Otto Poop.

[salman]

I have 4 Ottos in my 100 gallon tank, and their poop is black! The filter doesnt seem to get it, and it all lays on top of my white sand. It looks really bad. I tried to catch them, but i failed, they are soo fast. Why is their poop black? And what do they eat, only algae?

[zackish]

Well I don't know what other fish you have in there but all fishes poop is darker, at least from my experience.
Yes, the main part of the otoclinus diet is algae, however, you should supplement them with zuccini or some wafers.

[Rocky06fx4]

The color of a fish's feces changes based on there diet. My common pleco has black excrement but the tank breaks it down just fine.

[Dave66]

Otocinclus poo is always black (dark green, actually) when they have plenty of algae and greens to eat. I keep 12 of their cousins (Hypoptopoma sp.) and their offal has always been dark in the six years I've kept them.

Dave

[salman]

Otocinclus poo is always black (dark green, actually) when they have plenty of algae and greens to eat. I keep 12 of their cousins (Hypoptopoma sp.) and their offal has always been dark in the six years I've kept them.

Dave

Is there something i can do to make their poop lighter? lol.. i would have to vacuum more often because my sand is white, and when you look at the tank its hard to not notice it.

[Dave66]

Ahh I see why it bugs you (white sand). All my substrates are dark (browns and blacks, means I don't see the poo) and my tanks are very mature so the offal is broken down very quickly into easily vacuumed mulm. I'm afraid properly fed Otos always have dark poo. You could try feeding them lightly blanched cucumber, and perhaps blanched zucchini with them, as they aren't going to add to the dark, and may lighten them up. Gotta blanch the veggies, as the Otos don't have the dentation for the raw stuff.

Dave

[salman]

Ahh I see why it bugs you (white sand). All my substrates are dark (browns and blacks, means I don't see the poo) and my tanks are very mature so the offal is broken down very quickly into easily vacuumed mulm. I'm afraid properly fed Otos always have dark poo. You could try feeding them lightly blanched cucumber, and perhaps blanched zucchini with them, as they aren't going to add to the dark, and may lighten them up. Gotta blanch the veggies, as the Otos don't have the dentation for the raw stuff.

Dave


Thank you for all your help! I think im going to try to catch them and put them in a tank that has darker gravel.