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Advice on injured otocinclus.


Ember
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Sorry if this isn’t the right section.

Right now I’m kind of freaking out.  I couldn’t find one of my ottos this morning after a late night water change, but didn’t have much time to look because I had to go to work.  I figured that he might just be hiding, but the behavior still seemed off since I usually see the three of them hanging out together.

Cue me coming home eight hours later, and I still can’t find the wayward Otto.  Starting to freak out and feeling like a bad fish mom, which was only intensified by the worry I had all day.  I looked all over the place (floor,tank, water change bucket) and couldn’t find him.  Eventually I looked around the side of the tank and saw him wedged against a rock and the glass with my phone light, which is someplace I had already looked a ton but he blended in.  He couldn’t move at all, completely wedged in.  I have a feeling he did this during my water change yesterday since it was later than usual and I had to turn the light back on and everyone in the tank had a minor freak out.

I loosened the rock and he wiggled out and attached to the glass at the front of the tank.  It looks like his tail fin got torn up, along with his belly since it was against the rock.  Really hoping he can recover and there isn’t any organ damage.  What are other’s opinions on how he looks?  Link goes to video.  He’s currently breathing pretty heavily.

link: https://imgur.com/gallery/v3mcTLH

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Edited by Ember
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Awww poor little one. I have a ton of Otos they're probably very stressed from its ordeal so I'm not super concerned with the breathing- I've seen my healthy Otos breathe like that. The main concern with external injuries is secondary infections. One may consider quarantining- that's up to you- it's easier to monitor and dose meds if it ends up being needed- what's most important is keeping the water VERY clean and monitor his injuries (and keep stress low). 

Edited by xXInkedPhoenixX
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It's possible he has some internal injuries  I would treat with kanaplex to cover against any secondary bacterial infection and monitor him to make sure he's eating  It's just a case of wait and see with the possible internal injuries

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On 10/10/2021 at 9:00 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Awww poor little one. I have a ton of Otos they're probably very stressed from its ordeal so I'm not super concerned with the breathing- I've seen my healthy Otos breathe like that. The main concern with external injuries is secondary infections. One may consider quarantining- that's up to you- it's easier to monitor and dose meds if it ends up being needed- what's most important is keeping the water VERY clean and monitor his injuries. 

Unfortunately my quarantine tank is occupied by panda Corys and snails.  They have three weeks left of the seven week quarantine I have them in.  I may do a couple small water changes this week  to help keep debris low + test the water every couple of days.

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@Ember that'll make things harder if you need to QT and medicate like @Colu suggests but since it's a solo fish smaller containers are pretty easy to find/set up. I like the small Imagitarium holding tanks that Petco sells they're pretty cheap and easy to store. BUT if you keep his/her conditions JUST RIGHT there's a good chance they make it though without further action needed. Sometimes leaving them in their familiar environment is best to help them heal as long as nobody picks on them and the conditions are right. Floating breeder boxes are also great for isolation/monitoring if you have those on hand- just can't medicate that way but it's a good way to keep an eye on them and make sure they're eating/not getting worse. 

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On 10/10/2021 at 9:11 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@Ember that'll make things harder if you need to QT and medicate like @Colu suggests but since it's a solo fish smaller containers are pretty easy to find/set up. I like the small Imagitarium holding tanks that Petco sells they're pretty cheap and easy to store. BUT if you keep his/her conditions JUST RIGHT there's a good chance they make it though without further action needed. Sometimes leaving them in their familiar environment is best to help them heal as long as nobody picks on them and the conditions are right. Floating breeder boxes are also great for isolation/monitoring if you have those on hand- just can't medicate that way but it's a good way to keep an eye on them and make sure they're eating/not getting worse. 

I’ll pick up another tank if needed, my only worry would be water quality since I don’t have extra seeded material atm for kickstarting a tank.  Caught him and stuck him in the breeder box that I have lying around for the moment.

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@Ember I agree, I'd be concerned about it whether or not I had seeded material just because of stress level for the fish- even with seeded material you can't guarantee giant swings in water conditions compared to their parent tank. I personally prefer not to pull fish from their parent tank unless I absolutely have to so I usually start with a floating breeder and escalate only if I need to. Everyone does this differently. Since it's an Oto you can usually pick a rock or small items that have algae on them and put them in the breeder, and make sure he/she has access to whatever food you feed them. Since they're in the floater you can monitor their condition as much as you prefer and you don't have to hunt for them. 

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