I've been buying ottos for 7 months now and have gone thru about 25 of them . I have three tanks, all pretty close in their chemistry. I've bought them from atleast 4 different places. I acclimate them longer than any other fish I have. They seem to last a month or two then die. I lose no other fish in this time. I've read this happens to alot of people, but can't find why or how to deal with it?
otto deaths
- Thread starter sloshy
- Start date
What size tanks? What exactly are the water parameters? Have you added other new fish recently? What do you feed them? Are the tanks planted?
Assuming there wasn't any drastic change in water parameters it was probably due to sudden death syndrome. There have been a lot of accounts regarding this matter.
A way to avoid that is to ask your LFS how long have they had their ottos before you buy them. A month is usually a good time.
6 months ago I got my first two otos IIRC they were in the FLS for about a month. One is still alive the other lived for about 3 months and died due to tank neglect. About 6 weeks ago I got the more otos that were 2 weeks old from the FLS. The first one died two weeks later the rest followed.
A way to avoid that is to ask your LFS how long have they had their ottos before you buy them. A month is usually a good time.
6 months ago I got my first two otos IIRC they were in the FLS for about a month. One is still alive the other lived for about 3 months and died due to tank neglect. About 6 weeks ago I got the more otos that were 2 weeks old from the FLS. The first one died two weeks later the rest followed.
Really important to make sure they get enough food.... If you don't have algae in your tank at all, then you probably need to add some algae pellets for the little guys.
When you buy them.... take a good close look - many Otos are almost starving when you get them from the fish store. They should have rather plump bellies. Mine are so plump that when they rest on their pectoral fins, their bellies are touching the ground. Very cute. But, they're constantly feeding on algae in my tank.
In a previous tank, I didn't have enough algae, or rather, the wrong kind of algae for Otos, and I went through a few - probably starved because of lack of knowledge about them. I check my Otos every few days now... just to make sure they're getting the food they need.
Good luck!
When you buy them.... take a good close look - many Otos are almost starving when you get them from the fish store. They should have rather plump bellies. Mine are so plump that when they rest on their pectoral fins, their bellies are touching the ground. Very cute. But, they're constantly feeding on algae in my tank.
In a previous tank, I didn't have enough algae, or rather, the wrong kind of algae for Otos, and I went through a few - probably starved because of lack of knowledge about them. I check my Otos every few days now... just to make sure they're getting the food they need.
Good luck!
They will also do better if you add them to a tank that has already been well established. A happy otto is a fat otto.
I have them in three tanks right now(10,29,55), all planted, all with pretty close parameters. What gets me is they're the only things dying. I have cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, clown plecos, cardinals, neons, even a red claw crab that have out lived the last ten I bought! Guess I might give buying more a rest for a while. I have 6 left- please pray for them!
A lot of fish are badly stressed by the shipping process. Along the way from place to place-importer, wholesalers, pet shops- They are often in polluted water , always overcrowded and seldom, if ever fed until they get to the lfs.
Mark
Mark
