oto cats, are they fragile or am i doing something wrong?

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mr funktastic

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i bought 2 otos for my 5 gallon for a little clean up crew but when i put them in one died. so i got another one and they are doing fine now. i just bought 4 for my 20 gal and 2 of them died. id this just a coincidence or are they that fragile. my water conditions are all good. i have blue rams in the tank so the water must be pretty good because they are way more fragile that the otos i am sure. the only thing off in my water is the ph which i a little on the hard side. any advice on keeping these? i really hate returning fish so i need to know if it is worth buying more of these.
 
A lot of them arrive at the LFS starven to the point where they can not recover. They are known to be tough to keep alive initially.
 
I have had a few otos that have died, I find that they require algae wafers as a supplement to help with their survival. Since I have made sure that I supplement their diet, I have had no more otos die.
 
rich311k said:
A lot of them arrive at the LFS starven to the point where they can not recover. They are known to be tough to keep alive initially.

Very true. Try putting something in there for them to eat when you first introduce them. A whole leaf of Romaine lettuce maybe. Mine love that. Then just take it out in a day or so. You have to give them the idea that they finally have food now. If you are still unsuccesful find a new place to purchase them from. Believe it or not, but the healthiest otos here in Colorado Springs are found at Petco. 8O
This website might be helpful: http://www.otocinclus.com/
 
i buy all my fish from big als and they are usually in tremendous condition. i have very very few fish deaths and the ones that i get are usually over night due to unhealthy fish. the problem with the fish u get is that if u can catch them then they are probably the weaker of the bunch. the really health ones are impossible to catch. i will give big als credit though they do completly refund dead on arival fish and have a 5 day guarntee on their fish that gives u half the fishes value back if it croaks in 5 days. but they will usually just give u a new fish for free. the otos that i get from there always seem to be a little on the small side. but u win some u loose some. they have some of the healtiest rams i have ever seen. i intro duced my rams over 30 min when i got them because i wasnt aware of them being so fragle but they were fine and i have had them for nearly 2 months now and they are still as healthy as ever. also their cichlids are the most beautiful i have ever seen at any fish store. as you can tell i am a huge fan of big als lol. i really need to bring my camera one time and show you all how amazing their tank set ups are. and the shark tank OMG it is amazing. well thats enough rambling for me. maybe i will start a big als fan club post. but i am very upset about the otos!!! they will be hearing from me about that. thanks for all your advice by the way.
 
the thing with ottos is that they do not have the enzymes to break down the algea they eat initially. They must eat other otto poo to gain the enzymes, just like koalas. So if an otto was starved like in shipping, holding, then shipping again and holding, they often lose the ability to digest/ get the nutrients from their food. When buying ottos, its best to get ones that have been there for a little while. Then at least you know they still can get nutrients from their food.

Kevin
 
They eta poo - though it's the bacteria in the poo that culture in their gut. A good LFS will quarantine a shipment of otos, giving them chance to recover and all gain the bacteria back before sale.
 
i bought my otos at big als as well as all my other fish...about 7 months ago...never had one die on me...i remember when they got the otos they called me to let me know they had them and that i had to wait 10 days before they could sell them to me because they were quarantined...i think thats very good on their part no? specially otos being so sensitive and all... :D
 
yes i live near barrie and they have an amazing store there. they have alot of tanks that they use specifically for quaranten. i know that there are in quaranten because they never lable the fish or put a price on them, i have also had very good luck with there stock. the problem is that they are too good lol. they have such a wide variety of fish and products that i never just get what i go for. i always buy more. i have said this many times but i will bring my camera next time i go and take some pics of the tanks that they have set up. and the sharks there are amazing!!! well thanks again for the advice and i know now that they eat there own poo, that was really useful information lol
 
Im thinking of getting 2 otto's probably 3 or 4 tho.

Both my LFS's are out of them so i would have to arrange an order for some.
I gather that i should leave it a couple of weeks after they are in the store so they build up strength?
 
Hmmm. I visit Toronto at least once a year on business/pleasure. I think TO and it's environs are a fantastic place. I'm going to make it a point to visit BigAls on my next trip.

For reasons stated in the beginning of this thread Satsumas, you are always better off buying fish that have had a reasonable acclimation period at the lfs. I prepay for the fish and tell my lfs that I'll pick them up on a certain date.

:wink:
 
I agree. I buy most my fish from Big Al's. They treat their fish pretty well and the price is right (most of the times).

I live 2 minutes away from a big BA store. I visit soooo many times that I know everybody in there. You just have to be careful with the advise they give you, because some of the employees are not as knowledgeable as they think! :wink:
 
i agree with Big C...stock is great...advise?...like any other store i guess...but if you know what you want then you shouldnt have a problem.... :D
 
the one near me has differnt people for differnt areas of the stoee. they have a saltwater specialist and a cichlid specialist and so on and so fourth. i have never recieved bad advice from them. and the prices are pretty good. unfortunatly i live about 25 min away so it is a bit of a trip when i have to go there.
 
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