Otos Not Eating Since Day 2

[blinky000]

I got 3 otos last week and all seemed well until about day 3 when one of them developed a red mark around its vent and dropped dead the next day. Another one has got the same thing but is still going after about a week. However, I very rarely see them eating at all now. All the glass and bog wood is covered in algae and no-one seems to be touching it. They just kinda hang there now. I know they're pretty hard to acclimate but it's very disappointing that they were eating so heartily the first couple of days and now they've done a complete u-turn. I've offered blanched courgette but they didn't think much of that, and I just tried feeding them peas but the betta apparently thinks that peas are delicious and now looks like he's swallowed one whole. I've got an old breeding trap lying around, do you think I should put them in there for a bit and just monitor to see if they eat any peas? Would it stress them out too much being in such a small container, even if it is for a couple of hours? I don't want to add insult to injury if I can help it

Here's a quick synopsis of my setup:
23 gal
1 x male betta and 2 x otocinclus sp
Lots of live plants and bog wood
Using a Fluval 2+
The tank has only been running about 2 weeks but was seeded from an established tank and is being supplemented with Nutrafin Cycle.

And a photo of the fish with the red vent. The water was cloudy because of the new gravel I'd just put in

 

[blinky000]

I ended up doing roughly 50% water changes every 3-4 days along with adding the Nutrafin Cycle. The red spot had been disappearing over the past couple of days and they both seem to be eating again as of today! Such a relief. Forgot how much they poop though haha!
I'm going to assume the red spot was a response to stress, probably a mixture of poor water quality and having just been plucked out of their natural environment, shipped to the store, then shipped to my house. Hopefully they'll eat all the algae off my plants now. It's been building up dreadfully since they lost their appetite. Looking to add a couple more to the group when I know the cycle is 100% complete

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Cycling a tank's filter with otos is a really risky situation for those fish to be in, the general rule is to avoid these lovely little catfish until the tank has stabilised, typically about four months after cycling is complete.

Do you know anyone locally to you that has a suitable stable community tank, that can look after these guys for you while you get a fishless cycle done? Failing that, I would take them back to the LFS (which really should have asked questions about your tank's status), or another fish store.

 

[blinky000]

The LFS where you are must be a lot better than the ones in Essex. Here, they're sold as more of a disposable pet that you can't expect to live more than a few days. I wouldn't trust any of them going near my fish with their touch of death.
The main problem with the tank's cycle came mainly from the elodea shedding its leaves in the new tank while the good bacteria were still being cultivated from the old media. That's all cleared up now, the tank is growing some nice nutritious green algae and everyone seems happy. Still not a fan of courgettes though lol

 

[xingumike]

Stick with the courgette, put it near where stay in the tank and place it there just before the lights go out.

i had some sp. that took aaaaaggggeeeesss to catch on.

 

[blinky000]

Well I tried the courgette a couple more times and they seemed to like it. Only problem was as soon as the betta realised he could eat vegetables and wouldn't die, he ate his bodyweight. The horror when I came downstairs the other day to a betta with a giant belly. My immediate thought was dropsy, turns out it's just a severe case of greed

 

[Rickzayne]

Haha, I put a cucumber in for my otos.

As my tank is only 1 month old. and my corys wouldn't leave it alone -.-

Now I have an apple, which I've seen a few oto's on now, until I find a nice stone to get covered in algae for them =]

 

[loraxchick]

The oto in the pic looks healthy to me. And looks well fed with its little potbelly. Glad they are eating again for you.
cheers