Half eaten Oto?

[Copachick]

...So one of my Otos died yesterday. (Ive had Otos in all my tanks I know they can die easily) But this the first time Ive ever found one half eaten :-/
I have Platys, Neons, Headlight tail lights, and a Bala. DO you think the Bala could have nibbled on him? Maybe as hes getting older his personality is changing and hes not the sweet innocent quiet little Sharky that we love, lol.
Or maybe the other Otos did it? I dunno!

 

[alLexX]

im betting it died and got eaten when it was dead

 

[Copachick]

Well, yea I would assume so....
I was just curious if anyone knows who might have been the one to pick at him after he had died? His fins were missing and a huge chunk out of his stomach

 

[alLexX]

probably all of them ate(or tried to eat) parts of him

 

[Copachick]

And thats crazy to think of because theyve never done that before. And it was just in a matter of a few hours. Everybody was alive when I left in the morning but returned home a few hours later to my Oto upside down nibbled on

 

[LyndaB]

Fish will consume dead or dying fish as a means of keeping the bacteria level down in the tank. It could easily have been any of your fish.

Balas should be kept in groups of at least 5, in case you weren't aware. Fish that are not kept in their proper school numbers can display unusual behavior.

What size is this tank? Ah, I see in your siggy line that it's a 36. They recommend 55 gallons for an adult bala.

Do you still have a catfish in this tank?

 

[Copachick]

We are about to get a 120gallon.. specifically because of our Bala. And yes I know he needs to be in a group. We had no knowledge of them or much of anything before we bought him.
And actually we lost our catfish just the other day. We had him for awhile too. We just moved into a new house so we think maybe he was a bit stressed from that move.
The other fish are great though