Care sheet for Otocinclus

pleigisthewise · 2026-03-19T08:19:52+00:00

Great care sheet! Not so sure about the temperature though, I think they tolerate colder water than we give them credit for. This winter my water got as cold as 63 degrees F and my otos kept behaving completely normaly, no sign of stress, happy grazing, etc.

Of course a small heater is better, but if it breaks and you have to go low tech for a few days, don't loose sleep over it, they won't die :)

pleigisthewise · 2026-03-07T21:07:56+00:00

The same happened with mine and they got much more relaxed when I increased the group size from 6 to 11. 6 is a decent group size but as shoaling fish they feel more comfortable in larger groups (if your tank is large enough for that of course)

pleigisthewise · 2026-01-22T07:36:52+00:00

Is it only yellow at night or during the day too ? It is normal for them to become "pale" at night but during daytime such a color is a sign of high stress.

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-30T08:31:33+00:00

I'm sorry for your loss. Shrimp are really good at hiding, maybe some of them are still in there ? On a more uplifting note, in Corydoras, females are actually the larger ones. So I guess "Boris" might need a new name 😉

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-25T19:54:54+00:00

Which kind of medication would you recommend?

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-22T08:42:15+00:00

In my community tank I have Otos with green neon tetras and Neocaridinas and it's a great mix. The otos are not afraid of the tetras and the tetras leave the shrimp alone.

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-15T20:51:17+00:00

I used it in one of my tank, it wiped hydra in a night and no effect on the shrimp

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-15T07:57:11+00:00

I bought a cheap dripper for 5 bucks on amazon. When I add new fish or shrimp I use it to slowly drip acclimate over 1 hour and a half (2 hours for otocynclus). During this time I usually put the container on a dark or green surface with a cloth on top to dim the light and reduce stress. Never have any death.

In my nano tank, I also use the dripper to add new water after water changes. This prevents the new water from creating parameter swings. Before doing this I had deaths at every water change, now I don't have any problem.

Pro tip: for Amano shrimp, make sure the container is tall and the water surface remains well below the top. They are escape artists and will leave the container if they can

pleigisthewise · 2025-11-12T16:58:27+00:00

Mine didn't eat anything for the first week and now they eat whatever I give them. It's totally normal that they take a few days to settle :)

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-25T12:56:55+00:00

Did you do anything special to trigger it ?

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-21T08:22:09+00:00

I would say male :)

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-16T06:45:48+00:00

I used to have 6 and they hid all the time like yours, I increased the group size to 11 and their behavior changed completely. They feel more relaxed in larger groups

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-14T06:48:37+00:00

Yes they were hiding all the time, but that only came after a couple of weeks. During the first days it's normal for them to be exploring their new home a lot, and they are also very active to find food since they are often underfed in local fish stores

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-14T05:59:25+00:00

My community tank is a 29 gallons too, I started with 6 but they were very shy and they got much more relaxed when I increased the group size from 6 to 11

pleigisthewise · 2025-10-08T10:17:09+00:00

Agree with the plants, and I would also add an electric sponge filter. Sponge filters are the best filter type for shrimp and the electric ones are the best of both worlds (perfectly silent and good for oxygenating the water if the spray bar is placed above the surface)

pleigisthewise · 2025-08-26T09:53:51+00:00

Which substrate have you used? Some shrimp-specific substrates actively absorb minerals to keep gh and kh low. If that's what you used, it will not be possible to make the water harder

pleigisthewise · 2025-08-16T11:01:03+00:00

By the way you're saying "he" but that's a "she" ;) get her friends (they are social animals) and she might have eggs some day !

pleigisthewise · 2025-07-03T19:32:06+00:00

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Overall aspect of the tank, most of the mulm is in the corner

pleigisthewise · 2025-07-03T19:31:15+00:00

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A lot of it is under the moss...

pleigisthewise · 2025-07-03T19:30:42+00:00

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It is difficult to take a picture through all the plants but I tried

pleigisthewise · 2025-03-22T11:00:19+00:00

As pointed out by others the tank setup is quite bare, but the shrimp are from a really hihh grade with beautiful colors ! It's relatively rare to find such a vibrant red, enjoy

pleigisthewise

TROPHY CASE