The other day I decided to get some Otto cats to keep algae in check. I went to an LFS and bought 3 ottos whom I placed in a quarantine tank.
I kind of made a mistake when introducing them to the tank because I wasn't very patient and after floating the plastic bag for half an hour I have added some aquarium water to it and about ten minutes later I put the fish in the tank.
Well, I didn't do my fair amount of research and wasn't aware that these fish are really easy to stress when putting in a new environment. Anyway, after about 20 minutes I noticed that the fish "stood" on their fins. Their bodies seemed very tense and then after about another 5 minutes they started to swim franticly, going up and down along the glass.
In the end, one fish was dead maybe within 1 hour upon introduction. Oh, I must note that I took the water from the main tank which has been running OK for 2 months now with perfect water quality parameters (as far as I can tell from my test equipment) - Ammonia (0), Nitrite (0), Nitrate (0), Phosphates (0), pH (7.2), KH (4°dH), GH (6°dH).
I have removed the dead otto and the remaining two appeared to be in shock but breathing. They survived through the night and the next morning I discovered that both have some sort of spine deformities. One fish had some apparent bend in the spine while the other had kind of "S" shaped bend. I have replaced the dead fish with a new otto I got and I acclimatized it properly this time and it seemed to be doing OK initially.
Anyway, two days later the three aren't still very active. Lying most of the time or hanging by the glass. They do seem to eat from time to time. The otto with "S" curved spine seemed to have straightened up and now appears normal. However the second "bent" otto, even though straight now, has some kind of inflamation on the body. The whole part from the dorsal fin to the tail is reddish and slightly swollen.
I suspect that they could have been hurt at LFS when being netted but I don't dismiss the possibility of disease. From what I've read, the only disease which usually causes spinal deformities is TB. I hope that's not the case.
The fish is still eating a little bit and sometimes swim around, but mostly lie down. Sometimes some of them even could lie on its side, almost belly-up. But then a few minutes later turns up and acts normal.
I'm kind of concerned and I'm even considering destroying them, disinfecting the tank and get some other fish (like CAEs). Any ideas or suggestions as to what I should do before I freeze those poor things. I like the fish's looks and smaller size but I have recently read a lot of horror stories about keeping ottos and them dying like flies...
I kind of made a mistake when introducing them to the tank because I wasn't very patient and after floating the plastic bag for half an hour I have added some aquarium water to it and about ten minutes later I put the fish in the tank.
Well, I didn't do my fair amount of research and wasn't aware that these fish are really easy to stress when putting in a new environment. Anyway, after about 20 minutes I noticed that the fish "stood" on their fins. Their bodies seemed very tense and then after about another 5 minutes they started to swim franticly, going up and down along the glass.
In the end, one fish was dead maybe within 1 hour upon introduction. Oh, I must note that I took the water from the main tank which has been running OK for 2 months now with perfect water quality parameters (as far as I can tell from my test equipment) - Ammonia (0), Nitrite (0), Nitrate (0), Phosphates (0), pH (7.2), KH (4°dH), GH (6°dH).
I have removed the dead otto and the remaining two appeared to be in shock but breathing. They survived through the night and the next morning I discovered that both have some sort of spine deformities. One fish had some apparent bend in the spine while the other had kind of "S" shaped bend. I have replaced the dead fish with a new otto I got and I acclimatized it properly this time and it seemed to be doing OK initially.
Anyway, two days later the three aren't still very active. Lying most of the time or hanging by the glass. They do seem to eat from time to time. The otto with "S" curved spine seemed to have straightened up and now appears normal. However the second "bent" otto, even though straight now, has some kind of inflamation on the body. The whole part from the dorsal fin to the tail is reddish and slightly swollen.
I suspect that they could have been hurt at LFS when being netted but I don't dismiss the possibility of disease. From what I've read, the only disease which usually causes spinal deformities is TB. I hope that's not the case.
The fish is still eating a little bit and sometimes swim around, but mostly lie down. Sometimes some of them even could lie on its side, almost belly-up. But then a few minutes later turns up and acts normal.
I'm kind of concerned and I'm even considering destroying them, disinfecting the tank and get some other fish (like CAEs). Any ideas or suggestions as to what I should do before I freeze those poor things. I like the fish's looks and smaller size but I have recently read a lot of horror stories about keeping ottos and them dying like flies...
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) I just fear they might have tuberculosis or something. I just don't want to infect my main (55g) tank.
