Flynlow

I have not had particularly good luck with Ottos, and am considering giving up.

I started with 4 from my LFS, they had been in a display tank for a month or so (hoping they were past the initial stage), but slowly died off one by one over the course of a month once I got them home. They were quite active for the first 2 weeks or so however (eating, pooping, playing with the other fish from time to time). From reading everything here, I thought it possible that the bacteria in their stomach had died, or similar maladies.

So I tried again, with 10 from a different fish store (the first LFS was out of stock). I know everyone says you can lose a bunch due to them being wild-caught, but I am down to 3!!! This group was ALL skittish, hiding under logs and plants, and remaining quite still all the time, only occasionally darting to a new hideout.



Tank Parameters:

pH: 7.6
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate 5-10 PPM
Temp 74*F

75 gallon, been running ~6 months. 2x40W plant bulbs, 9 hour photo period, DIY CO2 (off at night)

4 Zebra Danios, 13 Espei Rasboras, 8 Neon Tetras, 9 White Clouds, 4 Panda Corys

Live Plants: Amazon Sword, Crypt, Java Fern, Anubias Nana, Anacharis, Ludwiga, + 2 pieces of driftwood


What can I do? Should I give up? Is there a way to ease their acclimation beyond what I've already done? I added tank water over the course of 3-4 hours while floating their bag originally, and didn't clean the glass for a month or so before bringing them home to ensure an abundance of algae. I also put in an algae wafer every day, and frozen/thawed spinach every other day or so.

The rest of the fish seem healthy, and I actually found a baby Panda Cory earlier this week, and the Rasboras have displayed mating behavior before, but no babies yet (though they may have been eaten).

enthusiast

Your tank sounds an incredible amount like mine! & i've kept oto's with no problem- one of my fav fish actually (check out my albums!)!

theres one huge difference between the two though... mines been up and running for about 6 yrs, as yours is only 6 months. I'm sure you read up on the otos quite a bit and it seems you've prepared for them quite well, but with your tank only being 6 months old I'd assume thats a huge part of it. You simply couldnt have enough algae in your tank, especially for a group of 10!!!

a healthy oto will have a nice, rounded belly, and constantly be moving (which i'm sure you also already know). 1 thing i noticed you mentioning is that the fish seemed fine and were skittish and playing well for the first 2 weeks, then started dying off? is it possible they just arent getting enough food? do you supplement with algae wafers (key word= supplement, they cant live off that alone)?

I wouldnt say that your doing anything wrong as far whats in your tank and your parameters. What would be wrong though is that your trying to add so many great algae eaters to a tank that has not-so-great amount of algae in it? try waiting another 6 months and go for it again!

Butterfly

I would agree your tank may not be quite old enough to have the soft algae needed or the little microscopic critters that grow in the soft algae to sustain Otos yet. They appreciate a small piece of fresh veggies occasionally as well as algae wafers/veggie rounds. They do need a little protein but not much. A couple of shrimp pellets a week should be plenty.They need as near to perfect water as they can get and yours looks fine. keep up the water changes and especially the substrate vacuums, as they spend some time on the bottom it needs to be clean. Another thing I would is to add them slowly , add 2 then in another week or so add 2 and so on. I assume they are going into the 75g ?
I'm sure you've probably seen this already but here is an excellent site for information on Otos. www.otocinclus.com.
Carol

Flynlow

This is the food routine I had them on. There is quite a bit of algae on the glass walls of the tank and the driftwood, enough that it is a visual distraction looking through the glass.

Yes, they're going in the 75 gallon. Interesting thought on adding them 2 at a time. I originally went with the group of 10 in an effort to ensure they had an adequate school, hoping it would ease the stressful transition.

Unfortunately 2 of the remaining 3 passed away yesterday. They seem to have dropped in pairs, over the course of the last month. Uff da.

enthusiast

Not cleaning the glass for a month still wouldn't be abundant enough, & in fact I dont think its even the right type of algae.. I'm sure they'll taste it, but wont live off it. There are many types of algae that will form in your tank that can only come with time. your tank just needs maturing for the food source to be adequate

Butterfly

The reason to add two at a time is not to stress the tank too much . Even adding one small fish the beneficial bacteria has to grow to meet it's needs.
Giving it two weeks then adding 2 more allows it to do that. This makes it easier on your otos also. Give the tank time to mature and try again. Once you've got them stable you'll love them.
carol