Hypoptopoma gulare a.k.a. Giant otocinclus.
And when I call giant, mind it. They really are giant. I mean in comparison to our Otocinclus affinis (common oto) they really are. They can grow upto 4 inches.
When I first got them, they didn't appeal much. You know a big dull colored catfish..
Then they got settled in my tank and I got to see them very closely. They are very beautiful. Their tapered mouth looks awesome.
Then I started Google-ing about their eating habits. Didn't find much. Just some basic information like their origin, temperature, water hardness and all. So feeding them and knowing there eating habits were a hit and trial for me.
I have 3 of them in a 12 Gallons tank along with some endlers and Epiplatys annulatus (clown killies). Initially I tried offering them Hikari algae wafers. They refused. They werent eating anything. I was worried. And that was the time I saw a few endler's fries. I fed them
Hikari Micro pellets. And then I saw gulare eating the left over. Hahaha.. I mean micro pellets !! Great.
And now, they are eating anything that I am tossing in the tank. Bloodworms, mysis shrimps, algae wafers, Jake's homemade shrimp food, micro pallets. They are very happy.
A friend of mine who's been keeping Gulare since a long time told me about their temperament when kept with other cats. He kept Hypoptopoma gulare with Hypoptopoma sp 'Peru'. And guess what.. Gulare finished all of the 'Peru's. Its like ancient tribes fighting. Hahaha...
He added that Gulare loves to be in mild flow. I dont have much of a water flow in my tank as I just have a sponge filter in there. I'll soon put a small powerhead in there.
They also like Repashy Super Green and Repashy Soilent Green.
here is what msjinkzd.com has to say about them - LINK
here is what Planetcatfish.com has to say about them - LINK
And here are some photos that I have taken since I got them-
And a crappy Iphone video showing them eating micro pallets. Just in case you wanna check it out -
And when I call giant, mind it. They really are giant. I mean in comparison to our Otocinclus affinis (common oto) they really are. They can grow upto 4 inches.
When I first got them, they didn't appeal much. You know a big dull colored catfish..
Then they got settled in my tank and I got to see them very closely. They are very beautiful. Their tapered mouth looks awesome.
Then I started Google-ing about their eating habits. Didn't find much. Just some basic information like their origin, temperature, water hardness and all. So feeding them and knowing there eating habits were a hit and trial for me.
I have 3 of them in a 12 Gallons tank along with some endlers and Epiplatys annulatus (clown killies). Initially I tried offering them Hikari algae wafers. They refused. They werent eating anything. I was worried. And that was the time I saw a few endler's fries. I fed them
Hikari Micro pellets. And then I saw gulare eating the left over. Hahaha.. I mean micro pellets !! Great.
And now, they are eating anything that I am tossing in the tank. Bloodworms, mysis shrimps, algae wafers, Jake's homemade shrimp food, micro pallets. They are very happy.
A friend of mine who's been keeping Gulare since a long time told me about their temperament when kept with other cats. He kept Hypoptopoma gulare with Hypoptopoma sp 'Peru'. And guess what.. Gulare finished all of the 'Peru's. Its like ancient tribes fighting. Hahaha...
He added that Gulare loves to be in mild flow. I dont have much of a water flow in my tank as I just have a sponge filter in there. I'll soon put a small powerhead in there.
They also like Repashy Super Green and Repashy Soilent Green.
here is what msjinkzd.com has to say about them - LINK
here is what Planetcatfish.com has to say about them - LINK
And here are some photos that I have taken since I got them-
And a crappy Iphone video showing them eating micro pallets. Just in case you wanna check it out -
