I have tried to put a couple of otocinclus in my 10 gallon tank two times and both times they have died very quickly (within 24 hours). Both times I have had my water tested and it was good quality. My tank has 3 Cory cats a guppy and a young platy. The people at the store said that was fine and they can't understand why my otos keep dying. Is there anything I need to do to make my tank a better place to acclimate them and have them live longer ? I think they are cute and would love to have a couple.
I had the same problem a few times last year, here is what worked for me (all of my otos have lived since).
1. Never use a net with Otos. The little barbs on their mouth get caught in it and then they die (writing this from multiple times experience for those who wish to argue). A better way to catch them is either to wait till they are on the glass and then place a clear plastic cup over them, - maybe have a little piece of algae wafer in the bottom - and wait for them to swim into the cup and then pull it out.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com Or, take a clear plastic cup (I always save the containers the betta's come in as they are handy), place a rock in it (for weight) an algae wafer, fill with tank water, then cover the top with a double up piece of plastic wrap, secure with rubber band. Cut a hole in the top a little larger than the otos and place this in your tank. Do not feed, generally by morning (place it in overnight) you will have your fish.
Next:
When you first get your otos and bring them home, pour out some of the water from the bag they are in, then pour - gently-some of your tank water into the bag - only a little at a time, start with 1/4 - 1cup of your tank water. Use a clothes pin to secure the bag in your tank, so it is floating in your water but no one can get in or out.
Every 15minutes for one hour, add about 1/4cup more of your tank water.
Alternately, if the floating bag won't work for you, if your room is nearly the same temperature as the tank you can pour them and some of the store water into a large bowl, add some tank water, and follow the above - add a little more tank water every 15 min. for an hour.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com After the hour is up (an hour and a half is ok if you happen to go over), if you used the bag, then take the bag out of the tank, hold over a bucket, (tie the top again first), position the bag so the otos go to one end and you have one corner in your hand pointing up, cut off the corner and nearly, but not quite, drain the bag over the bucket. Make sure the otos can stay in the water (the hole should be big enough for them to safely slide out). When most of the water is out, position it over your tank and pout out the remaining water and otos. This way you don't have to net them out.
If you used the bowl, then just pour most of the water out and then pour them into the tank, or dip the bowl in the tank and they will eventually swim out to explore their new surroundings.
Since I started acclimating them this way I haven't lost any (except one that got caught in a net: ().
I usually balance a clear cup with the otos in it in top of my tank, when acclimating, that way they can adjust to the temperature of the tank as well as start adjusting to the new water conditions.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com It is not true that salt will kill otos. I lightly salt (about half what they say on the box) all of my freshwater tanks.
What the pet people won't tell you is that Otos are actually very hard to keep alive - at first. This - may-have to do with the fact that they are caught in the wild and then shipped to the stores and are not accustomed to living in a tank environment. The ones that do live though, can live for up to 10 years!:)
Also, Otos eat some brown algae's and diatoms, not green algae. If you don't have enough algae in your tank you will need to substitute with algae wafers and some vegetables. (I've had the best luck with microwave aa slice of cucumber or zucchini, just a for a little bit to soften it up, take off the rind, let it cool off, then clip it to the inside of the tank or weight it under a rock. Your other tank mates should like that too! My otos usually only eat the vegetables at night, so you might not see it happen.
Good luck!:)
Adding them to a newly established aquarium is bad. An Aquarium should be up and running for 4-6 months before adding them. I bought 4. 1 died 3 months later, another died 4 months later, then two lasted for a year, it was a pair, but the male just died. Now I have 1 left and will get 3 more next month (this month I added 3 Corydoras to the couple Cory's I had). Also, aquarium salt is bad.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com To die in 24 hours, it was something water related. They didn't even have time to eat. How long was your aquarium up when you got those ones? Any aquarium salt or even worse, table salt?
**** KATSA was right about adding water slowly into the travel bag with them before releasing them. That should be done every 10 minutes for 30-40 minutes adding 1/4 of aquarium water.
