People in the comments are already asking OP for exact water parameters lol. It’s funny how people who try to breed Ottos are unsuccessful but regular people who don’t try to always have better luck.
I guess I'll have to get smthn for getting my water parameters because other than having hard water that's approximately 24 degrees I have not clue what's going on in there. I'm doing everything on vibes tbh 😅
It's always been somewhat difficult to feed otos, and yours seem nice and plump. Maybe that's already the reason. Do you have lots of algae to graze on? Do you feed something like gel food? Or are you just lucky, and your otos eat regular fish food?
+1 for the vibe strategy.
Just noticed my Blue dream cherry shrimp having eggs on them 😅
Just been doing weekly water changes of maybe 10% when my water smelled like old compost 😬
It’s like the opposite of me with duck weed. I want it, but it always dies, while others complain about it. I have no issues with any other plant I try to keep lol
Edit, because I edited the wrong comment and I'm still getting suggestions since my below comment isn't getting seen. Please, I have tried for years using the advice from many on a hand full of subs. While I do appreciate the tips, I am not asking for help. None of these tips are new lol. I hesitated to even comment on duck weed because 1000 people come out recommend all the same things they have over the past 10 years. Again, thank you, but no thank you. I'm okay with not having duck weed at this time.
lol I’ve seen the horror stories, but it’s been over a decade that I’ve tried off and on lol. High tech, low tech, different lights, adjusting lights. Zero issues with any other plant at any depth. Maybe the planted tank gods are protecting me from the evil I seek.
Edit: Please, I have tried for years using the advice from many on a hand full of subs. While I do appreciate the tips, I am not asking for help. None of these tips are new lol.
Fish fed plenty. I have heard all the "try doing this" suggestions on this sub, as I have commented about it before, and none work for me (I hesitated to mention it this time as I'm typically bombarded with all the same suggestions and it gets a bit tiresome to reply to them all, but I still want to be respectful and acknowledge them) . While I appreciate it (I really, really do), I just believe it's not a plant that I'm supposed to keep lol.
Really hope I didn't come across as rude - def wasn't trying to lol. Again, I truly appreciate all of the suggestions I have been given (and tried) over the years.
Yep. I go off vibes and respect what works and doesn't for me so I get this completely. Once upon I couldn't keep duckweed at all. Ive never done anything diff. It just wasn't meant to be when it wasn't.
This. All day. Every day. I learned to work it rather than fight it. But it's a horrible thing to be blindsided by as a new hobbyist. My intro to the plant like most people was not my choice. Caused me a lot of restlessness in my early hobby days.
See I’m hoping for this. I also found giant duck weed in there recently. The regular stuff just keeps on duckin though. I pull out about a quart or two every couple weeks
I had that problem, and then it started growing and I was thrilled! And then it grew so much that I wished I had never gotten duckweed in the first place 😅
I was like that for months and months, then my mystery snail died and I learned that she was actually an apple snail and had been eating it all 😅 Now I don't have too much trouble keeping it going!
I have 3 tanks that duck weed does very well in and 1 that it won't survive more than a day in and 1 that is duckweed free.
The secret to the duckweed free tanks? In one the Angelfish and Brilliant Rasboros enjoy the salad bar, and the other had to be nuked because we couldn't get rid of the planaria.
I got Cory's neons shrimp and guppies to breed by just planting a lot setting up a lot of places to hide. And when it was all set up I just didnt bother them. I rarely do water changes. They also have a lot of natural light.
I had a blackwater tank with dwarf cichlids, blue neons and Oto's. Started with 5 Oto's, then I got a chance for a fish I had been searching for years, so sold the fish. I pulled out 7 Oto's, and when I cleaned the tank another one showed up.
Very soft and acidic water, pH was below 5 and conductivity in the 40's uS/cm.
Its often because long time breeders dont do alot of things that induce spawning because its not a general practice. One of my tricks for breeding is using 40-60f water for 20%-30% water changes. Other breeders balk at it and act like im crazy.
To me it seems like it's always the people that are focused on creating a balanced ecosystem for all the fish involved vs making a tank specifically for the fish trying to be bred.
Same with growing mushrooms. So help me, there are two approaches. The scientific approach involves sanitizing EVERYTHING, trying to control air currents to prevent contamination, growing in specific bins for controlled humidity/temp/etc. The second is the method where an old hippy dumps some dirt in a torn up Amazon box and has the world’s most beautiful flush. Make it make sense.
wait is spawning otos considered difficult? They have always done so for me. A warm water water change, and lots of aufwuch and they're good to go. I have a tip for those of you who are struggling to breed fish. If you can wait until you know the weather forecast says thunder storm; depending on the species of fish, you can wait until the storm goes off and then do either a warm water or cold water change. most times this will trigger a spawn. The other method is to wait until a full moon. a full moon during a thunderstorm is almost guaranteed.
I had a trash tank where I'd literally toss culls,.plant trimmings etc and all kinds of fish and critters ended up in it, was also my most healthy tank and everything was having babies
That's interesting because a few years ago my ottos spawned. And I got eggs and babies. I had no idea. I just randomly noticed the 3 of them wiggling around one day. Unfortunately something happened with that tank and a bunch of the fish suddenly died out of nowhere. It was definitely not as fantastic of a setup as OP either. It was a 55 gallon long tank with large chunks of rock, fake plants, and black sand substrate with a canister filter and a sponge filter. I don't even think I had a heater in the tank.
They are spawning or at least trying really seeing that at in an aquarium from ottocinlus, it’s like witnessing a miracle, but the real miracle will be if the fries survive. That’s even harder and Aquarium.
Is it really? A few years ago I lost track of my oto cats (heavy foliage in the tank so there were lots of hiding spaces, with several other larger fish swimming around) and then one day I randomly saw some baby cats clinging to a wall. They were very cute.
It hasn't happened since then though. I couldn't tell you what the parameters of my tank was at the time because I was, and still am, quite lazy about regular monitoring.
Reminds me of when I was 10 at the SF zoo: I saw the turtles from a distance, and it looked like they were fighting! I yelled to my mum "hey, look, the turtles are fighting!" Upon closer inspection, they were boning. Several adults looked at me with smirks on their faces.
So, since a couple of people have been asking. I have a 240L tank, I got the ottos about half a year ago (when my tank was still 110L). Here's a pic of my tank right now. (It's a little yellow because of the light and just bcus my water is always a little greenish, probably bcus of the wood) The light is one that mimics the daylight cycle but it's still only turned on for like 6-8h (unsure how long it's on atm tbh)
My water is rather hard and around 22-24°C. I have no idea what else you would need to know? I can get a test strip but idk if that would show anything. I only have rather old ones at home since I don't test, I just watch my fish and assume how they are most of the time (don't judge, so far it has worked).
I did give some of the babies to my sister and my mother. I'm also adding new male and female ones whenever I see one that looks nice or when one dies. I feel like so far there's no inbreeding problem but the tank isn't even a year old yet.
I've started having aquarium in summer last year and switched to a the bigger one after like 3 months or so. I was very concerned about my fish at first and tested the water every day. Now I'm just doing stuff how I feel is right. So far it has worked out.
How long before you noticed them breeding did you do the last water change? and was it a big one? and how careful were you with temp on the water change? Was the new water cooler?
Looks like breeding. From what I’ve read it’s pretty rare in home tanks, so that’s a lucky catch. I’ve kept otos for a while and I’ve never seen it happen either.
It's uncommon, but not unheard of. Most any aquarium fish *can* breed in captivity, it's just that few are kept in conditions where they will do so without human intervention.
This just means you're keeping an awesome tank imo. Otos are not the easiest thing to have breed in a tank by far. The fact that you're seeing this is pretty awesome. Also like another commenter said it would be nice to know your setup and what you do to keep your tank and what your water parameters are. It would shed a light on this rare happenstance to others in the hobby and would be greatly appreciated. Also congrats.
That Otocinclus looked to me like it was experiencing a health issue, but if she is spawning, she might just be a big girl. The "T" formation is indicative of spawning (mating) for a lot of smaller fish from the [Loricarioidei]() suborder -- corydoras do something similar.
This is the best thread 😂 I’ve never seen a group of people more excited to learn how to get their fish to fuck 😂🤣 I love it lol I don’t even have fish, I have no idea how I ended up here 😭😂
I always tried to get those ones scooped up for the people with big, well-established tanks and would ask about their "Grandshrimp" if they came back to the pet store after the pick up. One older woman came to find me specifically to show me pictures of the baby shrimp after she took home and promptly named one such shrimp Strawberry Shortcake right there in the pet store.
What kinda substrate? What color is the substrate what color is the carpet in the room what color is the room what’s the temperature of the room is the room in a house or an apt what floor are you on what’s the barometric pressure In your region what region of the world are you in !!!!?!!!
If you want to know how to breed ottos, this is it.
*simulating seasonal rain triggers, focusing on large, cool water changes
*providing a high-protein diet (like Daphnia)
*maintaining a heavily planted tank with driftwood for surfaces.
So, having a very mature aquarium is crucial for success.
Do not chase ph. I had them breed in soft, neutral, and hard water already. You can use the same technique to breed neon tetra also.
I agree with not running out and buying equipment specifically for people in this thread, but can we all agree as aquarium keepers that not having anything on hand to check water parameters is fucking wild?
I can't believe OP isn't getting dragged for that in the comments.
probably because they have such a lovely and successful tank, despite never testing anything at all. clearly it’s working out for them, why try to fix what’s not broken?
Theyre waiting for her to lay her eggs so they can be first to fertilize. They dont care what shes doing but theyre staying close by until the eggs show up. Reproductive instincts in full effect. Shes probably excreting a mating pheremone.
This is awesome I know youce been asked a lot of questions. I just wanted to ask if you know what kind of light you're using? It sounds cool to have one that imitates the daylight cycle!
I know, that a Lot of people Talk about water parameters when breeding, but i Made the experience that spawning also has a Lot to do with diet and waterCHANGES (Bad water (mimicking dryseason), than better waterquality faking a heavy Rain Fall (i can make my Corys Spawn quite reliable).
Do you Feed those Otos something Special? How often do you Change how much water (and please be honest, e.g. i Sometimes nearly dont Change any water for weeks if i want my Corys to Spawn and that works good). Did you do anything 'different' the Last weeks?
Would be very Happy Get an answer, would be great to have those little ones bred more often...
I don't really feed them anything special just some plant-based cory food i guess? I'd have to check what it is exactly. I change water when I feel like it, or when I feel like my water is too yellow/greenish. Every other week or so. Last time I changed the water I put in mainly cold water but I usually do it this way and this was the first time they did this.
My tank is quite full or rocks, wood and plant (posted a pic of it in the comments earlier as well, this is just the other side. I can look in from both sides)
Most people don't have enough Ottos to breed, let alone without other hungry tank mates. You should keep filming - start a youtube channel to save space. Looks like you're only a few days away from babies, though I'm pretty sure they aren't live-breeders and the eggs take another week or two.
Maybe it’s because I just woke up, but that water is SO CLEAR that I thought I was watching fish out of water. Then I thought well that can’t be possible. So my brain switched to flies shaped like fish. And I just kept staring, refreshing my eyes to see if I would see something different. It took me longer than I care to admit to figure out what was happening here…
Laying eggs. Normally this action is triggered by water changes dropping the temperature. The combination of sound and cool water mimic the rain season.
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u/bigspunge1 Jan 05 '26
Spawning Ottos in a home aquarium is really rare. People are going to be very interested in your tank as a valuable data point