Delicate Ottos?

[itafx]

About 3 months ago I got a team of 4 ottos for my planted 72 bow. I was concerned due to reports that ottos are hard to keep alive. But I decided to try it anyway. They are all still healthy. T hey have grown fat on the algae in the tank and the plants are much cleaner than they were. Did I luck out? Is there something sensitive about ottos that I can fend off? I sure like the ottos and I'd like to get more and spread them to other tanks if If I can consistently keep them healthy.

 

[bs6749]

I have heard they are sensitive and from personal experience I can say that the ones that I purchased were as well. I have purchased a total of 8 after making sure that they looked healthy at the LFS. I waited a few weeks to buy them from the LFS after they got them in to try and get hardy ones. I only have 2 left and I purchased them 3 months ago (2 separate purchases). They are more sensitive than my German Blue Rams. I would like to get more of them but I have a strong feeling that they will not do so well and for $2 a pop I don't think it is worth it. I would rather spend $15 on a single fish that I know is healthy and won't die after a week or two.

 

[malloc]

I just got into this hobby about 7 months ago when I set up my 20g tank. I had kind of a rough start (took lots of advice from petco employees) , lost a lot of fish. When I realized my errors and started researching about my fish a couple months ago, i was surprised to read that otos were sensitive. 2 otos were some of the first fish I got, and have seemed quite healthy since the moment I put them in the tank. I have probably lost a dozen other fish or more since then (none recently, since I stopped listening to petco!), but the otos have been just fine. I had an issue with my water quality a few months ago & lost a few tetras & barbs, again... the otos were fine.

maybe I just got lucky with mine...

 

[itafx]

I QTed my Ottos for 3 weeks in a plantless 20 high with Mardel Coppersafe. I've been doing this with my fish because the first fish I got from PetSmart after a 40 year break in my fish hobby promptly got ich in brand spanking fresh tanks. And I had inspected them very carefully on purchase to be sure there were no signs of disease at the time of purchase. I've found that there is at least a 25% mortality rate in QT'ed fish from the LFS, but the ones that survive the QT stage generally do well.

P.S.
malloc, that's a beautiful snail in your picture. Is it an apple snail? I'm thinking of getting some. I looked at snails in PetCo today and they looked so pathetic, I thought they were probably dead.
itafx

 

[tropicalfish]

I NEVER listen to the petstore. Most of what they tell you is fake or is for making money. Salt is generally not needed,... they tell you to get it,.. all that stuff. And they sell you the store brands, (Top Fin, etc)...

 

[Alshain]

I have heard they are sensitive, my experience is that a good aquarist can keep them alive easy enough. I've had a few deaths, but out of the 10 I put in my tank, I think I still have most of them. Its impossible to get a true count though, they hide too well. Mine tend to come out at night, but I see them most often right after a water change. The trick is to acclimate them thoroughly and do not stress the tank too much. I have had more sensitive fish, I had a Farlowella Acus that died after the first 25% partial water change 2 weeks after I bought him. He was a great algae eater, but by far the most sensitive fish I've ever seen.

Oh and I would be surprised if any Otos survived a dosing from coppersafe, otos are invertabrate catfish and should never recieve a copper dosing.

As for the snails, be carefull what you put them with, my brother recently added swordtails to his tank and they kept nipping at his existing apple snail making him very unhappy. Eventually he had to put a separator in his tank so the snail would come out to play.

 

[newfound77951]

otos are invertabrate catfish

otos are catfish, but definitely not invertebrates! They should not suffer from copper any more than any other fish.

I have had mixed luck with otos. I had three in my 55 and they were happy and fat and then all died after about 3 months. I have 2 that were in a 5.5 gallon and are now in a 10g, I've had them both for over a year and they are fine. I think a lot depends on the "batch" of otos the LFS gets.

 

[malloc]

malloc, that's a beautiful snail in your picture. Is it an apple snail?

Thank you =) It is indeed an apple snail. I highly recommend getting one, they are quite entertaining. See my post here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=96279

Alshain is correct though, some fish like to nip at their feelers, which can make them pretty shy. I had some platys that I eventually returned because of this. My snail is not at all shy, and this didn't prevent him from coming out, it would just make him duck back into his shell until the fish left.

It is tough to judge their health by just looking at them in the lfs. They do spend a lot of time just sitting there in their shell. I found that after the first 2 weeks or so after bringing my snail home, he got much less shy & he now crawls all around the tank all day long.

 

[Pleco]

For oto's the general rule of thumb at least in my experience has been that once they pass that week mark they are going to live their full life space (given that you care for the tank properly). They are pigs, and have been known to eat themselves to death.

When i bought mine i remember the fish store person telling me about how 3 of them killed her discus cause they always ate the slime coat of the fish. To this day i have never seen that first hand myself.

-Pleco

 

[jsoong]

Otos are "sensitive" only because they were roughly handled after being wild caught, and then starved at the LFS .... not surprising that many die soon after. If they survive the first few weeks in your tank, they are rather hardy & maintainance free.

If you wait a week or 2 after the LFS got their batch, the weaker ones would be dead, and you should have better luck. Better yet, get tank bred specimens (they do cost more), and you avoid all the "sensitivity" problems.

 

[itafx]

After almost a year, my Ottos are still as healthy as can be.

 

[theotheragentm]

That's great. My Ottos I got recently are doing well too. I think a lot of people place them into tanks as algae cleanup crews, because they have a high nitrate level that contributes to the algae. This already volatile environment may be the reason people say they're so fragile.

 

[SSC3]

They are definitely sensitive. You have to take care not to stress them out too much or else they'll die. They have trouble when you transport them from one tank to another.

 

[neilanh]

I've never had any issues. Have moved them between tanks, put them in a 5-gallon bucket for a few hours to move to my new house, purchased them at a not so L-FS over an hour away and transported them home, no issues. I don't think they're as sensitive as the rumors say they are. JMO.