I believe he was full-grown. All of my otos are between 1.25 and 1.5 inches. And the barbs aren't much bigger. They're the long-finned variety, and are between 2.5 and 3.5 inches, including their tails.
I hope you're right! My newest batch were all skinny when I got them, but they really fattened up in QT. They all seemed really healthy. No one seemed to be sick before #9 disappeared.
they can be really finniky. It depends on that single fish. Some eat zuchinni, some cucumber, some peas, some spinach, some anything cooked and green, and some only algae. Some won't even eat algae wafers. If you have some of these last ones, put some large gravel or pebbles, alot - more than a handful - in a container of tank water and set it in the sun. Algae will grow on the rocks, and you have instant (well after several days) oto food.
Have you completely cleaned out the tank? I've found them after months of not seeing them.
Yes, I removed all my fish a few months ago for a complete tank overhaul. At that point I had only two of the originals left. Now I'm down to only one, from what I can tell. I couldn't get them to adjust well to fresh veggies, so I'm assuming the others died of starvation and their bodies were consumed by my other fish.
