Dr Oto

[Michael Knight]

Earlier today I noticed one of my Argentinian Cory's had a little fungus at the back of his dorsal fin, I have just been looking at my aquarium and spotted the same Cory amongst the plants and to my surprise there was one of my Otos lying on Cory's tail end, looking closer Oto was eating the fungus off Cory's back, Cory occasionally twitched but let Oto carry on eating the fungus and now Cory is visibly fungus free. Has anyone else seen this happen, I haven't before or read that Otos do this, isn't nature fantastic.

 

[gerald]

No, but Oto's will feast on dead fish, so it's not unreasonable that they'd eat dead tissue from a live fish, if the fish will sit still. Great observation!

 

[Larry Rogers]

Otocinclus diets regularly include various algaes, scavaged dead fish; there appears to be adherance to eating the bacteria and rotted slime from the surface; and various fungi. Some insect larvae and slime molds are also occasionally on the menu.