David C

2 weeks ago I lost all my fish in my 10g to poisoning (a helper "cleaned" my filter casing for me) and all the fish died by the time I made it home from work. I verified all the dead but couldn't find 1 oto cat... so I cleaned out the poor little guys and took everything apart leaving 1 inch of water in the bottom because I was too lazy to pull the substrate. I just now started removing the substrate and a little oto cat swims out scared as can be. I couldn't believe my eyes. I of course quickly moved him to my still cycling 55g, but I figured that was better than leaving him in a "dead" tank. I guess today is my lucky day

Coryd55

Sorry about that. Its sad to lose fish. Glad you found the little guy and Im sure he is glad you found him to. Hope he calms down and is healthy!

David C

I'll keep an eye on him, and definately keep my fingers crossed. I hope it all works out for the best, too bad I wasn't lazy, then I woulda found him a long time ago and been able to take care of him prorperly. The guilt is killing me.

Lucy

Wow, sorry for the loss of your fish.
Poor little otto, I'm glad you found him. I hope he recovers.

pepetj

Hope Lucky gets better. Don't blame yourself, accidents happen.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Lucy

Don't we all know it! It's what we do after that counts!

David C

Update on lucky... He attached himself to an air line, it was his favorite spot in my 10g. He seems to be breathing pretty fast and he's keeping his fins tucked in. Not sure what he can eat in the new tank, no algae yet for him and not sure if he'd find an algae flake if I dropped it in for him. Any ideas?

Lucy

Do you have any algae wafers? You can break a peice off, he should find it ok.

Clamped fins and rapid breathing aren't good. Does he have a place to hide so he feels safe? They like to have more of their own kind. Are you doing daily water changes?

David C

The 55g is still cycling, you can check my profile for exact daily readings. I have 2 small caves and plenty of plants for him to hide in, but he has always preferred the air tubing. I want to shut off the lights to let him calm down, but then I can't keep an eye on him, I'm torn.

Lucy

You can always peek at him with a flashlight.

David C

I hadn't thought of that, I just turned off the left half lights to let him decide... lol.

Lucy

lol, there ya go.

You turn the lights off at night anyway, don't you?

Good luck, Lucky, you made it this far, keep fighting!

David C

yeah, i decided i should listen to you, turned all the lights off and got my lowest powered flashlight so I can peek in on him... if he moves though theres gonna be noway to locate him. Those dang otto's can be impossible to find.

COBettaCouple

Wow! That's a tough little Oto, definitely not one of the "less-hardy" ones.

David C

UPDATE: I checked in on Lucky first thing this morning and his breathing is back to normal and he's stopped clamping his fins. He's also swimming about the tank as though nothing ever happened. I'm hoping he stays in this good of a mood. I've already started an algae farm on some stones for him and I guess my next fish addition will be some more otto's instead of the cories (after the tank is done cycling of course).

Thanks for the posts, I know he appreciates your concern.

Martinismommy

What a wonderful ending....I'm so glad he made it!

Lucy

That's great news, thanks for updating us.

Way to go, Lucky!

COBettaCouple

Glad to hear that he's doing so well.