Dwarf suckermouth catfish a.k.a oto cat
otocinclus affinis
It belongs to the family Loricariidae
Click here to learn more about the catfish in general.
Origin:
Southeast Brazil
Description:
A slender catfish with a suckermouth. A fairly high dorsal fin, but no adipose fins. About 1 ½ inches in length (4cm).
Color:
A base color that is light greenish gray to a muddy yellow. The fins have no color, or in some cases a light green.
Sexual distinction:
Mature females will be much bulkier.
Tank conditions:
Needs a current of some kind. So you can’t just have one in a bowl that doesn’t have a filter current, or current from a bubble curtain. Temperature 68-73 degrees Fahrenheit (20-23 Celsius). The ph and hardness ratings are not that important. The tank should be well planted with lots of hiding places.
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And don’t worry about the plants, the oto cat a.k.a dwarf suckermouth catfish will eat the algae that grows on them. That brings me to my next subject.
Food:
Will mainly eat vegetation, will also eat very small worms. Most people often buy the oto cat a.k.a dwarf suckermouth catfish to eat the algae growing in their tank, which it will earn it’s keep by doing.
Behavior:
Usually remains under cover during the day, most active at dusk and during the night, which is it’s normal feeding time. Will attach it self to the sides of vertical slabs of rock, plant leaves and stems or the side of the glass.
Sexual reproduction:
A difficult fish to breed, but what I’ve learned is that they breed similar to Corydoras. The eggs hatch after 2-3 days. The fry should be feed baby brine shrimp (artemia nauplii) micro worms or egg yolk powdered very very fine.
Compatibility:
Somewhat territorial but harmless. They will be just fine in a mixed aquarium when enough room is given.
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
ok I have 4 of these kinds of fish, they all started off skinny, but now one of them is REALLY fat, is she I’m guessing pregnant, or just really happy? if she were to lay eggs, should I remove the guppies from the tank the the little guys aren’t eaten? Also what type of water do the babies need, I have a Whisper 10g filter in the 10g tank, should I turn it off once I notice the fish is skinny again?
Thanks for the question!
Well, it really depends on the condition that you got them in, she/he may be when purchased, was malnourished and is indeed just happy and eating away. But yes, they do lay/scatter their eggs on the leaves of plants so if you want for the eggs to hatch, if you think that she is prego, then I would remove the guppies. The guppies love to eat the stuff that grows on the leaves so they will just in turn eat the eggs as well.
Hope this helped, if not just leave another comment.
Thanks!!!! I think that my fishy is still getting fatter, I look at he/her everyday so that if she did all of a sudden get skinny I can pull the guppies out. I’m not sure what condition they all were growing up in, but when I got them they weren’t aneraxic. right now the water is at about 80 degrees, I know guppies like it around 76degrees, but its close enough to me. there’s not much algae to eat, but still slimy stuff on the side when I stick my hand in there. I also have a plentiful amount of snails that join the cleaning crew. I was thinking of getting some ghost shrimp, but do they carry desease like fish do? and also if you know much about ghost shrimp, will they be ok with a filter, and do they need any special stuff in the tank?
i have a ghost shrimp snails guppies and platys and i’m still getting an otto
Yeah, just keep and eye on it to see if it all of a sudden gets really skinny. The snails I would reomve too if all of a sudden if the dwarf suckermouth catfish gets skinny, the snails will eat the eggs.
But ghost shrimp, yes they can carry disease so you still need to be careful. Never buy them from a tank where they are eating dead fish or if there are any dead fish in the tank. As for special requirements just don’t treat the water with any medication because most medication will kill them. Also just a heads up, they do not live that long. Usually the one’s you buy are intended to bee feeders so they are not raised in the best of conditions so they live for about 2 months usually for me.
But thanks for the comment and just keep them coming!
Mark
wow that’s a pitiful lifespan for ghost shrimp, oh ya I forgot about taking the snails out.
Thanks again for all of your help.
mine live 2 years
I know, but they are only $.25 and are, to me, worth it. They are rather interesting to watch and they catch almost all the food it seems that slips between the rocks in my substrate.
P.s like the snails, they will eat the eggs too!
Thanks always for the comments
Mark
My ghost shrimp lived through the anti-fungal/fin rot treatment i had to do because of a sick albino tiger barb (still alive not much in the way of fins left) but the ghost shrimp are still kickin a day and half later, just an observation in my tank.
@ New2This,
That’s interesting, normally treatments such as that are fatal. Thanks for the comment!
-Mark
I need some help.
I have a 10 gal. tank with a few oto cats and a few danios. One of my oto cats look pregnant.
When I was growing up we had a net that clipped on to the inside of the tank to separate the babies from the other fish so they didn’t eat them but I don’t think that would be appropriate for an oto.
I’m not sure what to do.
Welcome to the site Bev!
When an otto gives birth they like to lay their eggs in a heavily planted environment, so having a birthing mop wouldn’t be a bad idea, I assume the mop is similar to the net you used as a kid. If you don’t want to go and buy a birthing mop you can just add a ton of fake plants to the tank and let the otto lay the eggs where it chooses. Make sure to isolate the ottos from all other fish while the eggs are being scattered amongst the plants or the mop. Any other fish will eat the eggs and destroy any chance you have at having any fry surviving to adult hood.
Let me know what your thoughts.
Just wondering – would an oto cat or two be all right in a tank with a betta? It’s a six gallon tank, no other critters but the betta in it, lots of nooks and crannies and plants to hide in. Betta is not as aggressive as most bettas I’ve had, but is a ravenous eater (loves to hunt brine shrimp when I can get my hands on live ones!)
Still, does not flare much at things outside his tank, and did not seem all that upset when I floated some otos in a bag (for an hour, till I could leave work and bring them home… I know, not the greatest move on my part, but all three otos survived the trip and are happy and fat in my tank at home) – he came over, gave them a casual glance-over, then went on his merry way, swimming contently through his big tree and ‘ruins’.
Thanks ahead of time for the help!
@ Melanie
Thanks for the comment!
It sounds like you know the temperament of you your Betta pretty well and I would normally to not risk it but in your case I would give it a shot. The odds seem better than normal so just see what happens.
@ Juwel Aquariums
Thanks for the nice comment! Yeah I think that the videos are better than pictures but I must admit that not all the videos are of my tanks. I would like for them all to be but I simply can not house that many tanks.
6 gallons is a little small do you have a filter
Great use of youtube with your website, it really helps give us a clearer view of your great aquariums.
Q I have a small turtle that I found in my backyard last summer during a lot of rain we had. He’s about the size of a coca cola can
my Q is would it or would it not be good to add fish to the aquarium
I have a 30gal. aquarium with a basking area when he’s not in the water I wanted to add suckermouth or do you think would be bad.
great website
Welcome to my site Rod!
Personally I wouldn’t risk having this particular algae eater in the tank with the turtle. Turtles eat much larger sized fish than the Oto cat and I am willing to bet that the turtle would eat the suckermouth. If you decide to get a larger tank 75+ gallons I would say you could get a sailfin pleco, they will get larger than the turtle so no worries there, but you need a large tank to keep one.
If you are thinking about getting a larger tank here is the sailfin plecos profile.
Sailfin Pleco
The only fish you really want to have with your turtle is feeder fish such as smaller sized goldfish or rosies, which are just a type of minnow.
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask!
Mark
I plan to buy a few algae eating fish, I’m fun of the suckermouth I
wanted to know are they going to be the size of a catfish, & what other fish would be good toput into the tank with them I wanted to get about 4 suckermouth & 10 other small spices of fish any recommendations……..thanks again for the info on my turtle
Welcome back Rod,
This Oto cat a.k.a dwarf sucker mouth catfish doesn’t get to be much longer than 1.5-2 inches in length, so I guess the answer would be no, the oto cat not get as a big as other catfish.
Some good tank mates for the Oto cat would be the guppy, common platy, different types of tetras and more.
If none of the fish listed above interest you let me know and I will tell you some more types of peaceful pet fish.
And just glade I could help you with your turtle
Thanks always for the comments.
Hi There, what a great site, plenty of usefull hints and info
wonder if you could advise, i have a small community tank with the usual suspects, guppies, ember and neon tetras barbs etc, i also have a couple of yoyo’s, i have just added 4 drarf otos, was that wise with the loaches?? your advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Hi Steve,
First and foremost how large is your tank?
But considering you have said that you have a small tank I’m thinking that you need to upgrade you a larger tank 20-30 gallons.
Yoyo’s get to be around 6 inches, kept in too small of tank will shorten the lifespan of your Yoyo’s significantly.
Once in an appropriate size tank all your fish will do fine, you have great community fish so there should be no fish missing on the mornings haha
I recommend that you just have hiding places to accommodate all your different fish. Even if there is no aggression your fish will thrive if they have places to hide, and oto’s like to hide.
If you have anymore questions you know where to find me.
Hi Mark,
I have a 10 gallon with 6 glofish and I just purchased two Otos. The Otos are barely eating. I bought Hikari Tropical sinking wafers for them but my little community of flofish keeps eating it! They are such agressive eaters! I feed the glofish in the morning doing the 90 second rule or until the bully of the bunch knocks all the food out of the feeding ring and prevents others from eating. I am trying to make sure they all have enough to eat without raising the nitrite levels. I don’t want my Otos to starve to death, what should I do to help them eat? Please help!!!
Hi Navaria,
Drop the waffers in at night, make sure the lights are off. The goldfish will eat some of the waffer still but if the tank is dark the Oto will for sure get some before it’s gone.