[BR the Betta]

Happy Holidays, hope you all are doing well.

Has anyone here had issues with their Otos only eating cucumber (veggies in general) and not the algae or biofilm growing in the tank? If so, were you able to get them off the veggies and back to eating algae?

My Otos will pretty much go straight to a fresh cucumber slice and hang on it and eat it for as long as it is in the tank. Once I remove it they just hang around on the glass and plants near where I hang the cucumber until I put in another slice. I usually wait about 3 days to see if they do anything, then get nervous cause I haven’t seen them eat.

Tank parameters are good and stable and I perform weekly water changes at 20-25%. Oh, there’s plenty of algae growing on plants and glass.

Thanks

 

[johnson18]

Stop offering the veggies as often? I’d be surprised if they really weren’t eating any of the algae/biofilm. Even if you spent several hours a day watching them you still wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on them all the time. Most of the time it can be difficult to tell where they’ve been, unlike some snails that will eat a clear path as they go.


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[GrampsGrunge]

Are you certain your algae isn't BGA? Otos wont touch Blue-Green Algae or Cyanobacteria. They should also like well blanched Zucchini and yellow summer squash.

 

[Griznatch]

Mine seem to work on algae and biofilm when the lights are off. I have a boatload of shrimp in there and the otos eat pretty much everything they do. so.. when I feed the shrimp, the otos actively eat too. they are plump and healthy looking, and my tank is mostly algae free.

My otos really like blanched dandelion greens and carrots, as do the shrimp - if you are looking for alternatives to cucumber.

 

[BR the Betta]

Are you certain your algae isn't BGA? Otos wont touch Blue-Green Algae or Cyanobacteria. They should also like well blanched Zucchini and yellow summer squash.

Stop offering the veggies as often? I’d be surprised if they really weren’t eating any of the algae/biofilm. Even if you spent several hours a day watching them you still wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on them all the time. Most of the time it can be difficult to tell where they’ve been, unlike some snails that will eat a clear path as they go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mine seem to work on algae and biofilm when the lights are off. I have a boatload of shrimp in there and the otos eat pretty much everything they do. so.. when I feed the shrimp, the otos actively eat too. they are plump and healthy looking, and my tank is mostly algae free.

My otos really like blanched dandelion greens and carrots, as do the shrimp - if you are looking for alternatives to cucumber.

Thank you all for the replies. My otos literally hangout on the lily leaves and stems at the top of the tank. They will move a little bit from leaf to leaf and thats about it. They rarely suck to the glass anymore. I have a big brown spot of algae on the back wall of the tank and where the glass meets substrate. They never touch it. They don’t clean plants or driftwood either. I will give them 3-4 days with no veggies to hopefully start working on the growth but nothing. I watched them all day over the weekend and just hanging out on the leaves.

As soon as I drop in a veggie slice, they go straight to it. I get worried they will stop eating and starve themselves after several days of minimal activity. They are plump and healthy and I would like them to stay that way for years.