What happened to my Ottos??

[Ormarr]

I bought 3 Ottos from Big Al's last night.  I got them acclimatized like all my other fish.  They seemed to be fine when I went to bed, but all 3 were dead this morning.  All of my other fish are doing just great and my water parameters are spot on (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, about 10ppm of nitrate, PH of 7.0 and 78 degree water).  Any idea what might have happened to them?  They are in my 30 gallon tank with:

5 serpa tetras
4 albino corys
1 fire red honey dwarf gouramis
3 zebra danios
2 blue finned danios

Does Big Al's have a return policy for fish?  Do I need to bring the dead fish back?  A water sample?

Thanks!

[KLKelly]

How did you acclimatize them?

That really sucks

[babblefish1960]

Big Al's does have a fish return policy, you must return with the dead fish and the receipt indicating the purchase. There is a time limit of course, and they will credit you 50% of the original purchase towards another fish.

On to your problem of dying fish, otocinclus are very delicate fish initially in that they often arrive from the wild with pinched bellies, but having said that, I have had hundreds survive quite nicely for years, including breeding in my tanks. The first thing I will ask, is how long has this tank been established, I thought you were looking to begin a cycling regimen in the end of June. If this is the tank, it is too soon to  be adding fish. If not, are your parameters really net zeros in the deadly zones of ammonia and nitrIte.  I might suggest you take a sample of water with your dead fish to see if their numbers agree with their numbers.

My advice would be not to add any more fish until you know for sure your water is good, moreover, I would add, don't purchase questionable fish regarding their health, if they haven't eaten since they were wild caught, chances are likely they never will.

When acclimatizing fish, this includes adding water from your tank to their bag, and in extreme differences in pH for example, require a drip in a bucket for quite a while first.

[Ormarr]

No, the tank I am currently cycling is my 75g Mbuna tank.  The Ottos were placed in the established 30 gallon I have had up and running for at least 3 months now. 
I acclimatized them like I normally do, place the bag in the tank to even water temps (for 20 minutes or so).  I then take some water out from the bag and a little from the tank (another 15 minutes or so).  I repeated this twice and then carefully netted them into the tank.

Like I said, I did a water test as soon as I found them and got readings of 0 for both ammonia and nitrite using the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

Hmm, maybe I got really unlucky.

[dan2x38]

I acclimatized them like I normally do, place the bag in the tank to even water temps (for 20 minutes or so).  I then take some water out from the bag and a little from the tank (another 15 minutes or so).  I repeated this twice and then carefully netted them into the tank.

I lost a couple fish acclimating to quick. I now do it over 2 hrs. or more...  float the bag for 20... then every 10-15 minutes use a turkey baster to add some water... then net them out after the 2 - 2.5 hrs.... never lost any since...

For my new CPD I used a drip line for a long time like 'BabbleFish' said... was taking no risks

sorry to hear that... 

[succinctfish]

What did the oto bellies look like at the LFS?  Otos are fragile.  You always want to look for a nice healthy round belly on an otocinclus, not bizarrely bloated, or sunken in.  Male otos are always more slender than females, but they will have a little pooch belly too if they are eating.  It is a hard trip for wild caught otos.  I try to find out when they arrived at the LFS and wait to buy them to see how they acclimate to the LFS after their long journey, how they are moving around the tank, and evaluate their overall condition before I purchase.  It's sad to lose fish.

[Ormarr]

Well, I returned the 3 Ottos that died and got 3 more.  I took a longer time to acclimatize them and it seems to have done the trick.  They all seem to be alive and well after 3 days.

[RossW]

Great news!

I bought 5 otto's from east end Al's yesterday and all 5 are still alive today!

I must thank everyone here for their great advice on how to properly, mostly slowly, acclimatize the fish.

[fishycanuck]

Glad to hear the newer Otos are doing well.
Almost all of my fishy disasters have been related to rushing. It's difficult, but you have to reel yourself in - no pun intended!

[darkdep]

To mirror the others, Otto's are some of the most delicate fish I've ever kept.  I never had problems with them dying right off, but over time I'd just find them dead occasionally for no reason at all. 

Very touchy, for sure.

[dan2x38]

To mirror the others, Otto's are some of the most delicate fish I've ever kept.  I never had problems with them dying right off, but over time I'd just find them dead occasionally for no reason at all. 

Very touchy, for sure.

Totally agree... I had 7- 4 in 1 tank, 3 in the other all but 1 is still alive he is a year old... the others died for no reason...  am getting no more but very cool fish...