Help

[freemoney]

Trying to release oto, he wouldn’t let go of net, tried pealing him off with micro towel, now he won’t let go of that. Suggestions???

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Oh crap. Soooo, their little mouthy barbs get caught on stuff like that. The only things you can do is try to use a finger or tweezers or something gentle that he won't get caught on (maybe a popsicle stick?) and try and very gently figure out which barb is caught and work with whatever tool you choose to release them. Had this happened recently to me with a shrimp net. 

Try to make more contact with the cloth than the fish itself if possible. 

Their fins can get caught too, they have pretty good griping action as well. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[freemoney]

On 3/26/2022 at 5:58 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Oh crap. Soooo, their little mouthy barbs get caught on stuff like that. The only things you can do is try to use a finger or tweezers or something gentle that he won't get caught on (maybe a popsicle stick?) and try and very gently figure out which barb is caught and work with whatever tool you choose to release them. Had this happen recently with a shrimp net. 

Try to make more contact with the cloth than the fish itself if possible. 

Their fins can get caught too, they have pretty good griping action as well. 

Thanks that is what I was afraid of

[lefty o]

if it doesnt get free on its own in a short time, id just nudge it off the net with your finger.

[anewbie]

I had that happen once. You can try leaving it in the tank for 10 minute but in my case I had to cut the net away and then use tweezer to remove net from the barbs. Wasn't great. Swore I would never put them in nets again.

[freemoney]

Update, after some careful intense tweezer work oto is free!

On 3/26/2022 at 6:20 PM, anewbie said:

I had that happen once. You can try leaving it in the tank for 10 minute but in my case I had to cut the net away and then use tweezer to remove net from the barbs. Wasn't great. Swore I would never put them in nets again.

Yes that’s the last time they will be in anything made of cloth

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Woo hoo!

[freemoney]

So he still has some fuzz on his nose, but is stuck to the glass and looks to be feeding. Should I try to remove the fuzz? Getting him lose the first time was stressful enough.

[lefty o]

if he's hanging on the glass and looks to be eating, i would leave him be for the time being.

[freemoney]

On 3/26/2022 at 6:39 PM, lefty o said:

if he's hanging on the glass and looks to be eating, i would leave him be for the time being.

Yeah it wouldn’t be today for sure, hoping it just comes loose over time

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Poor thing has facial hair now, it'll go away hopefully. 

[freemoney]

On 3/26/2022 at 6:48 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Poor thing has facial hair now, it'll go away hopefully. 

Yes he is not swimming around either, worried the whole ordeal could have been too much for him. I’m going to leave him be, sure he’s already stressed enough

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yeah it was stressful, just give him time it takes a bit to recover. You know, like when a bird hits a window. Like that. Looks bad but most of the time they will shake it off eventually.

Edited March 26, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[freemoney]

yeah he's moved to a different spot on the glass, which I'm taking as a good sign.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/26/2022 at 3:38 PM, freemoney said:

So he still has some fuzz on his nose, but is stuck to the glass and looks to be feeding. Should I try to remove the fuzz? Getting him lose the first time was stressful enough.

Just a huge nod to jimmy and his amazing work. See attached from his oto video.

 

You can see the tiny bit very many little thorns on their skin. Equate them to a shark type of texture. Otos are generally skiddish and definitely struggle in nets. Catching them by hand is difficult.

I use a wide mesh net and the important thing is to always be patient and let them work themselves loose. The wider mesh is a little bit easier for them to get out of.  If you can, use the coop's method for catching fish and it works pretty well to corral the otos calmly.

If they swim aggressively into the net because they are scared they will get stuck and it's difficult. Invert the net, give them time to escape.

 

For your situation, try to handle the to and use very fine, blunt (not sharp) tweezers and remove the fluff. The oto will struggle with it there. Move against the grain and hopefully the photo helps to show what direction and how to handle their skin roughness.

On 3/26/2022 at 3:57 PM, freemoney said:

Yes he is not swimming around either, worried the whole ordeal could have been too much for him. I’m going to leave him be, sure he’s already stressed enough

High oxygen. Cooler water (72-74 or so) and if need be a little bit of salt to help oxygen exchange.

Best of luck. Poor little guy.

[freemoney]

Oto update #2, captured him and removed remaining cotton from his nose, he didn't have a lot of energy, but didn't seem finished either. The 5 others he came with seemed to be doing great, so I am optimistic he can make a recovery. Wait and see time.

[lefty o]

On 3/27/2022 at 1:39 PM, freemoney said:

Oto update #2, captured him and removed remaining cotton from his nose, he didn't have a lot of energy, but didn't seem finished either. The 5 others he came with seemed to be doing great, so I am optimistic he can make a recovery. Wait and see time.

ill bet he pulls through just fine.

[freemoney]

final update, found a oto corpse when doing weekly WC. He did not survive.

[nabokovfan87]

Very unfortunate. My condolences.

[lefty o]

On 4/2/2022 at 2:44 PM, freemoney said:

final update, found a oto corpse when doing weekly WC. He did not survive.

bummer.