Oto is depressed, need some help

Aqua Jon

Of my 4 newly introduced Otocinclus one is not active and not eating. It is becoming thin and increasingly lazy. I put in a HIKARI Algae Wafer last night, but none of the Oto cats touched it. After a few hours the remains were removed, except for a small portion in hopes that the "sick" Oto would be more inclined to eat through the night. This morning lights on and the MTS are finishing the food. IMO it looks depressed. The two largest Oto's have seem to pair off and swim around the tank together often. Unsure of if Oto's form loyal pairs during breeding, but if they do perhaps this one is without his or her mate?

Despite the Otocinclus' notoriety for difficult survival due to stresses, the other 3 are fine. Other than "love-sick" perhaps there is not enough food to go around in the tank, algae and micro-fauna. Or that the HIKARI Algae Wafers were not to his liking... So I may try the HIKARI catfish/bottom feeders wafers.

Thank you for reading and please contribute to save this little Oto.

Aqua Jon

Please remove thread, the Oto is now dead.

redchigh

Sorry to hear that...

Same thing happened to me- I think not only are they sensitive, but they're fragile. I think they get sloshed around too much in shipping or buised or something.

Aqua Jon

i agree and the person at the store netting the fish wasn't very tactful either.. i think she crushed him during netting. I am happy with the other 3 though - they have fun in there now without any other fish, very active. Love chasing reflection of themselves or food along the tank sides.

Byron

As redchigh said, otos are very sensitive to handling and shipping. Many die in transit, and those that arrive in stores are usually starved. If introduced to a tank with plenty of algae (common green or diatoms) they will usually, but not always, recover. In my experience, they need natural algae at first, and will come to accept prepared tablets (all my five now eat tablets) but only in time. It is quite possible you managed to get 3 that were healthy enough to survive and they will be fine together; 3 is a good number. The fourth was not so lucky, plus he may have ben injured in capture.

Byron.

Aqua Jon

Yeah, they are sensitive fish indeed. As far as I know, they are not accepting the wafers yet. I'm trying again today with another wafer piece. They still have some algae in the tank left for them, but they are such good eaters that it is growing thin. I hope it does not take long for them to make the transition, but i will try some veggies too.

What are the chances of the two bigger Otos spawning? They appear to be hanging out with each other quite often.

Byron

It is possible, I have had otos spawn. But they are a social fish that frequently spend time together, just 2 or all 3, etc. I rarely see mine unless I look hard for them, but other times I will notice two "chasing" each other back and forth.