Oto is HUGE

[mandi]

I have 3 otos in my 20 gallon tank along with 5 zebra danios and one platy.

One of the otos is HUGE and the other one is looking rather pudgy to. Here's all 3 side-by-side (how convienent LOL) for comparison ...

Anyway, I'm a little concerned because they've been like this for a while (3 weeks or more). Could they be sick or something, or just full of eggs? The only fish I've ever had fry from are my platys, so I don't really know anything about breeding otos. I assume if they've laid eggs before, they've just been eaten by the danios or something?

Does anyone have any good links to sites about otos, or could you give me any info? I'd love to have lil baby oto fry in my tank. They're such cute fish!

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I am of the mind that they are females and that you have two of them and a male.

Dropsy might be it, but I doubt it unless there are scales standing up that I don't see.

 

[smithrc]

It gould be internal parisites...

Of course they could just be gready. or egg laden

 

[mandi]

Anything I can/should do? Or just keep an eye on them?

 

[gwlee7]

I'm thinking that they are just eating the way ottos eat. They have a high metabolism and should be eating constantly. On a otto specific site the saying is "A fat otto is a happy otto".

 

[lovebuzz]

Another member on the forum thought his otto was going to have fry but it died

Just keep an eye on them and keep us updated.

 

[Griz]

I was just comparing your photo to my fish. I have 6, 4 smaller ones that look pretty much the same and two bigger ones. One is MUCH bigger. The two on the right of your pic look to be about the same shape as my 2 bigger ones, so you probly have no worries. I think Tempestuousfury is likely right that you have 2f/1m there. I think I may have 4m/2f.

off to do some more oto research.....

 

[lighter]

Looks like they have a very heavy meal! I had one which look like that too! Its the only one in the tank after 2-3 of them die on me.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

If you over fed them, I highly doubt that they would be bulging out that big. Overfed fish tend to have a slight bulge where their stomaches are, and it is not a cm in diameter. (Yes, I am guilty of overfeeding fish, namely my betta, so I know what it looks like ).

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i always leave a cucumber in the tank and my ottos feed on it regularly aside from the algae in the tank they are fat but not round im not really sure about em but i read that ottos stop eating when they are full so its good to always give em food ? or is it just me ? somebody correct me if im wrong

 

[gwlee7]

This picture is supposed to be the "healthy fat" that an otto needs to be:

taken from otocinclus.com

 

[Griz]

Here's a pic of one of my otos for comparison.

 

[Stacey269]

I had the same question about one of my new ottos. Everyone told me she was just fat, but then I noticed some eggs stuck to some of the leaves in my tank, and she isn't that fat anymore. You need a male though to fertilize them. In my tank, I have some mollies, guppies, and catfish, and none of them have been bothering any of the eggs. I suggest you look hard in the next few days to see if you see any. They look like little bubbles stuck to plants or rocks.

 

[yossie_ika]

nice!!! fat otos mean....Happy Fish