▷ Earlatticed Loricariidae | Otocinclus | All information, data sheets and details

Data sheet ear lattice armored catfish

German name:
Earlatticed Loricariidae

Scientific name:
Otocinclus

Origin:

South America

Size:

4-5 cm

Aquarium

Length:

100 cm

Contents:

Lighting:
Not too bright

Furnishings:

water values

Temperature:

21 – 25 ° C

PH value:

5.5 – 7.5

carbonate hardness:

total hardness:

4 – 10 °dGH

Behave

Number
5

Area:
Everywhere

propagation:
egglayer

Lining:

omnivore

Behave:

Sociable, sensitive to repositioning

Difficulty level:
Beginners with basic knowledge

On the way to the trade and in the trade, the animals hardly eat. Animals in the trade are therefore often emaciated. Well-fed otocinclus have a small, spherical abdomen.

Once the acclimatization period is over, the animals can live for a long time. However, they do not tolerate high nitrate levels and they need a lot of fresh water.

They feel much more comfortable in soft water than in hard water. Clean, nitrite-free water is a prerequisite for longer survival. In addition, they suffer greatly from low-oxygen water and high temperatures. In the long run, the temperature should be a maximum of 26°C.

Otocinclus live in loose groups and should be kept in groups of at least 5 animals. Otherwise you rarely see them. In a 112 liter aquarium z. B. 5 Otocinclen, 8 Otocinclen are kept in a 200 liter aquarium. Individually, they feel uncomfortable.
The animals also swim as individuals, but often several animals lie on neighboring plant leaves or graze the plants at shorter intervals.

Proper swarms may be formed if really many Otocinclen are kept together. Basically, and this also applies to other schooling fish, the following factors are decisive for school formation:

It should be noted that swarm formation is a protective mechanism against enemies and predators.

That’s good, e.g. B. observed in red neons. A large group can swim scattered in the aquarium for years. As soon as a predator is added, e.g. B. a dwarf cichlid, the red neon gang together and swim in packs, even if the dwarf cichlid does not touch a neon.

Acclimated Otocinclus can become hand tame and swim through the hands or graze on the arms.

While some Otocinclus seem to like currents and immediately swim with the current when changing water, other Otocinclus behave independently of the current, ceaselessly grazing plant leaves for algae throughout the day. It is unclear whether this is species-specific or whether the preference for flow differs from individual animal to individual animal.

The feeding behavior is definitely dependent on the species. O. affinis mostly lie on plants and roots. There they scrape off small carpets of algae. Other species prefer to eat algae from stones and pebbles. All species are almost constantly grating. Animals that just lie around lazily are often too full to look for algae anywhere else.

Normal otocinclus can live for at least 5 years.

Food in the form of vegetables should be provided if there is not enough algae. Thread-like algae are not eaten, but only flat layers of green algae, which also tend to form on the windscreen.

Otocinclus sometimes swim up and down the panes quickly. As a rule, this is not an indication of diseases etc. If there are too many thread algae in the aquarium, they can supposedly get caught in it and die as a result of the weakening.

name confusion

Otocinclus are normally referred to in German as ear lattice armored catfish. The scientific name is Hypoptopomatinae.
The German name Kleiner Saugwels is also used for all Otocinclus species and relatives.

Apparently all Otocinclus are sold commercially as Otocinclus affinis. But there are some different types. These include scientifically determinate and indeterminate species. It is often Otocinclus hoppei or O. vittatus. The real O. affinis is now rare and almost exclusively available as a wild catch.

Several Otocinclus species are described in the Mergus. Some of the species are scientifically described and have a scientific name. Species without scientific names are classified as Otocinclus sp. or spec. designated.

Otocinclus affinis is also called striped catfish or striped sucker catfish.

There are about 27 species of Otocinclus and about 13 undescribed species of Parotocinclus, some of which are very difficult to distinguish.

The differences between some species

The description of the differences is based on images from the mergus.

The abdominal color is the same in O. mariae and O. vestitus. In O. mariae the thickest part is at eye level, in O. vestitus behind the pelvic fins. In lateral view, O. vestitus shows a steeper head shape. O. mariae has a very flat head shape.
O. vetitus has a line from the nose to the base of the tail. The line is broken or indistinct at the base of the tail. There is a large spot on the base of the tail. O. mariae has a solid line that widens slightly at the base of the caudal fin and no tail spot. In addition, O. mariae has 2 clear parallel dark stripes in the caudal fin.

O. affinis has the thickest part between the eyes and pectoral fins. O. affinis does not have such a prominent lateral line as the species above. The coloring of the lines almost merges into coloring of the back.

The body shape of O. flexilis resembles the body shape of Ancistrus dolicopterus, the blue catfish. The spotted body coloring is more reminiscent of Aspidoras maculosus, Corydoras garbei, C. barbatus, C. leucommelas (matter). O. flexilis has no lateral line.

Otocinclus negros

Otocinclus negros are also known under the names Otocinclus negros spec. “Paraguay”, “Otocinclus” spec. “Paraguay”, Otocinclus niger, Otocinclus nero and Otocinclus paulinus traded. The designations Otocinclus negros and in German Brauner Ohrgitterarmoric catfish are common. The animals probably belong to the genus Hisonotus and originate from various water bodies in the Sao Paulo area in Brazil, including the Rio Piraciciba.

It is a small catfish with a typical Otocinclus shape that grows up to 4 centimeters long. The dorsal fin is small.

The physique is slightly narrower than that of O. affinis. The animals look a little more delicate, are medium to dark brown, and have some spots on the face. There are thin yellow stripes between the eyes and the tip of the snout, forming a honeycomb network. The upper tip of the tail is transparent.

The animals need well-established aquariums with plenty of algae, including brown algae. Breeding was successful, but there are no detailed breeding reports.

Parotocinclus maculicauda

Parotocinclus maculicauda are native to cool mountain streams. They therefore do not tolerate high temperatures.

In most aquariums they are kept too warm.

The temperature should be around 20°C. 22° to 24° C are still beneficial. 27° to 28° C, which prevail in many South American basins, are too high.

Like Otocinclus, they are sociable schooling or group fish.

Behavior and care are similar to Otocinclus.

Depending on the temperature, they may not be as lively and active as other Otocinclus.

Hisonotus leucofrenatus Ribeiro

The description refers to the animals shown in the chapter.

When stressed, Hisonotus leucofrenatus Ribeiro show a light skin surface, which can also be mottled.

They grow to about 3 to 4 cm, with the females being larger than the males.

They are very peaceful and can be socialized with small and medium sized fish.

These little creatures eat dead plant parts, also algae, frozen food (not too big pieces) and also vegetables.

Otocinclus (possibly Hisonotus leucofrenatus Ribeiro)
Photo: Viola (Forum)

Otocinclus (possibly Hisonotus leucofrenatus Ribeiro)
Photo: Viola (Forum)

Otocinclus (possibly Hisonotus leucofrenatus Ribeiro)
Photo: Viola (Forum)

Herbivore Earlatticed Loricariidae (Otocinclus)

While unusual and uncharacteristic of Otocinclus, Otocinclus occasionally get a taste for eating plants. Like to be eaten e.g. B. Echinodorus latifolius.

It is unclear why Otocinclus, which have not eaten plants for years, suddenly start eating plants. There are some assumptions that have not yet been proven.

Otocinclus often start eating herbivores when new plants are introduced into the aquarium.

According to one assumption, only the emersed leaves of new plants are eaten. New plants are almost always grown above water. Above-water leaves seem particularly palatable to fish. The new leaves that grow underwater are eaten less often.

Overwater leaves are shed over time. Because the plants have been under water at the pet store for some time, a kind of decomposition of the leaves has already begun. The Otocinclus find these almost half-cooked leaves very tasty and eat them.

The new underwater leaves are not eaten because they are hard and stable and do not show any signs of decomposition.
In these cases, one can console oneself with the fact that the leaves would have fallen off anyway. The Pisces only cater to a radical fashion.

Many stem plants are grown in tubs or shallow pools under water. The leaf structure is thus retained after planting. Thus stem plants are practically not eaten.

However, observations clearly show that in at least some cases the first new underwater leaves in the heart of the newly planted plants were eaten and not the decaying above-water leaves. Later newly floating leaves under water were eaten less often. The new leaves number five or six per plant didn’t seem to taste nearly as good. The catfish slowly lost interest in it again. It either takes longer than expected to change the leaf structure or the plants may have antibodies.

Perhaps plants eaten by Otocinclus are simply extremely tender and fragile from transplanting or a lack of nutrients. When the Otocinclus tries to clean them, they are simply sucked in and damaged.

A lack of plant-based food can also be the cause.

Once the animals have gotten used to walking on plants, they can hardly be dissuaded from doing so. One can only try to stop herbivores by feeding them plant-based fodder…