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It's dead. So that leaves me with 2 little healthy ottos. Not bad for an 8 hour acclimation ]. Well I am going to get the dead ones replaced.

Last edited by ericm at 23-Dec-2004 14:14

Well my little otto's are doing swimmingly (pardon the pun) but we shall see, I'm still holding my breath and checking to see how they go on a daily basis.

Unfortunately I've had an outbreak of BGA in my tank, I'm a little worried that there's not going to be enough food for them, especially with a dirty great SAE hovering over them.

I'll chuck in some cucumber and see what happens.

yep 20 mins, that was it... the way i look at is the bag's only thin, heat travels alot quicker in water than air so after about 20mins things should be even. then i cut a slit in the bag, let the water mix up with my tank water. I check with the lfs on their PH as long as its close to mine (0.5) which so far it has been i dont worry too much. I realise that doing it this way i run the risk of getting infection in my tank from the lfs, and altho it does concern me, i do only buy from reputable lfs's and i inspect all the tanks for signs of infected fish before i buy one.

the cabbage had gone by the morning and it was only the shells of the sweetcorn n peas left... this could have been the otto's or my BN i didnt really see either take a big interest while the lights were on... but i havent been around much lately

Wow! 20 minutes?!?! All my fish get at least over an hour. Well one of my ottos did go missing a few weeks ago and i got 3 more and i gave them about a 4 hour acclimation they seem to be doing fine. So I have 3 ottos, well 4 but one is missing. I tried feeding them lettuce and they didnt go for it. They dont even go for those algae discs that sink to the bottom. I put in some broccoli and they ate it. What else could i feed them.

I'm just going to jump in here i bought 5 otto's... god maybe two weeks ago now, time fly's! I let the bag float for about 20 mins, cut a slit in the bag, and let them swim out...

they're all still alive and eating well, cucumber seems to go down nicely... chucked in peas and sweetcorn last night oh and a bit of cabbage they didnt go for it straight away... i'll check if its been eaten when i go home

Good luck

I bought 4 ottos last night, which were acclimated over the course of 2 hours.


I'll let you know how I go with these little buggers. I watched them feeding happily this morning but I'll continue to update you guys and we'll see if they survive.

My experience with ottos:

Bought three, gave them a long acclimatisation, lost one after more than a month of thinking they were all doing fine. Other two eventually went 'missing'.

Six months later I bought 2 more. Just chucked them in the tank and didn't bother acclimatising. The missing two came out of hiding. Three months later and I have four very healthy looking ottos.

Was it anything to do with the acclimatisation process? I have no idea. In both cases they were introduced to a long-established tank with plenty of algae, and the water perameters were identical. Who knows what made the difference?

i honestly have had no trouble with my ottos. I have 5 and they are all living. To be honest i think the long acclimation will stress them out more then a short acclimation. As a mistake i put my new ottos into a tank full of nitrates (reading was wrong the first time, not sure how it even happened) but they all lived. I am definately against long acclimations especially with ottos. Although many would disagree which i'm sure you will, I have found them to do better with short acclimations.

Persevere, EricM, persevere, it's worth it in the end. I should know ... I've now had them for over 10 years

Lovely little guys they are too. Not *quite* as cute as my Pandas, but cute enough.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well I replace the 3 ottos and they all died plus one of the original ottos went missing. I cannot find him anywhere. The last otto looks like its dieing. I think I've had enough with ottos.

Last edited by ericm at 28-Dec-2004 14:25

I recently just bought 5 ottos, and the 8 hours of acclimating them was worth it! I hope to post pics soon. What do they normally like to eat besides peas, zucchinni, lettuce and other greens. I tried broccoli but they don't really like that. I also tried this algae wafer/disc type things and they don't seem to be going near that.

I still can't find the 3rd otto. 2 died already and i have 3 left and I can't find it anywhere.

Well they have a 15 day guarantee on all of their fish so I will probably get them replaced and look for the biggest ones i can find.

ericm, very sorry you're losing the little guys, specially after such a good acclimation process. When you got them from the LFS did you as when the shipment came in? I find its helpful to try and get fish right before the next shipment is due in, in which case you'll be getting the ones that have been in the tank the longest. Also look for the more active ones, and of course the ones with the biggest bellies .


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Another died and I cant find one. That's what usually happens when they die. They go off somewhere and rest at the bottom of the tank and become very inactive. Well I stil have 2 healthy ottos.

Well maybe 1 or 2 of them have big bellies. They prefer to eat the algae that grows in the tank and they seem to be eating a bit of broccoli and a algae disc i put in the tank.

Unfortunately, ottos are very e to dying in their first month or so in a new tank. They are delicate fish, and quite tough to acclimate. Several months ago, I bought three ottos. They all died within three weeks. Sadly, this experience is not at all uncommon.

As for foods, algae wafers and sinking pellets work great. Veggies are appreciated, too.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Hmm sorry about that. How are the other ottos doing? any signs of sickness ie heavy breathing. HAve you got them to eat yet??

Well I woke up this morning and couldnt find one of the ottos. It was laying on the gravel on its side, and I think it is dead. It hasn't moved in a while so I am assuming it's dead .It must of died recently because his colours arent faded.