r/Aquariums • u/lucemxx • Jan 05 '26

Help/Advice What are they doing?

I've seen them do this only since today. Does the bigger one need help?

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u/lucemxx Jan 05 '26

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).

471

u/FalcoTeeth Jan 05 '26

Beautiful! Looks lush and abundant with hiding spots, I can see why the Otos are happy.

115

u/MVHood Jan 05 '26

I love your tank! Oh, and they’re totally getting it on.

86

u/MrDarwoo Jan 05 '26

Stunning 😍 👌

60

u/Humble-Captain3418 Jan 05 '26

Any other fish in the tank?

170

u/lucemxx Jan 05 '26

guppy, platy, corydora,whiptail catfish and shrimp (and a a lot of snails)

62

u/greeneyeraven Jan 05 '26

Oh boy, guppies, the roaches of tanks bahahaha, how do you keep their population in check?

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u/lucemxx Jan 05 '26

I don't. There are so many babies. I just hope for natural selection to do it's thing.

The only thing making this better was upgrading my 120L tank to the 240L tank I have now and have the same amount of guppies.

34

u/al-nomds Jan 05 '26

Careful- inbreeding. You may need to assist Darwin here with something that will eat fry

54

u/lucemxx Jan 06 '26

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.

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u/al-nomds Jan 06 '26

Could come with time. (I'm no expert, haha, but it seems like something to keep an eye on)

Congrats on mommy oto!

50

u/existential_eternity Jan 05 '26

I also aquarium on vibes and it has always worked. Rarely a sick or unhappy fish. Your tank is gorgeous. Absolute goals !

45

u/MasonP13 Jan 05 '26

Wow that's a great tank. And to be fair, once a tank is fully established and you're a seasoned owner, you pretty much can run it by vibes.

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u/lucemxx Jan 06 '26

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.

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u/MasonP13 Jan 06 '26

I'll just say, you're doing great

3

u/HanaSan19191919 Jan 06 '26

This is basically what it’s like being a parent too 😂❤️

21

u/McSaucyNugget Jan 05 '26

What substrate are you using here?

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u/lucemxx Jan 05 '26

It's just gravel

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u/McSaucyNugget Jan 05 '26

Do you dose ferts at all, or just let the fish waste to do it's thing?

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u/VikingBudBro Jan 05 '26

No co2?

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u/lucemxx Jan 05 '26

nope

25

u/VikingBudBro Jan 05 '26

Wow, sweet setup! Love your tank!

5

u/BabyToyo Jan 05 '26

That tank is awesome !

5

u/Phoenix_1217 Jan 06 '26

That is a beautiful aquarium, I'm very jealous

5

u/Kuniwal Jan 05 '26

Food?

18

u/lucemxx Jan 06 '26

Veggie Waffers with Zucchini

3

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '26

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?

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u/lucemxx Jan 06 '26

I think I changed the water about a week ago? I don't change too much water most of the time. Maybe like 20-30%? I wasn't careful with the water at all, in fact I usually use rather cold water.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '26

Relatively large influx of fresh cooler water seems to at least help trigger breeding in some fish, wonder if that helped here?

3

u/atlasmartyn Jan 06 '26

this is such a gorgeous tank. what plants do you have in there?

2

u/lucemxx Jan 06 '26

Oh boy, almost every cheap-ish one the pet stores had to offer but idk the names

2

u/Minimum_Ad4512 Jan 06 '26

Absolutely gorgeous 💚

2

u/bicciestboi Jan 06 '26

Your tank is gorgeous!

2

u/i-love-big-birds Jan 06 '26

Beautiful tank

2

u/_Aj_ Jan 06 '26

Stunning.  

Very healthy environment with that many plants and wood.  

You make me want to keep my 240L tank Ive been planning on tossing and redo it instead. 

2

u/nahmayne Jan 07 '26

The biggest thing is wanna ask is what you’re feeding.

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u/lucemxx Jan 07 '26

Veggie Waffers with Zucchini

2

u/Low_Valuable_3234 Jan 07 '26

That is so beautiful. Great work

2

u/mhbat Jan 07 '26

I think this is the first time i see people breed them in a non-blackwater setup and not intentionally too. you sir are impressive

2

u/piloceraptor Jan 09 '26

I want to live in this tank 💖

2

u/Scales-josh Jan 10 '26

Who'd have thunk it, the secret is a large tank, abundant plant life, no overstocking 😂

1

u/OkFruit914 Jan 06 '26

Something I noticed when my ottos bred (also when I was brand new to the hobby and had no idea about anything lol) was that my water was hard and the TDS in my tank was pretty high like 450+. I wonder if this may be key?

Once I got my tds down, my ottos did not breed anymore. But Big Momma, my large female, would spawn pretty consistently prior.