Accidental Otocinclus Breeding :)

I bought 3 ottos to help keep my Cherry Shrimp tank clean and they have laid eggs! The only things in the tank are the shrimp and the ottos, so these eggs have to be from the ottos.

Now, to advise anyone that has tried to breed these guys, this tank is in my garage by the window and relies only on natural sunlight. The temperature in the tank ranges greatly everyday between as low as 68F to about 85F on hot days. Right now it is 72F, and over the weekend it was up to about 83F. I used to worry about the temperature fluctuations, but everyone seems to be extremely happy so I stopped worrying. I started this tank to breed red cherries and only bought the ottos to help with the algae growth in the tank. I don't feed them anything as there is plenty of algae for everyone. The water is continuously evaporating from the tank so I only do about 10-20% water changes every 10 days or so and the rest of the time I just top it off. I don't check the ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites very often at all anymore because they always stay within the desired ranges. That's about it. :)

I think this more natural environment has helped these guys spawn. In the wild they would have natural sunlight cycles, temperature fluctuations, and never a shortage of algae to eat. They would also not be disturbed by water changes (other than rain) or other human interaction. I think all of these things must be the key to get these little ones to breed. Any advice, questions, or input is welcomed!

Oh, I put an air stone in the breeder net just to get them some water flow to prevent them from going bad. I also placed the breeder on the front wall directly in front of the waterfall from the filter. This causes a few bubbles to rise up through the bottom as well.

Here is a picture of the eggs.

Sweet !

Very nice indeed I must say. I breed Oto's myself.

I have to ask, do you have any other shots of eggs? Were they laid as they are in the pic? Going solely by the pic, they look a bit small for Oto eggs and aren't laid in clusters.