oto fish help

[fishiefan]

I have this oto fish and its struggling to swim sometimes ( i have 50 gallon tank and a LOT of algae) is this a disease ??? and the belly is caved in I got it today at petsmart.

 

[ktomminello]

I have some issues with petsmart fish, but that's my problem. Oto fish aren't the best swimmers, and you did just get the little guy, give him a little bit to find a hiding spot to call his own and he'll probably start going to town when you go to bed. They don't tend to be that active, and they are nocturnal by nature, if you only have one and you have a lot of algae he will sit in one spot and eat until it's all gone, slide down a little and eat some more. Depending on your stock I would suggest keeping a school of 7 or more for that sized tank, especially if you want to see them school.

 

[fishiefan]

Thx for answering I'm thinking of getting more but my parents don't go to pet smart often it we only go monthly so I will have to wait and I think I'm going to get 3 more and I have a few white skirt tetras and it always chases the Oto if it comes in the middle of the tank

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Many otos are wild caught. Because of this they can easily starve to death in captivity. A caved in stomach can be a sign of malnutrition or a parasitic infection. They are only advised for mature tanks (6 months old or more) so that they have enough algae to consume.

 

[fishiefan]

I got this Oto today and my tank is 2 months old but I have never cleaned it and the glass is stacked with algae and if the algae disappears I'm going to feed it with zucchini and when I got the Oto the tank with it had no algae does zucchinis work ??? and if the Oto had a parasite infection what would it be ???

 

[Phranque]

Unfortunately, Otos do not acclimate well, and with as many changes as they have to go through to get to your tank, this tends to lead to a rather high mortality rate. If they make it through the first month, then you can be fairly sure they'll be OK provided they have a constant food source.

 

[fishiefan]

Thx for your time for now the algae supply isn't fading and I have an 50 gallon tank I think there fine Exept aggression from the white skirt tetras. But I'm planning to get 2 more Oto's any suggestions for other food sources (I had a small tank when I was little that had 2 fishes but I haven't taken care of fishes since I was 6 I'm 12 now)