fish literally gone crazy?

[panboy]

sometimes i worry aoubt my otos and SAE.

my otos dont seem to eat, have lost lots their color, and always hide.
and if i do disturb them on accident while vacuuming, they freak out, literally.
they go crazy at 100mph all over the tank until they find another hiding spot.

my SAE isnt as bad, he still eats, but he circles one side of the tank constantly for hours. going up and down.
i feel bad for this guy, do they usually stay in small schoals?
anyone know why he is doing this?
when i first got him he acted normal

 

[WILDER]

First of all what are your test results in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph, when they go pale it's stress.

 

[panboy]

everything is zero.. even nitrate ( im thinking about grabbing some kno3 for plants soon though)
ph is 7.6

 

[Erised]

I've found that most algae eaters are like this when you come near them. No matter if its a SAE, CAE or plec. I've never had it with ottos though! but I dont think its too much to worry about.

I do however worry about your ottos being pale and not eating. What tank mates are they in with? Are they getting harrassed at all? Also, try putting in some cucumber (weighed down) They often seem to go for that at night

 

[Elisabeth83]

I don't have ottos but I do have SAEs. I initially bought 3 for my 26 gallon but one died so now there are only 2 but both seem happy just to have eachother. I also have 2 in my 30 gallon.

I would recommend at least getting another SAE as mine are always with eachother and I would think only having one he might be stressed.

I'm not sure about why your ottos and SAE are acting so "crazy" mine seem pretty calm and are always out and about sucking on just about everything. I sit in front of my 26 gallon and my 30 gallon is right next to me by the computer and they always come to the glass and dont seem bothered by me one bit.

Maybe while your vacuuming try and move slower so they dont freak out as bad?

I feed my SAEs wafer, cucumber and other veggies and they love joining all the other fish in the feast

 

[RYO]

My sae's are calm , but my false sae is nuts he loops the loop all the timeand is always on the go

 

[ddm18]

My common plec did the same thing as your otto - I think it's simply a defence mechanism - they just want to get away from the 'predator' and hide again.

I don't know much about ottos, but aren't they nocturnal? If so, then they probably are eating, you just don't see them.

 

[BOD]

dont know about ottos being nocturnal, mine are out all the time, i think when are cleaning try not to go near them too much, what i do somtimes is try and gain there trust ill put my hand in and try to show them that im not going to hurt them, mine dont mind me anymore, and sometimes when i put my arm in to move things around they come and stick to me.... how well planted is your tank? ottos do like lots of plants to hide in it makes them feel safer.

 

[panboy]

yeah my oto is always lost somewhere within my water wisteria. my tank has plenty of hiding spots for them btw.

mine use to be out all time until all of a sudden they started to hide. and they never used to mind me, i would be cleaning my glass and i would practically have to push them off. they didnt seem to mind.

now they have gone kookoo

 

[jhd]

Otos are nocturnal once matured. Mine would do exactly the same thing, darting like crazy when moved. Otos should have nice rounded bellies. If they don’t, then probably your SAE eats all the algae they can eat. Otos do not have much of scrubbing power, so SAE can starve them. If oto bellies are flat, they are starving and this could be why they lost colors. They would need some food at night.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

I've got both Oto's and SAE's in my tanks, though not living together. I agree with everything you're going through. All fishes are easily disturbed, but then, from what I've found, the more 'gentle' contact they have with their keeper, the better they'll react.

Keep the fishes at eye-level at all times when you're looking at them. This sometimes helps to keep them calm. If you're looking over the tank, down at them, they (like most other fishes) get easily freaked out. They'll think you're a predator. Like a heron or something.

If your Oto's and SAE's live in a well-planted tank, this'll give the opportunity to find hiding places. If not, the fishes could potentially injure themselves whilst fighting for the 'best' hiding places.

Also, my Oto's are SAE's aren't notcurnal and can be active all-day round. Great little Buddha's if well looked after.

 

[panboy]

thanks alot. it makes sense now.

jhd, mine do have a big round stomach and i always thought they were sick or something or just deformed. great to here that they are like that