otos keep dying!

[Mizuro Ami]

i hate it! i was all excited when i got them for my tank, then after about a week theyre both dead. i acclimated them and everything! i know that otos are usually sensitive to adjusting to new environments, but still! i hate having to keep going back to the pet store and buying more!

 

[Discomafia]

Ottos need an established tank, maybe 6 months... What do you feed them? How many have you lost so far? Did you buy them from the same lfs? If so, it might be a problem of bad stock. If they keep dying, stop buying them until you find out why this is happening...

 

[SPLiSH]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Is the tank environment stable?

 

[chris_1127]

I got mine within the first three months of setting my first tank up; of the first three i got only one survived, same with the second lot of 3 a few weeks later. I added another two between christmas and new year and they have been fine. Something that someone suggested to me also is due to the stresses of catching and transporting these fish, its worth waiting till the LFS has had them in stock for a good while before buying, so in theory its the stronger/healthier ones that are left. Good luck, and don't give up as they are great, busy little fish when they survive!!

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

I'd got myself three of them since I'd started, and I've still got all of them. There could be a variety of reasons why they're not working out for you. If this is the case, can I suggest you acclimmatise them, if possible, in a seperate quarantine tank?

You could introduce them at a later late, once you've eliminated all the usual suspects that could lead to their deaths. Then you'd need to check whether they'd get on with any of the other fishes, because you'd just never know if they're being 'bullied' too much?

Good luck and tell us how you're getting on.

 

[RYO]

i have 10 ottos between 2 tanks,and touch wood havnt lost 1 yet. One tip i read somewhere is find out how long they have been at your lfs,most ottos seem to pop their clogs in the first couple of weeks, so after a week or so in the lfs they tend to stand a better chance of survival.

 

[Bignose]

Otos are pretty much 100% wild caught -- and as all invertebrates, they cannot directly digest cellulose and plant fibers. There is a colony of bacteria in their gut that does this for them. (Just like a cow's stomach for a very good analogy.) Since they are wild caught, the trip can be long, and if the otos do not get a new source of food, their digestive systems begin to consume the bacteria in their gut for sustinence. The problem is that even when food becomes abundant again, there may not be enough bacteria remaining to grow fast enough to support the fish. So, even with plenty of aglae and cucumber and other food available, the fish can starve top death because they have no way to change the food into something digestable and usable by thier body. So, lack of food combined with another environment change and all the stress therein can often be too much for the poor little guys.

Now, the reason you are advised to only buy the fish that have been at the LFS for a fair amount of time is that you can be reasonably sure that that fish has been eating and it bacterial colonly has not been scavanged. There is an external sign, as well -- a well-fed Oto will have a pudgy little tummy, almost like a Buddha. Conversely, one that has had to scavange its gut bacteria will have a little bit caved in tummy. So, next time, look for the ones that have pudgy little tummys -- most likely the ones that have survived the transit the best.