# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  Most attractive looking Otocinclus

## yck

what is the most beautiful type of otocinlus ? i cant find any website showing different oto spieces , any bros here can recommand ?

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## benny

If it's specifically _Otocinclus_ spp. you are looking for, this site might be of interest to you.

www.otocinclus.com

Cheers,

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## yck

checked this site , no pictures show

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## marle

its tiger Oto for me.

Feel that its really unique.

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## Freshman

Website showing different Otocinlus species  :Smile:

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## illumnae

Oto. cocama aka Zebra oto for me  :Smile:

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## samuelgoh

so far i only know of zebra otos and the normal ones! 
hw does a tiger otos look like ?

is there any special requirements when it comes to zebra/tiger otos ?

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## Ah_ZhaN

So far, the following two are the most exotic looking "_oto_" that I personally preferred. Still no luck in keeping them alive for more than 5 months. 

 Parotocinclus sp. "Peru" aka tiger oto

Nannoptopoma sp. "Peru" aka orange zebra oto

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## Quixotic

Well, you can't have it both ways, either it is an _Otocinclus_ or it is not.  :Grin: 

Tiger and orange zebra are technically not _Otocinclus_ spp.

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## Ah_ZhaN

You're right! That will make O.cocama the next favourite & prettiest otocinclus spp. locally.  :Grin:

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## illumnae

but rare, unfortunately  :Sad: 

had to wait months for a shipment to arrive when i wanted one, and it got snapped up in less than a week lol...no idea when the next shipment will arrive

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## yck

> Well, you can't have it both ways, either it is an _Otocinclus_ or it is not. 
> 
> Tiger and orange zebra are technically not _Otocinclus_ spp.


*Why you* said that ?  :Crying:

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## aquanatix

> If it's specifically _Otocinclus_ spp. you are looking for, this site might be of interest to you.
> 
> www.otocinclus.com
> 
> Cheers,


Heads up for the link! Never did imagine that there'd be people who'd dedicate a web page for a fish most of us here think of as just "cleaning crew"
On an interesting note...Singapore was actually mentioned as the country that sort of bred the fish 1st? Though the news was dated back 2003 it sure puts our SG aquarium hobby to international perspective? 
Link here: http://www.otocinclus.com/zebra.html

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## Quixotic

> *Why you* said that ?


Uhm, because they are obviously NOT Otocinclus.

Tiger oto is _Parotocinclus_ sp. "Peru". Orange zebra oto is _Nannoptopoma_ sp. "Peru".

The tiger/orange zebra oto names are merely trade names. They are so called oto only because they look like _Otociniclus_ and easy to use.

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## DanGoh59

The otos (other than the common ones) that I've seen over the 
years are as mentioned by Bros above:

- Zebra oto
- Tiger (Peru) oto
- Orange zebra oto

Unfortunately, these are seasonal and are seen only a couple of
times in SG. And they disappear very fast off the shelves, too.
The other thing to take note and has been shared by many is that they
are very, very sensitive fish. I had tried all but none managed to
survive more than a month. One moment they can be seen to be
very active, nipping away on the plants. The next day, they are
gone. Btw, I still haven't given up on them yet. Still waiting for
next shipment of these  :Grin: 

Many years ago when the LFS at Jln Lenkong Tiga (Kembangan)
was still around, they use to have what they call "golden" oto.
Very beautiful and some have black markings while others are
all "golden" - pale yellow. They are small - similar to the common 
oto. Have not seen it anywhere else besides this shop and have
not seen it since. Still wondering what it was actually??? It is 
definitely not the small albino bristlemouth that are quite common 
nowadays.

Just sharing my experience with otos.

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## fisherw

I've had very little luck with otos as well. They are very efficient in clearing up especially the brown algae on the plants. But very quickly the algae gets eaten up and I try feeding with blanched veg or cucumber slices or algae wafers. But they seem to be finicky and fussy eaters. Then I see a carcass and have to fish it out.

Although my buying otos are utilitarian (to clear up the algae), I enjoy watching their frisky swimming. But don't like to see them dying off so quickly.

What type of food is best?

(Sorry if this is taking it OT.)

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## yck

oto are really fussy eater , i really agree

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## Quixotic

_Otocinclus_ are not just mere herbivores, they are more omnivorous than you think, so they can (and IMO, should) be fed with other types of food as supplements, e.g. frozen blood worm/live tubifex every few days. However, meaty/high protein food should not be the main diet as it may cause bloat issues. Also, they are diurnal fishes, so they feed during day time.

I don't really think they are fussy eaters (wait till you get fishes that absolutely eat nothing but live food only!). Zebra otos are said to be very difficult, but I have no problems with mine, alternating/mixing between flakes (including veggie flakes), frozen blood worm and cichlid pellets.

Generally, I had more success keeping them following along these lines. However, these are mainly based on what I have read, observed and how I kept them in my tanks, so mileage will certainly vary as there are many many things that cannot be foreseen.

1. Algae and plants in the tank.
2. Prefer matured tanks (seems like they don't do too well in new setups).
3. Lower temperature (higher disolved oxygen and they live longer). Higher temperature accelerates their aging.
4. When purchasing them, always choose one that is actively moving, grazing around. Those that stay still and don't move around much may be easy catches, but don't seem to do too well.
5. Purchase one without sunken stomachs (indication of bacteria infection).
6. Acclimitise them via the drip method. I find the survival rate to be 50-50 via the floating bag method, while I have no casualties so far with the drip method.
7. Mixed diet (vegetable matter, meaty food, pellets, flakes, wafers, live food).

P.S. Tiger/orange zebra aren't _Otocinclus_, so they do not apply with the above.




> Many years ago when the LFS at Jln Lenkong Tiga (Kembangan) was still around, they use to have what they call "golden" oto. Very beautiful and some have black markings while others are all "golden" - pale yellow. They are small - similar to the common oto. Have not seen it anywhere else besides this shop and have not seen it since. Still wondering what it was actually??? It is definitely not the small albino bristlemouth that are quite common nowadays.


This sounds very much like _O. affinis_. However, nowadays, it really is difficult to find the real _O. affinis_ and any other similar looking/unidentified _Otocinclus_ are sold as _O. affinis_ in the trade.

Here are previous discussions about _O. affinis_ that may be of interest to you.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...6&postcount=15
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=29440

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## illumnae

I've had good results feeding Hikari algae wafers and New Life Spectrum cichlid formula to my Zebra oto. I don't get the same positive reaction to bloodworms like Quixotic does though.

Wonder when the next shipment of Zebra otos will come in...i want another one!

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## celticfish

i remember seeing a write-up on a holotype collectedfrom Peru or Argentina.
i think i have the PDF file but will hunt for the webpage.
it is a green coloured "oto" (i'm not sur if its a true oto).
and it looks really really nice! *SWEET*
also, remember seeing some pictures in RVA.
has specimens of these come to our shores?

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## Quixotic

Irwin, I think you are referring to this Argentinian fish, _Epactionotus aky_? PDF from Freshwater Fishes of Argentina.

Too bad it's not an _Otocinclus_. As for it's availability, I vaguely remember someone having this before (mervin?) but not sure if this was from the local market, or hand carried from overseas.

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## celticfish

yes! thats the one quixotic.  :Grin: 
rats, its not an oto too...

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## WeiXiong

> _Otocinclus_ are not just mere herbivores, they are more omnivorous than you think, so they can (and IMO, should) be fed with other types of food as supplements, e.g. frozen blood worm/live tubifex every few days. However, meaty/high protein food should not be the main diet as it may cause bloat issues. Also, they are diurnal fishes, so they feed during day time.
> 
> I don't really think they are fussy eaters (wait till you get fishes that absolutely eat nothing but live food only!). Zebra otos are said to be very difficult, but I have no problems with mine, alternating/mixing between flakes (including veggie flakes), frozen blood worm and cichlid pellets.
> 
> Generally, I had more success keeping them following along these lines. However, these are mainly based on what I have read, observed and how I kept them in my tanks, so mileage will certainly vary as there are many many things that cannot be foreseen.
> 
> 1. Algae and plants in the tank.
> 2. Prefer matured tanks (seems like they don't do too well in new setups).
> 3. Lower temperature (higher disolved oxygen and they live longer). Higher temperature accelerates their aging.
> ...


 
Reply from WeiXiong
Sorry, can you explain to me what is the drip method?  :Smile:  I don't understand what. Sorry, newbie here. So much things to learn :Huh?:

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## Morgan01

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=14740

in my opinion this is a far too troublesome for me.

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## RHX

I use "puncture floating bag method". All my 5 Zebra otos survived.

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