Spatuloricaria, Pterosturisoma, Zebra Oto

disco · Post by **disco** » 11 Jan 2006, 20:31

Went to a not so lfs yesterday and they had just had a delivery. I saw some fish I was interested in but they weren't priced yet. I hadn't seen any of them before and want to know what a fair price would be. There was a spatuloricaria chameleon, Pterosturisoma microps, and Zebra otos. Any tips on keeping these would be useful.

rymeyer · Post by **rymeyer** » 11 Jan 2006, 21:14

I've seen zebra otos twice: once in Bellevue, WA, and once in Bellingam, WA about 90 miles away. At both places I think they were priced at ~$15. Apparently they are somewhat rare.

disco · Post by **disco** » 11 Jan 2006, 21:30

Ok after a bit more research I think the Spatuloricaria is actually this

seudohemiodon apithanos

Riley · Post by **Riley** » 11 Jan 2006, 21:48

I had a buddy that had some zebra ottos. He said they are really really fragile. He was only able to keep them alive for a month. I am assuming they will need soft acidic water. A member of a club up here just spawned them.....I will try and post the link later.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 11 Jan 2006, 22:10

I would steer clear of the Pterosturisoma microps. I kept one a while back. Even though it was eating, it just withered away and died after about a month. It seemed to require really high oxygen levels too. It just sat in the filter current.

I think this fish is a very specialised feeder in the wild.

I would avoid it.

For the dedicated specialist only (unless of course you are a dedicated specialist).

Which shop is it?

disco · Post by **disco** » 11 Jan 2006, 22:14

Maidenhead Aquatics @ Oxford

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 12 Jan 2006, 09:46

That's my local shop. I'll go and check out the Pseudohemiodon. Very nice fish those!

disco · Post by **disco** » 15 Jan 2006, 17:58

Unfortunatley didn't make it down there this weekend but I will make a point of going next week. I just hope they will have some left.

chef · Post by **chef** » 15 Jan 2006, 21:17

zebra oto's are going for around Â£5-6 now which is alot cheaper then 12 months ago when they were closer to Â£15-20 the other two species are as you have been made aware are quite specialist in their eating habits and are best left till you have more experience with keeping loricarids

Neptune · Post by **Neptune** » 22 Jan 2006, 02:55

Riley wrote:I had a buddy that had some zebra ottos. He said they are really really fragile. He was only able to keep them alive for a month. I am assuming they will need soft acidic water. A member of a club up here just spawned them.....I will try and post the link later.

Hello to all, I just signed up

I have visited the site many times but have never signed up until now.

In my experience zebra otos aren't any more fragile than any other otocinclus. As long as you start with healthy stock that aren't already starved and introduce them into a mature, well planted tank then they will do well. Otocinclus in general endure a lot of stress during shipping, since going for long periods of time without food is unnatural for them. If you start with fish that are in good health, acclimate them slowly, and make sure they are well fed then they will be surprisingly easy to keep.

I have over a dozen of them right now, and hope to search for the spawning trigger sometime this year. Right now I am getting some practice at fry raising with my H. notatus. If I do get O. cocama eggs/hatch, then I want to have confidence that I can successfully raise the fry.

I'd sure love to see that link! I have been searching for a spawning report since I first heard of these fish.