Found my little sucker fish dead

[Knight~Ryder]

I just came home now, and turned on the light. I saw my little oto on the gravel dead. I looked at it and I didn't see anything wrong? No other fish seemed to be eating the dead body.

I don't know if this is tied together at all, but I put in a piece of algae wafer(about half) last night. Did it eat too much? Was it attacked by the other oto when it was eating? Did they fight over the food? Was their not enough algae?

My little otos have been fine for the whole time I have had them, why now does this one show up dead?

EDIT: I do remember one of my otos had a white spot on the top part of him, but it did disapear.

Im wondering if it's safe to put in any more algae wafers, I won't do anything until maybe someone on here can shed some light on this subject

[emc7]

Algae wafers can hurt a tank by producing a lot of ammonia, like any other overfeeding. But I don't think 1/2 a wafer in 38 gallon is toxic. I keep reading that ottos are delicate and die unpredictably. Test your water to be sure, but its unlikely you did anything wrong.

[trashion]

Honestly, this happened to all of my otos. They'd seem fine, and just turn up dead.

[Ricker]

Right now it really depends on were you live my LFS told me the supplier for them has somthing wrong with them. She said most of them arrive died or die in their tank or yours. I asked her she told me not to worry because the supplier nows now and is fixing the problem. This is on the East cost. Because I know I have went through 6 of them in the last month.

[Blue Cray]

Yeah this happened to my one oto aswell I had mine for a quite a few months and my guess is it died of old age seeing they were full grown when i got them.

[Obsidian]

I've been told they only have a life span of about a year. They are hard to keep alive through the shipping process because they loose the digestive enzymes they need to properly digest their food, so they commonly will die in transport or shortly after arrival due to inability to process nutrients. I lost all 4 of mine inside 2 weeks of each other, I had them for about 6 or 7 months at the time. They are delicate little buggars. I like them but I won't be keeping them again.

[JustOneMore20]

IME they thrive in planted tanks. Maybe thats because there is abundant algae, besides what they get from us (algae wafers, etc...). I have some in 2 of my planted tanks and the ones in the 55g I've had for atleast a year and a half......maybe longer. I don't see them all often, but every now and then I'll see all 3.

Alot of it has to do with shipping them and they are sensitive to begin with. They don't belong in new tanks....I'd say your tank should be setup for atleast 7-8 months and stable before you introduce them, but even then they have a chance of dying. I've lost a few in the batches I've bought, but I guess I'm lucky with the ones I have (3 in one tank and 5 in the other).

[Knight~Ryder]

Also I have no idea if they are eating the algae wafers I am giving them. My other fish go to town on it and I don't think my otos get any.

On the other hand, I still see the brown diatoms coming. I just looked again and it appeared on my tank wall, so this should be sufficiant for them!

[Knight~Ryder]

I just found my other oto dead too. This is rediculous. I had them in the tank for a month before and they were fine? There is still brown algae in the tank that appears on the glass. That should have been enough food, right?

One thing I did notice last night, is that the oto was on my heater cord right by the top of the tank, and it looked like it was breathing heavy. None of the other fish were doing that? He was alive last night, now dead.

I would like to get to the bottem of this. Really. There has to be an explanation, why they both died, one more later.

Please, does anyone have a clue?

[trashion]

That happened with all of my otos. They all dropped dead around the same time, I'm just as mystified as you are.

[Obsidian]

Like I said, all 4 inside 2 weeks of each other, in 2 separate tanks, both with plenty of algae available. The explanation is most probably nothing more than "they are Oto cats." I read an article online that said "The saying should be 'they drop like Otocinulus Catfish' instead of 'They drop like flies.'"

[Knight~Ryder]

Honestly, I like those little guys/gals. They go about peaceably and just keep eating, eating, and eating.

I am seeing a lot more brown algae in my tank now that they are gone. They really did clean my tank.

Here is a posibility. Did my green algae wafers kill them? There were some ingrediants in there that made me wonder why they would be in there at all such as alluminum, and other ones. I was scared that they wouldn't have enough food so I dropped a piece in. Then they die a few days later...

Also I saw this one oto at the top just before he/she died...there has to be a reason. Something did cause them to die. Maybe they do need to be around other otos.

Is there another kind of oto I can get that doesnt get too big, is peaceful, and hardier? I just like those little fish.....

Side note: My other fish never ate those two at all, they left it be?

[COM]

I just got home from a business trip (left early Monday morning) and my two otos are missing! They are nowhere to be found in the tank. I did notice that one of them had been hanging out in a spot that I thought was precariously close to the heater. I wonder what happened...

[trashion]

Could have died, and been devoured by other tank inhabitants.

[Knight~Ryder]

Alright, since these otos don't seem the best to keep. What is the next best little sucker fish to get?

I only want one or two.

[trashion]

There aren't any fish like the otos. You could try a bristlenose pleco, it'll get about 4-5". But buying a fish for algae control is counter-intuitive, they create more waste, which adds to the algae.

[COM]

I suspect that you are right, Julie. My otos were quite small (under an inch in length) but they are neat little fish to watch. You're right about the waste from the fish leading to increased algae. Do you recommend any other solution for algae prevention or removal?

[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by COM

I just got home from a business trip (left early Monday morning) and my two otos are missing! They are nowhere to be found in the tank. I did notice that one of them had been hanging out in a spot that I thought was precariously close to the heater. I wonder what happened...

If you haven't found bodies, they could still be in the tank. Mine tend to disappear for awhile and when I thought I was down to like 3, I'll rearrange the plants or something and see all 5. They are excellent at hide and seek and blend in with alot of plants and decor.

[trashion]

Weellllll, COM, I do think your tank is overstocked and that's leading to your problems. More fish = more waste, and algae feeds on the waste. Less waste + photoperiods of 10 hours or less = very little algae.

[audzter]

what the heck.. check your temp, maybe it got itch or internal virus, or choke on the gravel it self... come on you should know that.... look the algea waffer aint gonna kill your fish, any ways it you over fed it will be cleaned by the filter, or you can do water change.