Oto looking lethargic, "pale" ?

[outofwater]

Hi, so a week ago I got a couple of otos and a dozen of neons. As discussed on another thread , something happened with the neons and lost 5 total. Did a 4 day round of melafix with daily 30% water changes. The 7 remaining ones seem to be thriving.

This morning I noticed one of the otos looked just different. A little too mellow for what I had seen so far.

Just got home from work and finally got the two of them kinda close. I've been told these like company but right now I don't want want get any more fish as the weather here is being nasty and the fish are arriving at stores already stressed and weak.

The one laying on the rock is the issue. He seems pale in comparison to the other and as I've said he's lethargic. The other one jeeps going from the glass to the decos to the plants and eating, this one seems to just sit wherever he can.

Adding water params:
76F
0 ammonia
0 nitrites
5 nitrates
ph: 7

thoughts?

 

[outofwater]

@Fishmanic I can't seem to be able to change this post to the fish emergencies section, and I think that's where it should be. can you please help? thanks in advance. you can delete this thread if needed, I'll then post it in the right section.

thank you.

 

[Colin_T]

Has the fish got a fat belly or is that the picture?

Otocinclus catfish should not be put in a new tank. They need biofilm, algae and driftwood otherwise they starve.

You can increase the lighting times up to 16 hours a day to encourage algae to grow on the glass. Then reduce the lighting time back to 10-12 hours a day so the algae doesn't smother everything.

Make sure there is some driftwood in the tank.

-------------------
re: the fish. From the outside it looks fine, but if it is fat, then it probably has an internal problem like dropsy. It could also be water quality.

Check the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Maybe do a water change and see if it helps.

 

[outofwater]

Has the fish got a fat belly or is that the picture?

Otocinclus catfish should not be put in a new tank. They need biofilm, algae and driftwood otherwise they starve.

You can increase the lighting times up to 16 hours a day to encourage algae to grow on the glass. Then reduce the lighting time back to 10-12 hours a day so the algae doesn't smother everything.

Make sure there is some driftwood in the tank.

-------------------
re: the fish. From the outside it looks fine, but if it is fat, then it probably has an internal problem like dropsy. It could also be water quality.

Check the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

Maybe do a water change and see if it helps.

Thanks @Colin_T water params are OK. I dont have driftwood, however the tank had good enough biofilm already, I could feel it and see it on the glass, hoses, and I drop kelp/veggie wafers . And yeah, its belly does look big, I noticed that this evening. It's a bit more mobile now, I'm hoping it will work itself out, I'm thinking it over ate, or as you i read somewhere else it might be constipated. Not that he's eating anything at the moment, except the very occasional scrapping on the glass or the sword plant, but I'll stop the feeding for a day at least, see how things go. Any additional feedback will be highly appreciated.

 

[Colin_T]

Fish don't get constipated because they live in water. Constipation is a mammal problem caused by lack of fibre and water in their diet.

If it ate too much then that might explain it being fat and not doing much. Monitor it and see how it looks tomorrow. If the fat belly gets smaller and the fish starts to swim around, then hopefully it just ate too much

If it gets worse, post some more pictures and maybe a video of it.

 

[outofwater]

Fish don't get constipated because they live in water. Constipation is a mammal problem caused by lack of fibre and water in their diet.

If it ate too much then that might explain it being fat and not doing much. Monitor it and see how it looks tomorrow. If the fat belly gets smaller and the fish starts to swim around, then hopefully it just ate too much

If it gets worse, post some more pictures and maybe a video of it.

Will do. Lol, learned something new. Fish don't get constipated. Got it!

 

[Essjay]

I can't seem to be able to change this post to the fish emergencies section, and I think that's where it should be

I have moved it to Emergencies.

 

[outofwater]

Fish don't get constipated because they live in water. Constipation is a mammal problem caused by lack of fibre and water in their diet.

If it ate too much then that might explain it being fat and not doing much. Monitor it and see how it looks tomorrow. If the fat belly gets smaller and the fish starts to swim around, then hopefully it just ate too much

If it gets worse, post some more pictures and maybe a video of it.

Well, last night it seemed to be getting better, it was moving around more than it had during the day. This morning it was belly up amongst some plants, its belly still a little too plump, but not as much as it seemed yesterday.

the other oto seems to get along great with the cory fish. I'm hesitant to get any new fish, due to the bad weather we're getting, every time I go to the couple of shops nearby there's a few that look weak, about to die or already dead.

 

[Colin_T]

You shouldn't add new fish to a tank for a month after any fish die because there could be a disease in the tank or the new fish could introduce a new disease. Plus the addition of new fish add stress to the original inhabitants and if they are weak or sick, the extra stress can push them over the edge. So just hold off getting any new fish for a month or so. You might have some better weather then too.

In the mean time, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This will help to reduce any disease organisms that might be in the tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter too if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Monitor the rest of the fish