Arcticgypsy Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 (edited) Picked up a few fish the other day. 5x otto cats, and 10x cardinal tetras. All fish look to be pretty young. The cardinals are not even half the size of a full grown cardinal. the ottos seem to be about 1" in size. Tank details: I set up the quarantine tank about 4 days before buying the fish using old media from the main tank in the HoB filter. Also added a few algae covered rocks from my main. Tested the water before buying fish: PH 7.4, Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates just under 5 Tank size: 10g Temp: 78F conditioner: API stress + Filter: standard HoB with old media from main tank running reduced flow Airation: 6" bubble wall Plants: Floating an amazon sword and some other leafy plant not sure what it is Food: Algae wafers, Bug Bites bug bites spirulina flakes, Bug bites micro pellets, also algae covered rock is in the tank. Feeding: every second day. Woke this morn to find a dead otto cat. Removed immediately. cannot see any signs of fungus or ich. it does look a bit thin. Wondering if it actually starved? Attached photo to see if any of you can see anything external. The other ottos seem to be active, and have seen a couple of them going for the algae wafers. Test results this morn: PH 7.4, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates between 5 &10 Edited May 8, 2022 by Arcticgypsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 Here is a photo of 3 of the remaining ottos together. 1 on the glass, 2 feeding off an algae wafer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Did the one that died have a sunken belly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Was hard to tell after he was dead but he was a fair bit thinner than the live ones in the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 It could be that he not acclamated as well and not been eating as good as the other doe's your tank have plenty of algae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 (edited) Not a lot of algae. they are in Quarantine tank atm. I've got a few mid size rocks with algae, and feeding algae wafers which they seem to be taking. Tempted to move them to the main tank (that tank is well establish with plants / algae...about 4yrs old now) another otto struggling this morn. However, I'm concerned if they actually have something they could pass it on. Edited May 9, 2022 by Arcticgypsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 (edited) It's a difficult one as most Otto's are wild caught they don't always do well at Frist what I would do is treat them for internal parasites just to be on the safe side with paracleanse it can take 2-3 course of treatment two weeks apart Edited May 10, 2022 by Colu Auto correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 Meds are so hard to get here in Canada. have some "Paracleanse" on the way from amazon...can't get it locally. it was crazy expensive but if the fish need help, that doesn't matter to me. I have some "General Cure" on hand that I'm going to use for now. Also have some erythromycin, Ick-X on hand as well, but don't think they need it. My parameters continue to be just fine. Did a water change earlier today. Picked up a "Turkey baster" tonight to help clear the mess those algae wafers leave behind. Don't know why I never thought of that before. I was trying to net the uneaten wafers last night, and it made a huge mess. Turkey basters are awesome lol. Thanks for the advice. Will keep you posted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 Update A week has gone be and still have the remaining 3 Ottos. They are active, hanging out together, and eating well. The Paracleanse arrived, and have dosed the tank. Will continue with that for another week and see. I do believe the other 2 starved before getting to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Glad you've had no further loses. It is not uncommon to lose Otos within the first month or so of taking them home- once you get past that point usually they're with you for the long haul. If you are not already, start leaving them out commercial foods to eat/get used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted May 17, 2022 Author Share Posted May 17, 2022 On 5/16/2022 at 6:07 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: If you are not already, start leaving them out commercial foods to eat/get used to. I have them eating a few diff brands of algae wafers. The go for them readily. Feeding cardinals bug bites tropical micro, bug bites spirolina flakes. Not sure if the ottos will go for either of those but the do eat the wafers. Also added a couple almond leaves to the tank to help them feel better 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 (edited) Perfect!! 👍👍 Edited May 17, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 Update - Did lose a couple of the cardinals as well. Sadly, a few of those deaths were my own fault. I forgot to put the pre-filter on the intake. The cardinals were super tiny. Not even half the size of an adult. Regretting getting them so tiny. Now I need to grow them out in the quarantine tank for a few months....kind of fun to watch and an excuse to have another tank for a while. 🙂 Anyway 4 weeks in, and no further losses. Dosed with Paracleanse / Ick-x. The remaining 3 ottos are super active & take the algae wafers. Mind you they won't need them as much once in the main tank. I leave algae on the back wall and wood in the tank. I do have one question; How long should I keep them in quarantine? 4th week now. The cardinals will stay much longer. I need to grow them out so they don't get ate in the main tank. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 At the very least 2 weeks after the last death. The accidental deaths don't count. Still leave them commercial foods, they will make short work of the algae they will eat- you don't want them to lose the taste for commercial foods. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 On 5/9/2022 at 4:31 PM, Colu said: It's a difficult one as most Otto's are wild caught they don't always do well at Frist what I would do is treat them for internal parasites just to be on the safe side with paracleanse it can take 2-3 course of treatment two weeks apart 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 7:31 PM, nabokovfan87 said: 100% Oh thanks for this. haven't seen this video 5-weeks in, and the remaining fish are still doing great. Prepping some zucchini now to see if they will take it. I was thinking of moving the ottos to the main tank this weekend, but I think I may do a 2nd round of paracleanse to be safe, and move them in on week 7. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcticgypsy Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 Otto Update: Well we are heading into 8 weeks in quarantine. I still have the remaining 3 ottos. Thrilled. have been reading more about them, and having 3 left out of 5 is not too shabby. Going to get them into the main tank next weekend. Lots of fresh Algae in there. I'm sure they will be very excited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Thanks for the update! Yes sadly it's not unusual to lose some- sounds like you're winning now! Out of my last batch I got 3 survived (of 5) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now