I doubt your filter is the problem.
Ottos are notorious for their low survival rates and for their sensitivity when being introduced into a new tank. It is not uncommon for people to have high death rates when introducing those little guys into new tanks. The first time I bought ottos, I lost 6 out of 10 of them in my Q-tank (15 gallons, with a AC-mini) within 2 weeks. I went back to the store to replace the 6 that I lost, however, I lost 2 out of the 6 that I bought within a couple of weeks. Not very fun.
The last time I read up on this, it seems that the general agreement is that since ottos are herbivores, they need bacteria within their gut to help digest the algae that they consume (as is the same with many other herbivores). However, during shipping and such, they don't have access to the foods that they need to keep the bacteria alive, and so the bacteria within their guts die off. When the ottos do manage to get a food source, there isn't enough bacteria to help digest the food that is consumed, and they slowly starve to death.
If you want to buy these fish, I suggest watching them for a couple of weeks at your LFS. If you can, get your LFS to put them aside for you so that you can observe them. If you find yourself lossing a lot of ottos from one particular store, switch to another store and try them out. Thats what I did... since switching to another LFS, I only lost 2 out of the 15 ottos I bought for my 70 gallon tank.
HTH
-Richer
Ottos are notorious for their low survival rates and for their sensitivity when being introduced into a new tank. It is not uncommon for people to have high death rates when introducing those little guys into new tanks. The first time I bought ottos, I lost 6 out of 10 of them in my Q-tank (15 gallons, with a AC-mini) within 2 weeks. I went back to the store to replace the 6 that I lost, however, I lost 2 out of the 6 that I bought within a couple of weeks. Not very fun.
The last time I read up on this, it seems that the general agreement is that since ottos are herbivores, they need bacteria within their gut to help digest the algae that they consume (as is the same with many other herbivores). However, during shipping and such, they don't have access to the foods that they need to keep the bacteria alive, and so the bacteria within their guts die off. When the ottos do manage to get a food source, there isn't enough bacteria to help digest the food that is consumed, and they slowly starve to death.
If you want to buy these fish, I suggest watching them for a couple of weeks at your LFS. If you can, get your LFS to put them aside for you so that you can observe them. If you find yourself lossing a lot of ottos from one particular store, switch to another store and try them out. Thats what I did... since switching to another LFS, I only lost 2 out of the 15 ottos I bought for my 70 gallon tank.
HTH
-Richer
