otto cat

[elmj]

i had two otto cats in my tank but one of them died after a bloated stomache and hiding on the filter(internal one) for a day. I didn't know what happen but thought that the trip home may have proved too stressful for it. however, i bough a second otto cat to accompany my remaining otto cat as i heard that they like to be kept in pairs. and now this new otto cat seems to have a slight bloated tummy too! i'm getting really worries. and instead of sticking on the leave as it usually does, it is instead just sitting on the leave, mouth not at the leave. its tummy is slightly bloated.

can someone help me save my otto cat?

 

[famman]

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/fishes/catfishes.shtml

Read here on WetmanNY's web page on otos. Otos often die a few days after coming home from the lfs because they essentially starve to death due the loss of their gut bacteria. Do not dispair, otos are tricky at first, but once established are quite hardy.
good luck

 

[elmj]

famman: WetmanNY's web page on otos was brilliant! thanks for introducing it to me. however, it doesn't really go into what to feed these oto cats! i'm afraid that my tank hasn't any visible algea and that the bacteria as wetmanNY has mention will deplete! so what do i feed them? i can't seem to find any algea waffles and when i put the middle section of the cucumbers (read somewhere fishes like it) no one in the tank touched it!

so could you suggest some food to feed them? also is the bloated stomache because it has no food? i thought it would go concave as wetmanNY said if they ddn't have enough food. so what causes the bloating?

p.s also what is their normal mode? according to wetmanNY, 'freezing' is bad. so what is their normal movement? i thought it was normal of them to stick to the leaves!

 

[WolfPup522]

What a great article! I've only had my otos for the last few months and it's nice to know for sure that they are acting normally. I trully understand what happened with the oto that "played dead." None of mine have ever done that, but when the other fish get close, the otos freeze, and often get rubbed against when they don't move anywhere!

Usually though they hide in the plants and little rock cave while the lights are on, but come out to "play" at night.

As for feeding, mine don't touch the veggies I put in there either, but if you can find algae wafers, that might work. Mine love the algae wafers. Something else that might help also, is buy more of them. I've been told to keep no less than 3 together, but preferably 5 or 6.

Hope that helps!

 

[famman]

My otos feed on flake, algae tabs and shrimp pellets and they love a 3 day old slice of cucumber with the skin still on. My tank has a fair bit of brown algae which is their favorite food, but any leafy or sliced vegatable will find them crawling all over it after a few days in the tank.
I have 2 in my 10 gal platy tank, and they like the vegies the best. The 5 I have in my 20 gal planted tank never touch the vegies I leave out, but with so much algae in the tank maybe they don't bother.
good luck