Oto - intestines moving?

[webcricket]

I'll see if I can get a video of this tomorrow (not sure if the resolution will pick it up) - the tank lights are off and I don't want to disturb the fish now.

I was checking out my oto today and noticed something very bizarre. The white tubing in his abdomen (intestines I have always assumed) was moving, like contracting and expanding again. He was chilling on some driftwood seemingly not affected at all. Does this sound normal? The movement was worm like, and I'm concerned about internal parasites. Could this just be normal digestive stuff happening? The belly is not sunken at all - he's quite plump. If it could be parasites I want to start treatment right away on my tanks. This particular fish resided in 2 of my other tanks before he moved to the planted.

[plah831]

I've heard of this happening once before when a catfish swallowed a rubberband. It ended up passing it a day later. Intestinal parasites were suspected, like you are doing now.

In your case, I don't know what's happening. I do know, however, that before one of my otos died, its belly turned a funny shade of brown/gold. The usual white marble belly had a weird ring of color develop on it, that sort of moved also. It was a new oto, that survived only a couple days in my QT. The odd belly color happened in the last few hours before its death. the color didn't move quite like what you're describing, but maybe otos are prone to gastrointestinal disturbances :huh:

[webcricket]

Picture borrowed from www.otocinclus.com...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/WebCricket/fatoto1.jpg

The red bar points to the white intestine bit (?) I'm talking about. I wonder do fish intestines undulate like human intestines do to digest and move things along? The color is definitely white and the fish is behaving normally.

A catfish swallowed a rubber band? That's pretty crazy! I wonder if this gives credence to stories of people catching catfish and finding that they ate a ring or some other valuable from a lake bottom? I had a platy once pass hair (my fault for not pulling my hair back during a water change). About 6" of hair was still coming out his mouth and the other 6" or so was being passed. The fish was fine and continued to eat and eventually was hair free, LOL.

[plah831]

yep, I'm sure fish guts do move like ours. I think every animal's intestines and digestive systems have to, in order to facilitate the movement of bulk material (food, poop, whatever) through them. I know the part of their anatomy that you pointed to. I kind of call it their "spiral valve" (shark/ray term), but I don't really know what it is. I've never noticed that part on mine moving, but I've never looked that closely :o

My otos are never around enough during the day for me to get a good look at them. Using a flashlight at night freaks them out. It kind of bothers me that I can't keep a close eye on their health like I can with my other fish...

I would not put it past a catfish to swallow a ring :D The big guys (like bullheads) will eat almost anything! I'm sure the shiny-ness probably catches their attention, too.

That's amazing that your platy passed a long hair, while it was still coming out the front end!!! I've always feared that my hair, or my cat's hairs, or towel fibers (I'm constantly wiping my hands dry) will end up swallowed by one of my fish and cause an intestinal blockage. Like I had a dog who loved eating discarded dental floss. The vet scolded me, and said that it could get wrapped around in his intestines and kill him! :(

Well, I hope your oto is OK and the movement is normal. Great job being an observant and concerned oto mom, though! :)

[Needeles]

My little Oto's also do this. I notice it more after they have eaten a good amount. I would not worry at the moment about it but do keep an eye on them just incase. If they start to act different or there colors seem odd then I would look further into the matter.

Just my 2 cents for ya.

[plah831]

wow, how do you guys even get that good a look at your otos? Mine are just too skittish. I barely even see them stuck on the glass. They usually hide out in my densely-leafed plants.

By the way, I suspect that the color change on the belly of my previous oto mentioned above may have been a result of poisons used during capture. Either that, or it ate something bad :huh:

[Needeles]

Well when I first got mine they did hide alot but that has changed. Mine tend to go pretty much everywhere in the tank. There is one that tends to hide more but the other 3 are always out and about. I myself didn't do anything special. It may be that I have 4 of them and they fell confortable because of there little group.

[aardvark1]

Oto's-funny little fish!

Got 3 of them, I think!

Only see one or two of them at a time, shuffling along the leaves of the plants munchin' down. Try as I may, can't find all three at the same time.

No bodies, so I'm assuming their still all around!

[plah831]

Well when I first got mine they did hide alot but that has changed. Mine tend to go pretty much everywhere in the tank. There is one that tends to hide more but the other 3 are always out and about. I myself didn't do anything special. It may be that I have 4 of them and they fell confortable because of there little group.
Mine are the opposite! They used to be all over the place when I first got them, but now, a few months later, they're always hiding. Even at night (when they come out to eat), they scatter if I come into the room. So I hear ya, Art.

I also have 4. I had one alone after his companions died. He was by himself for about a year :( I also didn't know they were social. When I finally got around to getting some more, he was so thrilled to see the others that he chased them around, constantly touching them! He was ecstatic. It convinced me to never again have a lone otocinclus. Poor guy. On the plus side, I've had my oldest one for nearly three years now :) They're all very fat, almost too fat. Still can't see the intestines moving, tho! :D