Otto's

[seacoast]

I recently bought 3 otto cats for algae cleaning.
My tank is well established with plenty of algae and I thought the ottos purhcased at a big chain fish store would help. Unfortunately they all died within 3 days!
PH etc was fine..They did not adjust well from the get go..
I am baffled any ideas if I try to get some new otto cats??

 

[SomethingFishy]

Most will say probably that they did not have enough to eat. I have seen that response before to questions similar to yours. However, you said that algae was plentiful so . . . . the only thing I can think of, since they died so soon after purchase, is that they were already half starved at the LFS and could not recover or the shock of transport and being placed in your tank did them in.

I am sure you are aware about floating the fish in the bag they are transported in for at least 15 minutes so that the temperature of the waters equalize. Sometimes if you just get home and dump the fish in they can be shocked by the sudden change in temperature. Another reccomendation is that you slowly add acquarium water to the transport bag after temperature equalization. This will help the fish slowly adjust to the different water qualities of your tank and the water from the LFS tank. However, do no tput this water back into your tank as the LFS water may have disease in it that you do not want to introduce to your tank.

Other than that I cannot guess what other causes may have triggered the sudden death of your new Ottos. Sorry for your loss.

 

[sinasster]

I agree, poor acclimation was probably the reason for your fish loss

Plus you cant starve a fish in 3 days anyways, But the ottos only eat the brown algae. So with out it it is best to feed the algae discs.

 

[SomethingFishy]

In addition to the algae pellets you can also feed them (as well as other bottom feeders) zucchini and romaine lettuce. There was a great thread on zucchini on an earlier post . . . look for it if interested.

 

[catfishmike]

ottos don't acclimate well.i have seen ottos,big healthy otto's die for no apparent reason.but acclimation was most likely the cause.acclimate slowly in a bucket or ten gallon tank used just for that purpose.add water very slowly with air line tubing and syphon the tank water directly into the bag they came in untill it overflows then release the fish into the bucket or tank and let the tank fill completely.after that you may want to add them to your q-tank to observe them for a few days

 

[seacoast]

Thanks for the input. I did acclimate the ottos slowly
for over 30 minutes.. ? The tank has others (pygmy cats and other non threatening types) water ok/temp ok/has brown algae and green too. I do tend to agree with the last post about slow(real slow in getting them used to the water). However they seem to be real fragile fish.
I do hear great things once you get them into your tank ( healthy that is)...

 

[catfishmike]

they just have a hard time acclimating to a new tank.the very minor differences plus the change of home is just too much for them.my friend has totaly broke down his tank more than a few times.each time he would put his fish in a bucket and clean everything and when he was done he just dumps all his fish back in ottos included.it's been 2 years now and he still has those otto's it's just a matter of getting them healthy and then getting them used to your tank.