New Oto Death

[kdklovesfish]

So I know that Otos are not hardy fish. I have heard this is because they are wild caught. I have read online articles about how to pick out the healthiest looking otos and how to acclimate them correctly.

I have been keeping otos in my well established tanks for about six months now. I even moved my tanks with no deaths. I had a few die when I first bought them, and then one would die here and there (I assumed life span or just cause they are sensitive since all of my other fish were fine) and now I'm down to 4 in my big tank and none in the smaller tank. That is to too few to keep the diatoms off of my fake plants. So I bought some more, and all appearances the ones I bought seemed to be healthy... swimming, eating, had little pot bellies starting to form...

My parameters are good. I'm sorry I don't have the numbers, but I checked them right before buying the sensitive lil buggers and they were all good. I have a 55g and a 15g so I bought 8. I acclimated 4 per tank (raising the 55g to 8. The new otos are a slightly different color than my old ones, so I can tell them apart.) Everything seemed fine for a few hours. Again, eating, swimming, hanging out together... Then they started dropping like flies. I bought them on Friday and lost one more this morning. I'm down to the original 4 in the big tank and one in the small tank. Yep 1 out of 8.

So I'm thinking the supplier I bought from had a bad batch. Which is understandable since they are wild caught. I guess I don't wanna think it's me since I have kept the other batch of otos alive longer than this and my original otos are doing great. They are fat lil suckers; pun intended.

What I want to know is if anyone has any tricks for keeping brand new otos alive long enough for them to have a chance. And yes, if you think it's me, I'll be sad but I would rather learn from my mistakes. Thanks for reading my novel!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Enough algae or biofilm? Oto's only eat specific types.

 

[Hubert90]

So I know that Otos are not hardy fish. I have heard this is because they are wild caught. I have read online articles about how to pick out the healthiest looking otos and how to acclimate them correctly.

I have been keeping otos in my well established tanks for about six months now. I even moved my tanks with no deaths. I had a few die when I first bought them, and then one would die here and there (I assumed life span or just cause they are sensitive since all of my other fish were fine) and now I'm down to 4 in my big tank and none in the smaller tank. That is to too few to keep the diatoms off of my fake plants. So I bought some more, and all appearances the ones I bought seemed to be healthy... swimming, eating, had little pot bellies starting to form...

My parameters are good. I'm sorry I don't have the numbers, but I checked them right before buying the sensitive lil buggers and they were all good. I have a 55g and a 15g so I bought 8. I acclimated 4 per tank (raising the 55g to 8. The new otos are a slightly different color than my old ones, so I can tell them apart.) Everything seemed fine for a few hours. Again, eating, swimming, hanging out together... Then they started dropping like flies. I bought them on Friday and lost one more this morning. I'm down to the original 4 in the big tank and one in the small tank. Yep 1 out of 8.

So I'm thinking the supplier I bought from had a bad batch. Which is understandable since they are wild caught. I guess I don't wanna think it's me since I have kept the other batch of otos alive longer than this and my original otos are doing great. They are fat lil suckers; pun intended.

What I want to know is if anyone has any tricks for keeping brand new otos alive long enough for them to have a chance. And yes, if you think it's me, I'll be sad but I would rather learn from my mistakes. Thanks for reading my novel!

Sorry to hear about ur dying ottos. Just wondering how are u acclimating them and how long for?

 

[reefdiver]

I usually keep them in a fry tank that goes inside my tank. But allways loose obe from the batch.

 

[kdklovesfish]

Yes, there was tons of diatoms for them to eat. Plus I feed algae wafers that I have seen my other otos eat on.

As far as acclimation: I put the store bag into my tank unopened for about 20 mins to allow them to adjust to the new temp. Then I slowly add some of my water to the bag in small increments about every five minutes three or four times. Then I leave the bad in the tank with the otos in the bag for another five minutes. Then I get them out of the bag, release them into the tank and throw away the bag and the mixed water.

 

[Hubert90]

Yes, there was tons of diatoms for them to eat. Plus I feed algae wafers that I have seen my other otos eat on.

As far as acclimation: I put the store bag into my tank unopened for about 20 mins to allow them to adjust to the new temp. Then I slowly add some of my water to the bag in small increments about every five minutes three or four times. Then I leave the bad in the tank with the otos in the bag for another five minutes. Then I get them out of the bag, release them into the tank and throw away the bag and the mixed water.

Oh ok. I'm my experience, drip acclimation has worked the best for me when it comes to sensitive fish like Otos. In fact, I do it all the time now. U might like to try it. http://www.speedieaquatics.com/drip-acclimation/
Not sure how good this website is. But it gives u a general guideline to how it works. If anyone else has a better guide do share!

 

[Hubert90]

Oh! Rather than using such a small container. I normally use a bucket. Wait for the volume of water to double. I will then remove half the water content and start the drip acclimation again, however, this time increasing the drip rate to about 3-4 (or more) per second until then volume doubles. Finally, I'll net them into their new home! Haha just as extra precaution, I normally leave the lights off for a few hours as not to give them a shock. Haha

 

[kdklovesfish]

All great ideas. I'll do the bucket and the drip technic next time I buy some. And I never thought of turning the tank lights off. Hmm... wonder if it would work considering my house has TONS of natural light during the day. Maybe I should buy them close to dark so they would have a whole night of darkness to adjust. Thanks everyone for the ideas.