Found Oto Belly up

[Oscarr19]

MY first loss to my new tank happened this morning. I found one of my 3 otos floating. I tested the water and everything checked in alright. He did look pretty bloated compared to the others and i'm wondering if that was the issue. The only other thing i can think of is the salt i added and higher temp because i'm treating for ick. I only added about half the recommended dose though. Any ideas?

Oh and just a side not the otos seemed pretty settled in after being in the tank for almost a month.

 

[redsea]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[siva]

Salt and heat could be the culprit. I believe oto's take to ich meds better than the salt and heat method.

Also you referred to it as a "new tank" which may also be a problem. For oto cats I would recommend waiting until the tank has been established for atleast 6 months, and then stocking no more than 1 oto per 5 gals. A 15 gal or larger works best for them since they do well in groups of 3 or more. They are prone to starvation if the tank does not produce enough bio-film and algae to support them, since many are picky eaters that don't take well to supplementation. IME this is common with many wild caught fish, and most oto's in fish stores are wild caught.

If you think there isn't enough natural food source present for them in the tank, you can place a bowl of stones in dechlorinated water in the window until the stones are covered with algae, then add to tank for the oto's to graze on. Also supplement on a regular basis with a good quality algae wafer and blanched zucchini and peas. Some won't take well to these foods, but the hope is most will come around within time.

 

[Oscarr19]

I'm pretty sure it was the salt and heat. I resorted to ich meds now. The other two are fine and in a few weeks once the ich clears I might consider buying another 3.

They were well fed though. They all have a nice plump stomach and eat off the algae, wafers, shrimp pellets, cucumber and I saw then eating bloodworms that sank to the bottom.