Sick Otocinclus - possibly columnaris, hope you won't mind helping 8/18/08 Hi WWM crew, <Ave,> First off, I'd just like to give my thanks for the tremendous help that your excellent website has already been with many issues that we've encountered as newer aquarists. We have a problem with one of our Otocinclus that I can't find a definitive answer to and would like your opinion on the matter before I start medicating, if you'd be so kind. Apologies that this will probably be very long, as I want to include anything that may be of relevance. <Oh...?> We recently (2 weeks ago) somewhat tentatively bought 6 Otocinclus (probably Macrospilus, but regardless the common variety with a grey body, black stripe and white underside). We slowly acclimatised these to our 10 gallon cherry shrimp tank, using this as a quarantine tank (factors being - it is 6 months old and thus we believe quite stable, is quite rich in algae and has c.20ppm Nitrate which is quite low in our Southern England liquid rock/fertiliser water). We have recently purchased a 4-stage RO unit which we are buffering with Aquadur plus, including the odd drop of iodine for the shrimp and also a small amount of Waterlife Vitazin multivitamins and Stress Coat. Current tank stats are TDS 413, pH 7.9, KH 8, dH 10 (not sure if I have my notation correct there - I mean general hardness), Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate c15-20ppm, temperature 22-23 degrees Celsius. <All sounds fine, though as you appreciate a little harder than Otocinclus might prefer. That said, assuming water temperature isn't too high (and you're fine there) and there's plenty of algae for them to eat, should be fine.> When we water change it's a 40-50% change once or twice a week (except see below for the past couple of days) with RO water buffered to as close to the TDS and KH stats of the water as possible - which amounts to TDS c 360, KH 8. <OK.> The only changes in water stats in the past couple of weeks are that the Nitrate got up to about 30ppm (I find the colours on the tests quite hard to judge) just before the last water change, I have also pulled the heater down to 22 from 24 degrees since discovering the sick Oto since I found out that Otos prefer it cooler and columnaris doesn't. <Otocinclus certainly do like moderate temperatures, as is the case with many of the llanos fish of South America.> I have observed no inter- or intra-species bullying in the tank. The only other occupants are about a dozen Red Cherry Shrimp, and the tank is decorated with bogwood, Marimo algae balls, java moss and a few floating plants, and a single artificial hollow log to add an extra hiding place. It has two small sponge filters and a small air-powered box filter (we were hoping the RCS would breed and didn't want to use a power filter for this reason, sadly they have not yet done so for some reason), and an additional airstone for more circulation and oxygen exchange. <I'd actually put the problem here (likely Finrot and/or Fungus) down to what happened between capture and introduction to your tank. They're delicate fish and almost always half-starved by the time you buy them. Attrition rate is very high, with many specimens dying no matter what the hobbyist does. Just treat the tank with eSHa 2000 (which does both Fungus and Finrot) and hope for the best.> As there is not going to be enough algae in a 10 gallon tank to support 6 Otos, and knowing that getting them to eat heartily is a key factor in keeping new Otos alive, we have been supplementing with a slice of zucchini or cucumber and Hikari Algae wafers. We also occasionally add another small wafer that the shrimp really love or a small pinch of ground up flake food. Fortunately the Otos took to both the offered vegetables and algae wafers, developed round bellies and became pleasingly indolent and seemingly happy, with no losses. <Ah, the shrimps won't like the eSHa 2000. In this instance, I'd suggest moving the catfish to the 10 gallon and putting half a Hikari Algae Wafer every other day for him to graze on. For the 4-5 days of treatment, that should be fine.> 60 hours or so ago I found on my morning check that one of the Otos was sitting on his own and had a white patch on his right flank just in front of and below the dorsal fin. This patch appeared white and perhaps fluffy (hard to tell from the angles I've been observing from) and much larger than I associate with ich, perhaps 4-6 mm in diameter. I couldn't tell if it was a fungal or bacterial infection, or perhaps just an injury. I was immediately concerned, especially when I found the 30ppm Nitrate, and performed an immediate water change to bring the Nitrate down to its usual 15-20ppm, and added standard doses of Melafix, Pimafix (I understand you generally don't rate these) and Stress Coat to help with healing. <Melafix and Pimafix are pretty unreliable, to be honest.> Over the past two days I have been observing, performing a daily water change and continuing the dose of Melafix and Pimafix. He has seemed happy enough when I see him - although perhaps slightly more reclusive than the others - but I have seen him eating several times. I have been concerned re: Columnaris, but decided to do nothing rash and observe. Unfortunately this morning I noticed that a patch of white (possibly cottony, but again very hard to tell) had developed around his mouth and now I want to take action. I don't want to needlessly transfer him to another tank (stress and shock from the inevitable difference in water quality, the netting and the separation from his Oto crew) and am unsure whether to medicate in the current tank, move him to another tank (we have plenty of spare tanks that we could use as a hospital) or do nothing if it's not actually a bacterial or fungal infection. <eSHa 2000 does Columnaris, so if that's the thing (though I don't think it is) treatment isn't complicated. One reason I like eSHa 2000 is that it treats Finrot, Fungus and Columnaris, sparing the hobbyist from telling them apart! It's also good with catfish -- in my experience.> We have tried to take photos which I attach the best of, unfortunately we don't have a camera with a great macro mode. <Good enough for government work...> We can obtain any medication readily available in the UK, having ESHa 2000, Myxazin, Permanganate and many others already, and I managed to obtain some Metronidazole anti-parasitic and Tetracycline by importing from the USA - although I expect neither of these are of help in this case, as Tetracycline is I believe a gram-positive antibiotic and Columnaris, if that is what it is in this case is gram-negative. <eSHa 2000 will do, assuming the specimen isn't so weak recovery is impossible.> I'm really not sure what to think - aside from the spreading white patches, the Oto is not acting ill, and I'm surprised if it is Columnaris that he's still alive, as I hear this kills in just a couple of days. We did have guppies previously with similar symptoms though, mostly affecting their fins, and it took several days for those poor souls to die. I am torn between doing something that may stress a sick fish and knowing it could drop dead at any minute. Apologies for the length - any advice you can give would be most welcome. Cheers, Paul C <Good luck, Neale.>

Re: Sick Otocinclus - possibly columnaris, hope you won't mind helping Many thanks, Neale. I have moved the sick Oto to bare cycled tank and treated as you suggest (and I'm very glad that we always keep a spare cycled filter, heater and airstone, would recommend some spare kit to anyone). Sadly the Oto is extremely weak and I'm not expecting him to survive. Fortunately the other 5 Otos look fine, and I'm aware that if I only lose one I'm getting off pretty lightly. <Agreed; you're well above the batting average for the species...> I just wish it were easier to find Otos that were bred in captivity rather than wild-caught, I've seen some videos of that and it's a wonder any survive all the way to our tanks. <Quite so. Interestingly though, once they get through the acclimation process, Otocinclus can be quite good fish if maintained in the right conditions. They're by no means "community fish", but far from impossible to keep.> I will consider pulling the hardness and pH of the tank down a little if they are to remain there long-term - but I'm proceeding cautiously, as we've come quite close to KH/pH crashes in our other mature tanks and have had to go with crushed coral in the canister. <I would suggest forgetting about altering water chemistry. I find mixing 50/50 rainwater with "rock hard" Hertfordshire water gives me adequate conditions for most species. There's no advantage to creating soft water conditions if that means pH varies between water changes. Far better to simply dilute the "edge" of the hardness, brining the pH down to 7.5 or so, and leave it at that. Most freshwater fish will adapt to this very successfully.> Thanks again, I very much appreciate the huge amount of time you put into giving assistance. All the best, Paul C <Happy to help, Neale.>

Illnesses with Oto
Dear Robert,
I actually have two questions. We recently bought 2 Otocinclus flexilis and they initially did well. However after about 1 week, one died and the other has stopped eating. Our water tends to run on the alkaline side but never higher than 7.6-7.8,
<Otocinclus spp. don't care for hard, alkaline water... this or the stress/damage from collection, shipping could easily account for what you have observed>
I tested the nitrites (zero), I generally do 25% water changes every week, no further apart than 2 weeks. We have 8 other fish in the tank (20 gallons) 3 upside-down catfish, 2 swordtails and 3 bleeding heart tetras. Of note, one of our swordtails was incredibly sick approx 1 year ago. We managed to nurse him back to health with 14 days of gram positive and gram negative antibiotic coverage as well as with CopperSafe (all in a quarantine tank). Since then, he has been fine.
About 2 months ago, one of our tetras began swimming erratically (nose pointed upward, tail pointed down and appears to be frantically swimming but no getting anywhere.) He was moved to the quarantine tank as well. He's gotten a bit better (now he eats) but he still swims funny and now his tail is all frayed. I treated him for 14 days as well with Maracyn 1 and 2 and CopperSafe. (I've continued the CopperSafe). So, the two questions are:
what's wrong with our bleeding heart tetra and did the Oto's get what he had (he had been out of main tank for nearly 1 month before we added the 2 Oto's)
<This all sounds a bit eerie...>
Also, I just read your article on the web and noticed that CopperSafe can do more harm than good to these guys. The Oto died today. I had added CopperSafe and Maracyn 1 and 2 to the tank this AM after noticing that both were acting sick (he was worse than his buddy). Did I kill him with the CopperSafe?
<Likely this contributed to the loss>
Thanks for whatever help you can offer.
Brigitte Baumann
<I would have your source water checked (by the supplying agency, a quality assurance lab...) and likely get/use a filtration system for your pet-fish as well as drinking and cooking uses... Please do look into a reverse osmosis unit... inexpensive, easily maintained. Bob Fenner>

Breathless Oto (01/31/2004)
Hi Sabrina or however gets to handle we freshies tonight.
<Sabrina here!>
Don here, from the "Needs Clarity" thread of inquest.
<Good to hear from you again, Don.>
Tank doing great, still clear as a bell. Plants growing well.
<Ah, delightful!>
Have not added any fish since the cycle completed and the water cleared. Still 8 Zebra Danios and one Oto in a 55 gallon with an Emperor 400 and one small power head. 0 ammonia and nitrite. 15ppm nitrate. Not bad since my treated tap reads .5, .5, 20.
<Sheez, not bad at *all*!!  Plants are good things now, eh?>
I have been doing 15 gallon water changes once a week.  Got a couple of quick questions, but the Big Story on Action New tonight is my sick or injured Oto.
<Yikes.>
I noticed a him breathing a little heavier than usual yesterday. When I got home from work tonight he was breathing much harder. I noticed a pink area just behind his eye at the top of the gill slit. He let me get a pretty close look and it seems that the pink is actual gill tissue. As if a piece of the gill cover was removed, exposing the gill. I could see it pulse in rhythm to his breathing. Only saw one side up close before he darted into his cave, but the other side was also pink.
<Although this may be an injury, it might also be that the gills are irritated, and so more visible than usual.  Could be indicative of parasites in his gills; perhaps ich.>
He's still in the 55. I have a 10 gallon I can QT him in, but the heater is inopt. I can pick one up tomorrow.
<I would do so, if at all possible.>
Just not sure what, if any, meds he should get. Still very active and feeding.  He pounces on his daily quarter algae wafer. Always working the glass and gravel. No spotting or other discoloration. No scratching. All fins seem perfect and extended, no clamping. He would be great if he could breath!
<For now, perhaps all that is necessary is observation - but if this is parasitic, it could transfer to your other fish; best to quarantine him.>
Now a couple of quick ones. What type of paint is aquarium safe and will adhere to PVC? I made some caves by coating PVC tubing with aquarium sealer and rolling them in dry gravel. They look good, but a little of the white still shows. Thought I'd paint the tube brown first to eliminate the white.
<You could use a two-part epoxy paint, like such that is used for swimming pools and sealing plywood aquariums.>
And finally, what kind of glue can I use to make slate caves? I made a few using the sealer, but it takes too long to cure. Had a couple collapse while drying overnight.
<You might try a gel-type Cyanoacrylate superglue.>
Don
<Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Dying Otocinclus - Capture and Holding may be the Culprit
Hello. I have two planted 30 gallon tanks. A couple weeks ago I bought 6 Otos to put in them to help with algae, and five of them died a few days ago. I'm running CO2 at about 20 ppm, overdriving 2 18 watt bulbs, pH is 7.0, KH's are 5-7. None of the other fish died. Haven't tested nitrates lately, but in two weeks prior to buying the Otos, I did four 50% water changes (I know that's a lot, but I haven't lost any fish in doing so).
Prior to that, nitrates were about 10-20 ppm, so I can't imagine they were a factor. I can think of only two possible causes:
1) I have slow release tablets for my swords; perhaps the Otos were nibbling on one of those that got shifted to the surface somehow; or 
2) I added Fluorite iron mix the day before they died. They recommend 1 mm/ten gallons, I perhaps doubled that, if that much. Never had any trouble before.
Do Otos have a greater sensitivity to iron that most other fish? I'd rule out stress as a factor, since I have lots of nooks and crannies, and they were eating like pigs the day before they checked out. The one remaining munches continuously. I have tiger barbs in one tank, but they, nor any other fish, acted aggressively towards the Otos. I'm puzzled, because I'm told they're so hardly, except for high nitrates. Thanks very much, Mark
< You Oto's actually died from starvation and or a vitamin deficiency. Oto's are caught in the wild and held for a long time. Maybe weeks before they reach the store. They need to eat a little bit every day to stay healthy. After such a long time their long intestine becomes depleted and they start wasting away. You buy them and they start to eat like crazy. Unfortunately algae has a very low nutritional value and they need to eats lots of it for a long time to build up their strength. Most of the time it is too little too late and they die. 
This happens with Pleco's too. The remaining fish then do Ok for a long time because there is lots to eat for them. Next time I would recommend that you only buy Oto's or Pleco's with full bellies. Not concave or hollowed out. Next , place them in a quarantine/hospital tank and feed live black worms algae wafers and guinea pig pellets. The worms will give them some instant digestible protein. The algae wafers will give them some binder with minerals. The GP pellets are vitamin C enriched alfalfa that supply roughage as well as protein and vitamins. Many of these fish require highly oxygenated water with a current. Many aquarists go without a strong current because they will lose their CO2.This will be very helpful for these little guys.-Chuck> 

Question Re: Oto placement   12/10/06
Hi Tom,
<<Hey, Sean.>>
I have another question for you already.
<<Let's hear it...>>
I was at a major chain pet store today, and much to my surprise, they were selling Otos (Otocinclus) for $1.99. Since this is the first time I've seen them in my area, and that price is too good to pass up, I bought 3 (I read on WWM that they do well in groups). I have 2 tanks, and I can't decide which one they would do best in.
<<The quarantine tank, Sean. (Being a little silly but I’ll explain.) The store I buy my fish from, my Otos included, is, literally, a “Mom and Pop” operation and won’t sell their freshwater animals for the first two weeks after they take delivery, i.e. they quarantine them all. Saltwater fish are held for four weeks with cards posted on the tanks showing the dates that the fish arrived at the store. That said, I can guarantee that this isn’t the case with your Otos. Point number one. Next, Otos are notorious for being difficult to acclimate. Wonderful little guys that they are, they’re easily lost early on no doubt due to the stress of transporting, handling, lack of sufficient food and – the big one – means of capture. Because of their tiny size and naturally tangled environment, many (most?) of the Otos that reach the store have been taken in the wild using cyanide, or other chemicals, to disable them for collection. (I would be skeptical that ‘tank-raised’ Otos would be going for $1.99 each. Mine were $3.99 each which I thought was a bargain.) The upshot here is that these chemicals can remain in the internal organs of the fish either shortening their natural lifespans of about five years or leading to a much, much earlier demise. Darned hard on the Oto, to be sure, but if one is lost and picked at by another fish, it, too, may end up with contamination from the chemicals I referred to. Now, let’s move on to your options.>>
Tank one is a 24g tall/show tank, moderately planted, with a cheap "fizz tab" CO2 system. Its inhabitants are 4 Opaline Gouramis, Trichogaster trichopterus (2 are the gold variety), 2 paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis, 2 Ramshorn snails, and one common Pleco, who will be re-homed soon as this tank will be way too small for him (he's only about 4" right now).
<<Sounds like a good choice, Sean. And, I appreciate your thinking regarding the upgrade for the Pleco.>>
Tank 2 is a 5g, moderately planted, with no CO2. Its inhabitants are 1 Betta and 3 cherry shrimp.
<<Could be a good option as well but, personally, I like to add some aquarium salt in with my Betta. Your Otos would “tolerate” the amount of salt I use but I don’t think they’d appreciate it very much.>>
Both tanks have laterite and gravel substrate, a good amount of driftwood, and a pH just above 7. Neither tank has much of an algae problem, although both tanks have small amounts of green "spot" algae.
Now, here's my question: which of these tanks would be a better fit for my Otos?
<<As you may have gathered, Sean, I like the larger tank for your new pets. The smaller tank would likely work just fine but I’m not a huge fan of keeping Bettas with other fish. Just me, perhaps. Also, if you do decide to add salt to your Betta’s tank down the road, and I do recommend this, it probably wouldn’t sit well with the Otos if they were in the tank.>>
Sean
<<Enjoy your new fish, Sean. Tom>>
 

Otocinclus with bloodworm stuck in mouth – 1/2/08
Hello,
<Lydia>
We are pretty new at this. One of our Otos has a bloodworm in his mouth which he appears to be trying to spit out without success. It keeps popping partially out of his mouth, but he does not or is not able to completely eject it. Nor has he swallowed it. This is the first time I have ever seen an oto with a bloodworm, although doing a search it appears they sometimes eat them. Is he likely to eventually swallow it or should we attempt to extract it?
<Leave it as is... more potential harm in trying to remove>
I really fear doing more harm than good.
<Agreed>
Other than what looks like attempts at spitting out the worm he is acting fairly normal still. It is not always hanging out - it disappears in his mouth and then he seems to try to spit again and part of it comes out for a little before disappearing again. It has been about an hour or a bit more. We appreciate any suggestions on whether we should try to gently catch him and pull it out (although I am not even sure we could get hold of the worm) or leave him alone. I tried calling the local fish store, but they are closed for the holiday. Thank you! - Lydia
<Many fishes have "rear pointed" folds, other mechanisms to direct foods/prey downward into the gullet... once swallowed to some extent... only one way to go... I would feed your fish/es more fine/chopped foods. Bob Fenner>

Re: All is well - was Otocinclus with bloodworm stuck in mouth – 1/2/08
Hello again,
<Howdy>
We successfully extracted it, which went surprisingly easily. He is back in his home and hopefully none the worse for the wear.
Thank you!
Lydia
<Thank you for this follow-up. BobF>

Otocinclus With Parasites – 10/09/07
Hello crew, My Otocinclus looks very sick. A light yellowish lump in his mouth appeared yesterday, now there's more lumps; and his breathing is a bit slower. Otherwise he's acting pretty normal, still active and trying to eat up algae; his color also looks fine except for 2-3 white dots that are possibly ick. I've attached a picture of his sucker mouth.
I had water condition problems a couple months ago, my tank was about 1 month old then. It's now about 3 months old; I was able to keep water conditions good since I had the previous problems: which were high ammonia, pH dropped. Unfortunately though, two days ago, I did a 25% water change, and probably scrubbed the pump/filter assembly a little too fervently, so the ammonia went up slightly; probably got rid of too much good bacteria? I used some ammo lock to decrease the toxicity level, and have been doing partial water changes daily to stabilize the ammonia level. I only have two fish in the tank currently, and the other fish looks fine so far. I looked on your site, and some fish disease information online, but I can't seem to figure out what the lumps are. Any tips what I should do? Thanks so much for all your help; you guys had great advice for me the times I've written so far!-Vanessa
< These little sucker mouth catfish come from warm soft acidic waters of the Amazon basin. They are wild caught and can be a host to a number of parasites. Treat with Fluke-Tabs for parasitic worms and try to maintain good water quality to prevent further stress on your fish.-Chuck>