Otto With Red

[soritan]

I just brought 2 ottos home from the store, and I'm currently acclimating them to my water by adding my tank water and removing from the baggie. I'm also floating them to get the water temperatures aligned.

The last time I bought an otto, it had a red spot on the left side of his head, was extremely skittish -- I couldn't come within 2 feet of my tank, otherwise it'd zoom away -- and then after the 4th day, suddenly immerged, bloated, and died.

I think these two ottos are from the same batch, which would mean that they've been at my lps for about 2 weeks. However, these guys also have red patches on the side of their head, except these guys have 'em on the right side of their head. They don't have that pale stress spot on their head, just these red spots. They almost seem to be... underneth their skin.

I didn't notice this when the lps employee bagged them for me, and now I'm concerned that they won't last, either.

I'm tempted to think of these as bruises, suddenly. The employee did have a struggle with both these guys and my last one, and they did eventually do that thing where they reach in and scrape them off the glass with the net... do you think that these red spots are possibly the result of bad netting, or just stress?

I have a fair amount of various types of algae in that tank, but I may also drop in some blanched veggies tomorrow just in case.

 

[soritan]

One of them died last night. I acclimated them for 2 hours, removing a little water with a shotglass and then adding a little water with the same shotglass.


*edit: Oh! I went to go get it with a net, because it was stuck to my filter... and before I could even touch it, it swam away. I didn't even see gills moving, before, and then it darted off. They still have red near their eyes, though. I'd say that the two are less skittish than my last one.

 

[WILDER]

Sadly it sounds like this to me, not the writer of this information below.
Septicemia



Symptoms:

Fish may have reddening at fin bases, blood streaks throughout the fins and body, small hemorrhages around the eyes. Dull listless behavior and lack of appetite may also be present.



Cause:

Systemic bacterial infection caused by various bacteria, including Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. The illness is often brought on by poor water quality or as a result of parasitic infestations or other infections. These bacteria enter the blood stream and circulate through the tissues causing inflammation and damage. Inflamed blood vessels in the skin and at fin bases stand out. Blood vessel and heart tissue damage cause hemorrhaging and consequently leakage of body fluids into the abdomen, which may lead to Dropsy.



Treatment:

Water conditions must be improved for all fish in the tank, regardless of how many fish are infected. Check your water’s Treat with Kanacyn or Tetracycline as well as with a medicated food if the fish will eat. If parasites are suspected, all the fish in the tank should be treated with antiparasitic medication. Using salt to help restore osmotic balance might be helpful.

 

[soritan]

... Yeah, it sounds like it, to me, too. I know 2 weeks ago, when I was at the store, they had lots of ottos, something like 25 in one tank, and now they only have 12 or so. I wonder how many of them were sold, and how many died?

If these two die inside 4 days like that last one I got, I don't think I'll try at them again. They seem like they'd be interesting and useful little occupants to add to my tank, so I"d be bummed of they died again.

One guy does look less red today, than he was yesterday. He was the one that had some red that seemed like it went 'under' his eye, a little bit.

 

[soritan]

Well, this is lame. One of them died while I was at work. It's kinda sad that I expected them to die so much, that I wasn't shocked when I saw it. I saw one of my frogs sitting very still right next to its little corpse on a rock, and my first reaction was, "My frog died!" and tapped the glass, and he jumped back in shock.

I did a water test, and my stats are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5 nitrates... since today's normally my water change day, and that doesn't seem like it'd be a bad figure for fishes. I have a heater in there, holding the temp steady at 80F...

My other little guy seems a lot more still than he was before. I think I'll risk feeding him again, just in case he lives... but yeah. Ottos aren't for me.

 

[WILDER]

Sorry R.I.P.

 

[soritan]

He can't seem to find food anymore, in the tank, and he's refusing the blanched romaine lettuce I put in there. I wonder how long they can go without food? I guess I'll try cucumber or zuchini next. I really like these fish. I knew they were fragile, but this is maddening.

 

[soritan]

Well, today my remaining otto finally ate. He was always frantically sucking all over the glass, trying to find algae, but he wouldn't eat any veggies I put in there, and he wouldn't go to any plants that had algae on them, except for one crypt, which he ate clean.

I also notice that today, he's significantly less red. Is it possible that they'd turn redish from not eating?