Otto Died

[Riso-chan]

This is the 5th otto out of the original 6 I had to die from unknown causes. Of course, I tested both my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=20-25ppm range. I have had nitrate spikes in the past, but since I traded in the swordtails this is the better part of the levels, I've had up to 40ppm.
It's never gone higher than that. I've read that ottos were sensitive to certain levels of nitrates, and the sad thing is that it was the only water perameter I ever have trouble with. I 've also read that some ottos can die because of bacterial infections that cause their underside to bloat making them appear gravid or just real fat.
I feel bad because I saw this one die and didn't know what to do for him/her. A few days ago, I noticed that the nostrils where ringed with white, so I just watched it for a few days, he acted normal. Then, tonight, I was carefully shining a flashlight on the tank to watch the kuhlis eat, then I noticed one of the two ottos laying in the gravel. I shined the light on it and it didn't respond.
So I took the net and tried to see if I could make him move any. He did, but after that he just layed on a rock and his color started fading. I shined the light on him again and this time he tried to swim straight up, but he twirled and started turning upside down then just sank to the bottom where he landed on his side.

Could anyone tell me if this is just another case of high mortality in ottos, or if you guys have ever experienced this? Are ottos this sensitive? I love the little things but I wouldn't want to have another one die. I feel horrible. I'm worried too, are kuhlis just as sensitive?, or could they take over the niche of the ottos?

 

[reiverix]

Sorry for your losses. It seems that one of the big problems with otos is that some LFS just don't understand that they need a constant source of food. Add to that the fact that by the time they get to the LFS they are starved anyway. However, I honestly believe that otos are tougher than most people realise but by the time they end up in our tanks, some are too far gone and are beyond our help.

Sorry I can't comment about your khulis. Never kept them but they look fantastic. I don't think they share the same niche as otos.

By they way, I keep nitrates at around 15ppm. My otos don't mind.

 

[firefly]

ottos can be sensitive, but usually do o.k. in an established tank. I know we lose a fair ammount in shipping, but after that they tend to do o.k. In our store they get zucchini daily (for four hours), weekend feeders always, and sinking pellets as well (daily or twice daily). They are an awesome fish, and the best algae eater by far. Kuhiles are another awesome fish, and can also be sensitive, but usually not as bad as ottos. They definitley have a different niche though. They are not really algae eaters, definitely need sinking food, but can burrow in the soft sand substrates and help stir up the gravel a bit. I can't wait to get some kuhlies for my new tank(s)....

Do you have any live plants in your tank? That can help lower nitrates considerably. And, the ottos won't bother them a bit. They skim along the top of the leaves eating off any algae o the plant, but leave the rest of the plant alone. They are a great fish, did I mention that? What size tank is this, and what are the other tankmates? ALso, did you replace any of the original ottos? Ottos don't do well when they aren't in groups. Though they arent' schoolign per se, they do like company.

Emily

 

[spencer2009]

I think that they might have come from a bad source. I have otto's in alot of my tanks and when i went to buy more from petsmart they all died. Then when i bought them from my lfs (which is more costly) they all ended up fine. Just make sure they look ok when u buy them and if they did there has to be some other problem.

-Spencer-

 

[f8ldzz]

I'd just write it off as a loss.
They are pretty delicate.
I just lost one myself from an original batch of 6 (lost one right after I got them), and this group of five were thriving for the past month or so.
Algae is abundant, and they started to eat the algae wafers I was dropping in there.
They are all FAT.

The only thing I did recently was a water change two days ago.
Previously, I had introduced a couple amazon swords and a potted anubias nana about a week ago.

 

[Riso-chan]

I do have live plants(see sig) and it's a 55gal tank. I think maybe it was a bad source, though I got the kuhlis from the same place. The ottos lasted a good while, couple months at least. I had really inadequate lighting before though, and I just updated it, so the plants should be able to use up more of the nitrates. I keep the back and side walls of the tank unscurbbed so they had plenty of brown algea. I didn't feed them fresh veggies that often though, and they seemed to do fine. I've read they do well on just brown algea, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I could try to get them from a different source next time to prevent losses. I also don't have a heater on my tank, because the temp is very constant at 75 degrees, now in the summer it has slowly risen to about 78 degrees. It never fluctuates more than 3 degrees at a time.