Is my oto lonly or dying?

[Bioworldmaker]

I have noticed that my oto seems kinda sad...
It has been sitting for two days on the driftwood part that is behind the plant, mostly. It moved to the pump for a little bit and then went right back behind the plant. That is not its normal behavior because he used to be all over the place looking for algae and now it seems all it wants to do is hide...

OMG, I hope it isn't dying! Does anyone have any ideas on what is wrong?

 

[lmw80]

If all the algae is gone, he is going to need his diet supplemented. Zuchinni or cucumber is what I use. They love it!

 

[TankGirl]

Also, otocinclus are a schooling fish and do not do well alone or as a pair, in general. Your assertion that the fish is "sad" rings true if he is alone -

I also agree that they need to be fed, once the diatoms were gone in my tank they did not seem very interested in green algae, so I had to supplement with algae wafers and zuchinni.

 

[Bioworldmaker]

I am sure there is plenty of algae in the tank because it is so much work to clean it...
I guess I'll go get more otos to see if they cheer up my poor little guy... How many do you think would make a good school? About 4?

 

[SHortyGeorge]

I currently have only one Oto right now... I'm making sure he acclimates properly before I get him another one (the first one I got died withing 48 hours, the sensitive little buggers ) fortunately the fish store has a 72 hour replacement policy. AFter I brought in a water sample (I wanted to make sure it wasn't my water that killed him before I got a new one, would just be cruel to do that to two), which in the words of the guy at the fish store was "pristine" I got a replacement. so far, he is doing well, I'm going to give it another couple of days and pick up another one. Because my tank is only a 10 Gal, I am concerned about having too many fish... I have a fairly good balance of fish vs. plants.. as well as some MTS to keep my sand nicely aereated *sp*... I know they are a social fish, so I have to get atleast one more so he doesnt' die of loneliness. Apparantly, in doing some research and talking to the fish store guy, Pygmy Corydoras have very similar schooling habits, and often the Pygmys and the Otos will school together, so to add a little flavour, I'm also going to purchase a pair of those guys (they are so cute!) and that way they will be able to socialize with each other if they are feeling particularly lonely with their own species company. With those three new tank members and a couple of more plants, and my 10 gal will be complete.
Then it is time to save up for a 25gal

 

[cginflorida]

In my 10 gal, I originally only had 1 oto, and I hardly ever saw him. In fact, at one point I thought he must have died because I hadn't seen him in a week, but then I finally found him during a water change.

I went and got 3 more otos to keep him company, and now I see all 4 of them a lot. Mine eat the Hikari algae wafers, and I add zucchini occasionally for them and the betta. I was wondering about cucumber, Lori. I think I'll try that, too.

 

[marcus russo]

I would say every other oto i buy lives. It is best to buy a few @ a time as well and acclimate them slowly.
Once they have been in the tank a while they do seem to do well as long as they are eating enough

 

[techiegirl]

Also, otocinclus are a schooling fish and do not do well alone or as a pair, in general. Your assertion that the fish is "sad" rings true if he is alone

awwwww!! I did not know this!!! My poor little guy!! I got him about 10 days ago -- I will go out and get him some friends tonight!

Thanks about the cucumber/zucchini tip too!
Do you just stick it on the bottom?

I have been giving him an algae wafer each day but have never seen him eating it. Instead, the gourami and platty end up picking at it.
How do make him eat??! :?

 

[BrianNY]

Otos definitely prefer to be in groups. I put a dozen in my planted 125. I have no idea if all of them are still alive as they are both nocturnal and quite timid. When I do find them, they always seem to be in seperate groups of 3 or 4.

Another excellent food for veggie eaters is broccoli. I cut the stem into thin wafers and let in settle on the tank bottom after turning out the light.

 

[JenNewbie]

I personally have had 4 or 5 otos die on me. I bought 3 for my 5 gal, hoping that at least 1 would live. 2 are still going strong, although at least once a week I think one has died since I can only see one out (there's a plastic rock cave they hide in frequently) and very often I don't see either one for a few days. I never see them together (although I suppose they may be "schooling" when they are out of sight). There is plenty of algae in my tank, but I never see them eating it, so they get an algae wafer chip every other day or so.

 

[Bioworldmaker]

Today I got some more otos to keep my little dude company and he looks much happier now, thanks for the good advice!! Now I got 4 of them... They don't really school together but they kinda like to "bonk" into each other, like "Hey do you have something there? Then go somewhere else!"

 

[TankGirl]

You can use a veggie clip (plastic spring clip with a suction cup for the glass) to hold your veggies or what I do is rubber band the zuchinni or whatever to a plastic fork, and dig the fork into the gravel, since most veggies will float.

Brian, I will have to try the broccoli - never tried it before.

 

[techiegirl]

well I went and got another Oto last night (they only had one left).
I put a lettuce leaf in the tank and an algae wafer.
The new guy is pretty active but my other one is even worse now.
He was laying on the bottom kinda half on his side this morning and when I moved the algae wafer over to him, it landed on top of him and he didn't hardly move! I poked near him and he swam a few inches to the glass.
Now he's in the corner of the glass and he doesn't look good at all!
Whenever I have had a fish die before, I always just find them dead.
What do you do when it looks like one is dying?? I feel bad just leaving him to suffer. I wish I thought he would get better but it doesn't look good. Did I starve him? I mean, even if there wasn't enough algae for him to eat, why won't he eat the wafers??

*signed techiegirl, the fish killer

 

[cginflorida]

techiegirl, please try not to feel guilty, but I know that's easier said than done.

Otos can be picky eaters, and don't feel bad about keeping him by himself before yesterday. A lot of people in a LFS will tell you they're perfectly happy being alone. It's just been through recent personal experience that I found out they do better in groups. Here's a web site I found that might help you with feeding:

http://www.otocinclus.com/feeding.html

Here's another one about fish euthanasia, if it comes to that:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/faustus/nicoldaquaria/euthanasia.htm

I sure hope it doesn't come to that. Good luck!