Otto question

Here's a dumb question, but I wonder if the one remaining is the last one you acclimated slower?
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No, strangely enough the "disoriented" one was the one I introduced "properly" (or so I thought). The survivor is one of the first three. Good thing is that it's still alive today and seems to be doing OK :cool:

It doesn't eat that much though. I put half an algae tablet yesterday, and it is still there (completely disintegrated). I'll remove it now and try with the zucchini. How long do you boil it?
 
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In a small cup with water, just a minute or less on high in the microwave to soften, then soak in cold water to cool it. The piece I use is about a 1-1/2 inch circle, 3/4 inch thick, cut in half. I just have a bunch of these cut up and stored in the freezer.

Some people do not boil them, but mine like them softer, won't eat them otherwise, spoiled fish. I put it in their tank every Tuesday evening and take out any remaining on Thursday morning. Just have my routines....
 
kveeti,

Thanks a lot for your help. I'll definitely make use of it next time I decide to get the otos. But I guess not this time... Today I discovered my last oto dead. I'm not sure what caused this, but he didn't eat much lately.

I didn't even turn on the light in the q-tank so it didn't feel too stressed. Anyway, it's over now. I guess I'll have to learn a lot about keeping these fish... :(
 
theory

Tt might be wise to test the fish store water in the bag to see how it is different from yours. GH could be wildly different, or there may be salt in the tank. Just a wild guess. Both of those would affect osmotic pressure and would be not unlike opening a window in an airplane.

anona, no expert but ready to offer an opinon
 
Another try

I decided to give otos another try. My algae eating shrimp couldn't keep up with the algea (especially on the glass), so I thought there gotta be a way :)

Anyway, I got another 6 otos (thinking that some of them may die anyway) and put them in the q-tank (5.5 gal). This time, I bought 2 bushy plastic plants which occupied about 20% of the volume of the tank. Also I replaced the bright fluorescent light with a single 25 W incandescent bulb to give more subdued lighting.

When I brought the new fish in, I acclimatized them by slowly dripping the aquarium water into their original container for about 1.5 hours. After I put them in, they seemed to be active with no signs of stress. They immediately took to vacuuming the aquairum.

Several days later after noticing no ill effects on the fish I transferred them into the main tank (again, after 1 hour water dripping excercise). They too seemed to have accepted their new environment happily and went straight to their cleaning duties.

A couple more days later all 6 fish are still alive and kicking. The plants and the glass are almost free of algae and the otos are still working hard. Anyway, I think this time I did it right and the fish will reward me with years of life and enjoyment.

Thanks everyone who gave me their suggestions. Much appreciated.
 
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Thank you for letting us know your experience. I'd be interested in how they do in the long run. My original 3 were introduced as yours were, slowly, and were just fine. Suddenly, a week ago, one just up and died, no prior warning or indication of being ill. Oh, well.
 
I know I am slow joining the thread, but there's a good deal of information on otos at http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/ There is strong indications that the primary problem with these fish that they spend too much time in high stress, low food environments (ie, shipping, bare tanks with no plants) and the bacteria in their gut dies off, causing them to slowly starve, and be susceptible to a wide range of other problems as a result of their weakened state. Oto's introduced into a healthy planted tank, or a tank with other healthy fish, has a much better chance of surviving. I won't buy an oto that hasn't been in the store for less than a week.
 
Just wanted to update you on my oto situation...

After several days of being in good health and appetite, I noticed a couple while spots on some of the otos. They were on the body and fins. I immediately removed all the otos from the main tank and put them into the q-tank and treated them with Quick Cure (malachite green + formalin) for two days. The ich spots have disappeared but the fish seemed distressed and very lethargic. Completely stopped eating and just hanging attached to the glass without moving most of the time. Then I noticed signs of fin rot. I immediately treated the q-tank with Maracyn (erythromycin).

Unfortunately fin rot had progressed in one fish and it died the other day. The rest of the otos (now 5 of them) seemed to improve. Their fins remain almost intact. Anyway, they stayed lethargic for several days. I then noticed that their scales seemed to protrude. Almost on all of them. I thought dropsy but there was no sign of swelling or any other symptoms I could see. Maybe it was my eyes but I think originally the fish looked very smooth as if it had no scales at all. But now I can see it very clearly. Anyway, several days later the fish started to eat a little bit and became more active. Now they seem almost normal. I'm not sure if the scales still protrude that much or I'm just being paranoid.

Anyway, I'll be watching them for several more day and if everything's OK, I'll move them back in the main tank. My guess I just got a pretty healthy batch of fish this time. Any other would have died already, after all they had pulled through...

I'll let you know what happens next.

Oh, almost forgot. About feeding otos. What do you feed them when they are in a (almost) clean tank? I tried to give them zucchini (slightly boiled) but they refuse to eat it. I tried cucumbers as well with no success. It could be because of illness but now that they started to eat algea (I put some items from the main tank which were covered with green alea slightly) they still care less for the supplements (there isn't that much algea after all. They've eaten almost everything already within several hours). So, what do I give them before I can put the fish in the main tank?
 
Algae tabs/wafers are a good substitute, and keep trying other veggies. How long did you leave the zucchini in?
 
I left zucchini for about a day. I tried that three times and every time I had to throw them away.

I also use the "Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers" which my otos don't seem to care much for. I was sure that these were what people referred to as "Algae wafers" but after doing a web search I found that Hikari also makes an "explicit" algae wafers which I will try next. Thanks for the pointers.
 
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