Just lost an Otto.

[Bill Stock]

I was walking by the tank and I noticed an Otto laying upside down in the
weeds (Hornwort), panting heavily. The Barbs were poking at him, so I pulled
him out and put him in a bucket of tank water with a bubbler. He didn't move
much and had trouble staying upright when he did swim. about 15 minutes
later he rolled over and that was the end.

I got the 3 Ottos about a month ago, 2 grew substantially and the third one
never did as well. He stayed out of sight most days and did not school with
the others. This is the one that died.

I want to increase the Otto count and add a couple more Yoyos, but now that
the tank is established I'd like to quarantine the new arrivals for a couple
of weeks before introducing them to their tank mates. The problem with
quarantining Ottos is their picky eating habits. Should I try to get some
Algae going (Sunshine and Phosphate) or take my chances with Spirulina
flakes and Zucchini?

[NetMax]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
>I was walking by the tank and I noticed an Otto laying upside down in
>the weeds (Hornwort), panting heavily. The Barbs were poking at him, so
>I pulled him out and put him in a bucket of tank water with a bubbler.
>He didn't move much and had trouble staying upright when he did swim.
>about 15 minutes later he rolled over and that was the end.
>
> I got the 3 Ottos about a month ago, 2 grew substantially and the third
> one never did as well. He stayed out of sight most days and did not
> school with the others. This is the one that died.
>
> I want to increase the Otto count and add a couple more Yoyos, but now
> that the tank is established I'd like to quarantine the new arrivals
> for a couple of weeks before introducing them to their tank mates. The
> problem with quarantining Ottos is their picky eating habits. Should I
> try to get some Algae going (Sunshine and Phosphate) or take my chances
> with Spirulina flakes and Zucchini?


If your Q tank is aged (lots of micro-organisms and a bit of algae) then
I think the wafers/zucchini will be fine. If the Q-tank is sterile, then
the sunshine trick sounds good.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Bill Stock]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Bill Stock" > wrote in message
> ...
>>I was walking by the tank and I noticed an Otto laying upside down in the
>>weeds (Hornwort), panting heavily. The Barbs were poking at him, so I
>>pulled him out and put him in a bucket of tank water with a bubbler. He
>>didn't move much and had trouble staying upright when he did swim. about
>>15 minutes later he rolled over and that was the end.
>>
>> I got the 3 Ottos about a month ago, 2 grew substantially and the third
>> one never did as well. He stayed out of sight most days and did not
>> school with the others. This is the one that died.
>>
>> I want to increase the Otto count and add a couple more Yoyos, but now
>> that the tank is established I'd like to quarantine the new arrivals for
>> a couple of weeks before introducing them to their tank mates. The
>> problem with quarantining Ottos is their picky eating habits. Should I
>> try to get some Algae going (Sunshine and Phosphate) or take my chances
>> with Spirulina flakes and Zucchini?
>
>
> If your Q tank is aged (lots of micro-organisms and a bit of algae) then I
> think the wafers/zucchini will be fine. If the Q-tank is sterile, then
> the sunshine trick sounds good.
> --
> www.NetMax.tk

The Q Tank is well aged, it became a Betta tank several months ago. It was
just sitting there empty after all. :)

So I'll be starting fresh, with some bacteria from an existing tank of
course. I was thinking of using a Rubbermaid tote this time around, that
way I'll be less tempted to add to my collection.

[NetMax]

"Bill Stock" > wrote in message
...
>
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Bill Stock" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>I was walking by the tank and I noticed an Otto laying upside down in
>>>the weeds (Hornwort), panting heavily. The Barbs were poking at him,
>>>so I pulled him out and put him in a bucket of tank water with a
>>>bubbler. He didn't move much and had trouble staying upright when he
>>>did swim. about 15 minutes later he rolled over and that was the end.
>>>
>>> I got the 3 Ottos about a month ago, 2 grew substantially and the
>>> third one never did as well. He stayed out of sight most days and did
>>> not school with the others. This is the one that died.
>>>
>>> I want to increase the Otto count and add a couple more Yoyos, but
>>> now that the tank is established I'd like to quarantine the new
>>> arrivals for a couple of weeks before introducing them to their tank
>>> mates. The problem with quarantining Ottos is their picky eating
>>> habits. Should I try to get some Algae going (Sunshine and Phosphate)
>>> or take my chances with Spirulina flakes and Zucchini?
>>
>>
>> If your Q tank is aged (lots of micro-organisms and a bit of algae)
>> then I think the wafers/zucchini will be fine. If the Q-tank is
>> sterile, then the sunshine trick sounds good.
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>
> The Q Tank is well aged, it became a Betta tank several months ago. It
> was just sitting there empty after all. :)
>
> So I'll be starting fresh, with some bacteria from an existing tank of
> course. I was thinking of using a Rubbermaid tote this time around,
> that way I'll be less tempted to add to my collection.


re: Rubbermaid tote, been there, done that, doesn't work (to reduce the
temptation). The problem is that during quarantine, you need to be
observing the fish (colors, markings, behaviour, appetite, constitution
etc), and that single top view will leave you unimpressed.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[coolchinchilla]

Bill Stock wrote:
> The Q Tank is well aged, it became a Betta tank several months
ago. It was
> just sitting there empty after all. :)
>
> So I'll be starting fresh, with some bacteria from an existing tank of
> course. I was thinking of using a Rubbermaid tote this time around, that
> way I'll be less tempted to add to my collection.

I have a sick fish in a hospital bucket (with heater & filter).
Every few days I take everything out to look and see how he's doing.
Invariably I freak him out so he jumps out of the bucket & lands
on the floor. :-( So much for a tranquil hospital bucket.

My advice is to work with a tank. Much less stress on your fish and
easier to take care of for you.

coolchinchilla