Dying Oto Catfish

[SterlingSilver]

First off, water levels are good. No ammonia or nitrite, and nitrate is around 20. Water changes every week. ph is very high out of the tap, 8.2, but all my fish have been acclimated slowly and these otos have been fine for almost a month.

Out of 4 otos in the tank, 2 have died in the past few days. Today I saw that one oto was trying to swim at the back of the tank, but couldn't seem to stay upright. She also was taking infrequent heavy breaths and staying towards the surface. Temperatures haven't changed, and there is lots of surface movement but I added cooler clean water to the tank just in case (the other fish were acting normal). I watched as she tried to swim up, but ended up falling on her back. She darted around the tank once, then her body seemed to bend in a u shape. She quickly died.

Other important info. 20 gallon planted tank with driftwood, and plenty of algae. My otos have all had big stomachs, so I don't think they are starving, and seemed fine the night before they died. Nothing new, and no lotion or sprays near the tank.

Any ideas? (sorry this is so long)

 

[joels3400]

It's always hard to say with Otos. I've had 4 and 2 died as well. The PH is the only thing I can think of. They generally like PH between 7-7.8. I have a high PH as well so I use about 2/3 distilled with each WC.

Are they small or big? Bigger ones tend to live a little bit longer and are less sensitive.

 

[Brookster123]

It seems they either make it past the one month mark or that's it for them... they can be collected in certain ways that will permanent damage their system.. it's sad.. I just got 3 a few weeks ago, my one month mark is approaching and I find myself watching them more than any other fish I have atm.. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst:/

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Coursair]

And when I buy them I always check undersides. I want gently rounded, not sucked up bellies.

And yes, they are awesome when they pull through !!


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SterlingSilver]

I know they are sensitive, but I just love them so much! Plus it is so close to one month, like 3 1/2 weeks. Luckily I have one who is going on fish months, and the other one seems strong and active.

They seemed to do pretty well in my local pet store, I've seen them eat and there are always a bunch in the tank.

And I'm too afraid to mess with the ph. With really high gh & kh, its more likely to go back in a day (or so i've heard).

 

[Coursair]

Just try mixing distilled and tap water. When you do partial water changes. Experiment outside of the tank until you find the proper proportion, gradually changing PH not all at once.

Remember Otos won't eat just any old algae , they need soft green algae if you have a lot of algae, look at your tank maintenance.
Mind love Rapashy's gel food.

A properly maintained planted tank will hardly have any algae but my Otos thrived.

There are 2 species of Otos in the pic. I ended up with 3 species. Frustrated my gravid female. I couldn't find her a mate
Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SterlingSilver]

So i checked on the tank before bed, and the oto that I got in a group with the others (I have one from a different store who seems totally fine, so far...) was just lying on the bottom. He swam aroun erratically when I tapped on the glass, but is just staying in one spot now and breathing heavily(which seems to be a predecessor to them dying). I did a immediate almost 50% water change, but there is no change in him.

I included some pictures, including one where there is a small pinkish red spot on his nose, and some of the algae in the tank. it seems like soft green algae to me, it came off easily on my fingers. I thought the stuff on the back of the tank, behind the sponge filter, might be mold like and I plan on getting rid of it tomorrow during my weekly wc.

I'm keeping a light on for now to keep watch, but right now I am not optimistic

 

[SterlingSilver]

So good news and bad news. I still have 2 otos!! I was very happy that they both survived the past few days, with daily 3 gallon water changes. And they had been doing fine until tonight. Gah!

I think there is some sort of heavy metal in the tank (my barbs were also acting a bit spay), despite dechlorinater. Since there has been neon green crap on the sand and filters and plants (??) I considered copper and got a test which came up negative.

Tonight I noticed the sickly oto has a white fuzz on his nose, and what I really hope is not ich . He started swimming erratically so I did another water change.

I am out of ideas. there is definatly something going on, I just can't figure it out.

The only thing different today was I restarted adding excel. But its a half dosage and sits in a small amount of water for a half hr or so before getting added to the tank.

any ideas are appreciated.

 

[SterlingSilver]

Here are some pictures.

And this same thing has actually happened to me in the same tank before, where I lost one of my two original otos. It eventually went away on its own, but I still don't know what's going on.