brown and green varieties, so you will still have to diligently monitor water parameters and clean your tank regularly. They prefer soft water to hard, and absolutely zero salinity. If your tank is not planted, you may need to supplement their diets with other plant matter. They do not eat "hair" or "spot" type algae, nor blue-green algae (which is not algae anyway; it is bacterial). They are best suited to planted tanks. Best to find a local fish store that buys from a local breeder and NOT an importer - imported fish are often poisoned to facilitate capture. Avoid individuals with overly red gills - gills should be barely pinkish and visible only from the underside, not visible from the lateral side of the fish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PhilosophiaGratiaArtis (talk • contribs) 21:05, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Dwarf Otocinclus
Uploaded this image, but didn't have the time to add to article. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otocinclus.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Graham73may (talk • contribs) 20:13, 23 August 2010 (UTC)
 * The color balance looks peculiarly blue. --Tryptofish (talk) 13:23, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

Author citation
FishBase, used as a reference in this article, does not use initials in author citations for any of the species in this genus (Scientific Names where Genus Equals Otocinclus); neither does Catalog of Fishes, another major fish database which FishBase itself very often uses as a reference regarding taxonomy & nomenclature (Species in the genus Otocinclus). From the WP article on author citation:
 * "If the same surname is common to more than one author, initials are sometimes given" but "not all animal groups / databases use this convention" and "it should be noted that in the examples given in the Code and also the ICZN Official Lists and Indexes, initials are not used". XenoVon (talk) 10:05, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

Baby otocinclus or Chinese butterfly?
Discovered several algae-eating baby sucker fish in my external filter 3 days ago, am I right to guess they are baby otos even though they don't have a black stripe like the adults? Or is this a Chinese butterfly? BACbKA (talk) 11:44, 5 October 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure, but they seem to have vertical striping, which I would not expect for otos. --Tryptofish (talk) 21:42, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I'm baffled as well. The paint scheme is exactly like the adult butterflies I have, but the body shape is very much like the otos I've got. Uploaded the suspected parents' pictures. There are no other possible parents in the tank. I have never had either of them breed before to the point where any offspring survived, so I don't know what they look like. How old should a beaufortia grow before one can see the fins show the distinctive butterfly shape? How old does an oto grow before they get the pronounced black stripe along the side? BACbKA (talk) 09:17, 7 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks for posting the adult photos. I don't know the answers to those last two questions, but my gut feeling is that the fry are beaufortia, because the striping pattern matches so closely. In any case, my congratulations on getting this to happen in captivity, which is a very nice accomplishment! --Tryptofish (talk) 13:59, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll pass the congratulations to the happy parents :-) As soon as the fry morphs into something recongnizable, I'll post... BACbKA (talk) 14:57, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Great guess! The little fry got more recognizable. The flippers began rounding, and for the last 4 days I'm observing the characteristic beating with the front flippers as the adult beaufortia are doing. Meanwhile they are having fun with the adult sturisoma couple in the growth tank.

In the second video, the cleaning went on for smth like 15 seconds before I fired up the camera. BACbKA (talk) 19:56, 23 October 2015 (UTC)


 * Good! Yes, it's very clear now that they are not otos. My compliments on your fishkeeping as well as your photographic skills! --Tryptofish (talk) 22:44, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I have created a new category while researching what I've been observing. See Category_talk:Mucous_feeding_fish. BACbKA (talk) 20:31, 6 November 2015 (UTC)

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Factual incorrect
"Only wild caught Otocinclus are available to hobbyists". I personally breed them along with tons of other hobbies. This should be deleted. Two secons google search give you hundreds of breeder 6thstreetfisherman (talk) 02:09, 30 March 2020 (UTC)