Oto Spasms/Twitching

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jmpgop

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
287
Location
Illinois
So I have this little Otocinclus. I got him from a big box along with 4 other Otos that day; two weeks ago this Saturday. I have them in QT. The other 4 are doing great. (I will release them from QT in another week or two.)

When the young man was scooping them up in to my bag to take home, he said that he really stressed the one fish out by chasing it and didn't know if he was going to make it. (I watched as he did it but didn't see exactly what happened - he chose to catch them by hand so as not to damage their "whiskers")......

They didn't charge me for the fish but I thought for sure he'd be dead by the time I got him home but I was willing to give it a shot. Not because he was free, but because he WAS still alive and who knows what they would have done with him being kinda 1/2 dead.

Anywho - he is still alive today but 1/2 the time (since I got him) when I see him he is lying at the bottom of the tank twitching. Sometimes he is just a normal Oto sucking on something somewhere in the tank... Last night he was at the front of the tank in the gravel: twitching. This morning in the back of the tank in the gravel: twitching.

What should I do? Euthanize by freezing OR consider that he's having the best life he can have...??? Is he having some kind of neuro seizure (as maybe his spine or something was damaged by the capture) and is it bothering him to the point I should put him out of his misery?? Or should I assume that this is just his life and let him follow a natural course of "whatever happens, happens".

Thoughts?
 
If he is not twitching all the time and is otherwise exhibiting normal oto behavior, I would just let him be for a while longer. He could just be weaker and having more difficulty acclimating to your QT but give the little guy a chance.
 
Well I would hope that 2 weeks would have been a good time to acclimate. Hopefully I see him spend some time sucking around later today. I wish there was a fishy chiropractor or something. I do think it is totally neuro. Poor thing.

I have the Voogle First Aid for Fish - it is a newer natural product on the market. Would you use any of that as an immune booster to the water?

Love the otos. I hope he recovers.
 
I am guessing he has some sort of neuro damage. You said he was sucking on things, but is he actually eating?
Its really hard to give advice about when to put down a fish because we can't see how bad it is. Its up to you and what you see as a good quality of life.
If I was you though, I would give him a few more days and then put him down if he gets worse. But, I hate putting down fish and I tend to wait as long as possible. JMO.
I don't suggest messing with an immune booster or anything because I don't think the issue is his immune system, but I am not familiar with that product.
 
I'm going to give them some blanched zucchini tonight. I'll make sure he gets some right in front of him to see if he eats.

You're right. I also don't think it is his immune system. It's not like I can give him anti seizure meds or anything either. If that is what is going on anyway. But I do know that seizures don't feel very good to us. Can't feel very good to him.

If I no longer see him attaching to anything, eating, etc. Then I'll put him down. I wish that stores would stop just treating fish like commodities.

And I wish I had a good dealer I could buy fish from.
 
There are some members here who sell in the buy/sell/trade section that are highly reliable.
 
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