White patch on otocinclus

Hi, I noticed a white spot on my otocinclus around 2 to 3 weeks ago but thought it was a part of his pattern and didn't think too much of it. However, recently I noticed that the spot has actually become a white patch. The patch is smooth and right behind his eye. No real change in behavior and he appears to be eating. I could not take a picture but I did find a picture on the web of an otocinclus that had the exact symptoms as mine. Even the location of the patch is almost a perfect match. Unfortunately, it was from an old thread on planted tanks that ended with the last post saying that the fish was quarantined. My tank is cycled with ammonium, nitrite being 0 and nitrate being around 10 ppm. The 4 otocinclus have been in the tank for around 4 months.

 

I had the exact same case but with a common pleco. They always die a week after showing those signs but ive had 1 or 2 that managed to recover and that was when i changed their food supply. I think its because of nutritient deficiency. Try to give it other food.

 

I'm not sure if this is right, I've never had this problem, but it might be a type of tumor. Don't get worried because I might be wrong. I've seen another thread on here that had a similar problem: Betta with growth near eye? | Betta Fish 228335 This was in 2016, but it looks similar to yours - I hope this helps!

 

So the picture is not your fish, yes?

In any case, with Otos expect it to die relatively soon. They have so many diseases and parasites that go unnoticed until it's too late. 4 months is quite some time, usually they should be through the thick of keeping Otos alive. But if it really looks like in the picture... maybe 1-2 weeks to go. Keep an eye on it.

 

Huh, i was planning to buy 5 ottocinclus 3 days from now online, looks like im cancelling it.

 

Huh, i was planning to buy 5 ottocinclus 3 days from now online, looks like im cancelling it.

Short info if you plan to get Otos:

- They are almost all wild caught, having parasites, diseases and being starved as they usually are not fed properly before they arrive in a store. This obviously does not apply for tankraised fish.
- They are notoriously hard to acclimate, nitrate levels should be very low at all times.
- Feeding them is hard. Most often they won't recognice veggies or algae tabs as food. When they do it's too late for many. Also food should be available to them 24/7, which is kind of a challenge while trying to keep water parameters in good condition.
- To prevent them from starving again they should only be put in well established tanks with lots of aufwuchs.
- They do best in bigger groups, which is hard to do in smaller tanks as they will clean out every bit of biofilm or aufwuchs within a day and will have to rely on supplementary feeding, which can be problematic as said above.

So as long as you are not 100% sure the fish you get are captive bred, just don't.

 

Its 100% bred. But still am just going to get others, dont want to go through the hassle

 

Thank you for all the suggestions. My oto is still alive and very active. Weirdly enough he is the most active of the group right now. I will keep a close eye and hope he recovers.

 

Its 100% bred. But still am just going to get others, dont want to go through the hassle

I have never had a problem keeping/acclimating otocinclus... but my tank is very mature and has lots of naturally occuring food

 

I have heard horror stories but I actually had great luck in terms of acclimating these otos. I think they were fed commercial food at the place I bought them from so they recognized algae wafers immediately when I had them in a quarantine tank.