Why?

[juggernuts]

I have myself a little 60litre tank with one ornamental castle, one fake plant, and about 5 moss balls at the moment, there is quite a substantial amount of algae in there but nothing crazy.

my question is then, i purchased 6 otto's and already 2 are dead. They have literally been sudden as i have 3 ghost shrimp and 5 glowlight tetras in there at the minute also.

all my stats are fine and the temperature is all good, im even running a fluval 105 which was all properly cycled had other fish in there for months now, just ottos dont seem to like it

 

[Honeythorn]

Otos are well known for being a bit finicky and delicate even in tanks with plenty of algae to eat. Most tend not to live all that long even for experienced people.

I would say add more plants for the fish to hide in and under too.

Don't forget to cultivate fresh algae for your Otos! You can do this by getting some clean smooth tank safe rocks, and putting them in a tub of tankwater on a bright windowsill ( whichever one gets the most sunlight) .

Soon enough you'll have a good coat of algae for the Otos to eat. They may also graze on veggies like Courgette or cucumber, and you can suplement them with algae tabs too.

A lot of Otos die of starvation due to incorrect feeding and not enough algae.

 

[Ben M]

hi, when you buy otto's only buy the ones without a pinched stomach. because if they have been starved for a while in transit, they may never fully recover. they should be fine if you acclimatise them slowly, and feed them good food. i would try them with some blanched courgette/cucumber/insides of peas and algae wafers, to make sure they're eating. but make sure you don't leave the veggies in too long, as they will polute the tank eventually.

cheers

 

[juggernuts]

eee well i just a bit bummed such a nice fish really, what do you think i should put in my little 60litre got some glowlights in there at the min with a few ghost shrimps??

thanks

 

[kaivalagi]

I was luckier with Otos, they were obviously well fed before I got them.

You could try Otos again, get free placements from the LFS maybe? Just pick some chubbier ones out if you can.

A bristlenose plec maybe an alternative fish? Not sure if 60L is really enough though, anyone?

You could get some cory, if so try to get ones that don't grow very big, such as panda cory etc