My Otto

Question
Hey Nicole, one of my ottos died today. I bought two of them 3 days ago, and they seemed to be doing a great job, but one of them was always on my ornaments with almost no algae on it. One of them was found in the corner just sort of curled up, and is in the freezer awaiting to be taken back today (they only had a three day warranty). My dad thinks there was something wrong with him before we got him because he didn't seem to  be eating. I looked at him and there wasn't any sign of anything wrong on the outside and he was acting normal, "sucking" on my algaeless bridge ornament. Do you know what could have happened?

Answer
Hi Garrett,

Ottos in dealer's tanks are seldom given their own food the way plecos are. When you choose them, make sure they are robust. In the dealer's tanks, they always tend to look pale, but since they are usually pressed against the glass, you can see their bellies. They should appear full, round, slightly pink. Do your best to find a specimen like this.

Another problem is that these fish are mostly wild caught (since they do not breed easily in captivity) and this often involves sedating them with chemicals so that they can be netted more easily. It takes a long time for them to get over the stress of being transported. Ask your dealer how long he has had the ottos you are interested in buying - often times the person you deal with will not know the answer to this question, but it never hurts to ask. I would wait until it has settled in the LFS for at least a week.

I hope that helps, have a look here for more information. I realized today that I had been spelling their name wrong all of this time! A book straightened me out. Now, by using the correct spelling "otocinclus" I found lots of results:

http://www.otocinclus.com/intro.html
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/otocinclusart.htm
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile76.html
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/oto-vittatus.htm

Keep reading!
Nicole