Otos and stringy poo

[madly99]

Hi all,
I got a few otos a month or so ago and have just noticed stringy poo on two of them. Is this normal with otos? I have read it might be caused by overfeeding or internal parasites. I admit I left them veggies daily at first for fear they'd starve after cleaning my tank, but I stopped a couple of weeks ago, since noticing the tank getting fuzzy again. Their bellies seem to be staying nice and round.

Else, if it's internal parasite, how do you get rid of this in otos? I know with other fish, you can feed garlic, but not sure how to do this with the otos.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[fraggle]

Hi!
I can't comment specifically on ottos, since I've never had any, but my bristlenose and my gibby both have stringy poo, seriously the gibby's can be nearly a foot long!!! (yuck!) The bristlnose too it can be nearly the length of the fish again trailing behind it.

I actually never even gave it a thought as to if something was causing it, I'd been told that they were "pooping machines" and just thought that it was normal! My two are happy and healthy and I've never had any problem with them, you just have to vac up the "string" LOL

[Wild Turkey]

Sounds like you have been overfeeding, which can lead to internal parasites and other problems. It may be a good idea to cut back on feeding, fast once a week, feed skinned peas, or all of the above.

[wolf_eyes]

Sounds like you have been overfeeding, which can lead to internal parasites and other problems. It may be a good idea to cut back on feeding, fast once a week, feed skinned peas, or all of the above.

Agreed. A day of fasting is usually good at keeping your fish regular. I know its sometimes hard to walk past that tank and not give them a little something but it is better for them. I usually write a little note and put it on my tank to remind myself not to feed. I also give my little guys a feeding of peas once every two weeks or so.

[Sharon]

I notice the same thing with my Otos occassionally. I've assumed that it's the diet...algae would promote loose stringy poo? Kinda like a diet for us of nothing only fibre...???

[terrapin24h]

Agreed. A day of fasting is usually good at keeping your fish regular. I know its sometimes hard to walk past that tank and not give them a little something but it is better for them. I usually write a little note and put it on my tank to remind myself not to feed. I also give my little guys a feeding of peas once every two weeks or so.

In my experience, you don't feed oto's perse. If there is food avail(algae, diatoms) in the tank, they eat it. They can find stuff that's not even visible. Even after cleaning the glass, i find mine stuck to it, and streaking back and forth in the water. All the info i've read about them says they should poop alot, and that a plump oto is a good thing. How long of poop are we talking about, and what color? My otos are avg size and poop about 3/4-1inch of dark stuff, when i see them. Oto cats aren't your every day catifsh, they have a very different diet and behavior. What has worked well for me is not cleaning the side and back walls of my tank, nor my large decor. They are constantly flirting about cleaning.

--chris

[madly99]

I haven't actually "fed" them in a couple of weeks. However, my tank is in a room that gets a lot of natural light, and I keep the tank light on for 12-14 hours. I've got 4 otos in a 20G (I didn't expect them all to survive) so I've been worried about keeping their food supply up. I don't ever scrub the glass anymore - it will get fuzzy for a couple of days and then next morning it will be clean.

The stringy poo is white, looks about 1-1.5" long. I tried feeding them peas once, but no luck - they didn't find them before the other fish did.

Should I reduce the light/cover the tank, perhaps, to prevent algae and starve them a little? How long before that's detrimental to the plants, though? I've got some Brazilian swords in there. They are replaceable if need be, I guess.

Thanks for the help!