Are you aware that otocinclus keep dying in your aquarium? Don’t worry. In this post, I will walk through different sections regarding otocinclus dying reasons. There are a lot of ways to prevent the otocinclus from dying. So follow till the end to solve the problem.
The otocinclus keeps dying due to sudden changes in the water parameters. They are very sensitive in nature so sudden changes will affect their health conditions and lead to death.
So after reading this post, you can get an idea about how otocinclus keep dying and how to treat them.
So let’s start
Why do Otocinclus keep dying
The otocinclus keeps dying due to sudden changes in the water parameter. They are very sensitive to water quality and parameters.
You need to keep them in recommended water parameters such as
pH: 6.5 to 7.5
and Water temperature:22-26° C
You need to test the water quality every week and make sure that nitrite and ammonia are lower in the tank.
Remember that frequent water changes will make the fish’s health low due to sudden changes in water parameters. So after changing the water, you need to make sure that water parameters are set according to recommendations.
Feeding is also an important part of keeping the fish alive. Otocinclus loves vegetables and they don’t like protein food. But you can give algae wafer for otocinclus.
Before that, If you’re a beginner in fishkeeping otocinclus, Here is the complete otocinclus care guide.
Are Otocinclus hard to keep?
Many people are saying the otocinclus was hard to keep, I don’t why they are saying this.
According to my experiences and suggestion from several fish-keeping experts, Otocinclus was not hard to keep in the tank.
You need to provide little care for them because sudden changes in the water parameters will affect the health condition of fish. That’s why many people are saying otocinclus was very hard to keep.
There are some requirements for keeping the otocinclus in the tank. Below is the table of requirements
| Required Things | Details |
| Water Temperature | 22-26° C (72-79°F) |
| pH Level | 6.5 to7.5 |
| GH | 7.0 to 15.0 |
| Groups | Try to keep them as groups |
| Feed | Algae wafers, Hikari, Vegetables such as Cucumber, latifs, etc |
What is the lifespan of an Otocinclus?
I don’t know why people are looking for the lifespan before buying a fish. A healthy fish can live up to more than 3 years.
The lifespan of otocinclus is 5-7 years, but many of them will be between 1 year due to poor care for fish. Sudden changes in water parameters will affect the health condition and increase the stress of fish.
What are the benefits of keeping otocinclus in a fish tank?
When we look into the benefit of keeping otocinclus in a fish tank. There are a lot of benefits for the fish tank.
Clean the glass
The otocinclus will clean the glass of the fish tank. Probably they are algae eaters and the algae spread on the fish tank glass will be cleaned with heal of otocinclus fish.
Cleaning the live plant’s leaves
Like the clean tank, the otocinclus will also clean the live plant’s leaf. You may be thinking how
On the leaves there will be small bacteria and some algae, so they will eat them for their growth.
Clean the bottom waste
The otocinclus will reduce the waste under the tank, they will be eating the small waste of overfed food.
Reduce algae buildup
The otocinclus will reduce the algae spread and algae buildup. Many people are thinking otocinclus was born to eat algae and clean the tank. It was a mistake that every people think, otocinclus cannot stable life with algae, they need some foods like vegetables.
Why is otocinclus not active
If there are sudden changes in the water parameters such as water temperature, and pH levels, the fish will not be active. Beginners need to be very careful while fish keeping the otocinclus fish because they will die faster due to poor care.
When you buy an otocinclus from near shops, ask them when the fish arrived. If the fish arrived and stay more than a few weeks in the shops, then it was a healthy fish. Try to buy them as a group and make sure the size was skinny.
When you see the otocinclus fish not active, you need to check the water parameters as soon as possible. Check the nitrite and ammonia and make sure that they lower.
Use some driftwood and live plants in the aquarium because the otocinclus will spend more time on driftwood try to keep them in groups such as 5 otocinclus for a 20-gallon tank.
How do you keep otocinclus alive? To prevent them
To keep the otocinclus alive, you need to provide good care for the fish. The otocinclus was high sensitive fish so if there are sudden changes in the water parameters, the fish will be stressed.
Sudden changes in water parameters mean if you change the water and put the otocinclus without checking the water parameters. Water parameters are water temperature, pH Level, GH, etc.
Make sure that water parameters are correct according to the requirements and feed otocinclus some vegetables such as cucumber, latifs, etc. I will put the cucumber in hot water for 1 minute for making them soft to eat.
The second thing is, you need to keep the otocinclus in groups, you can see the big changes in the growth of fish when they are kept in groups. Provide them with driftwood and live plants to keep them healthy.
To keep them alive, you need to follow the above things to prevent them.
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