# Other Aquarium Forums > Fish Care, Nutrition and Water Management >  Otocinclus keep dying

## alex76

hihi,

I have repeatedly buy oto to replenish those dead one in my tank... they keep dying except one small one whci keep surviving from my first purchase.

Tank is 2 months old.... Tiger shrimp, Yamato, all leaving well..... zebra snail also dying, left one bumble bee only....

wonder what's going wrong.... can't seem to able to keep oto.... throw in 3 SAE, 2 died also.... one still ok
 :Surprised:

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## uklau

That's exactly opposite situation of what I'm facing. I don't have any problem with Otocinculus & SAE but Yamato keep on dying, one after another throughout the month :Sad:  .

It may be due to way you acclimate the newly purchase Oto. It could also be due to unhealthy batch of Oto. Both Oto & SAE are very hardy fishes.

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## |squee|

Otocinclus, once acclimatised, can be very hardy in your tank. 

Try buying from another LFS, and try asking the LFS how long their oto stock has been around. Chances of them dying will be reduced if you pick from old stock. 

Go home and acclimatise them using the drip method over 24 hours. (Search "ultimate acclimatiser")

Once they get through the first 2 weeks of living in your tank, they are really hardy. Mine went through numerous rescapes and lived when Yamatos couldn't.

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## mmramos

> hihi,
> 
> I have repeatedly buy oto to replenish those dead one in my tank... they keep dying except one small one whci keep surviving from my first purchase.
> 
> Tank is 2 months old.... Tiger shrimp, Yamato, all leaving well..... zebra snail also dying, left one bumble bee only....
> 
> wonder what's going wrong.... can't seem to able to keep oto.... throw in 3 SAE, 2 died also.... one still ok



same problem here bro.. i'm on my 3rd batch of otos already.. i bought 3 each and tried different LFS. only 1 left now and i think it's the survivor! (1 month already). success rate 1/10  :Sad:

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## Quixotic

Revisit your acclimitisation process. Most will not make it if not introduced properly into the tank. Also, choose those without sunken stomachs. Those with sunken stomachs are very unlikely to survive long.

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## danielo

I have the same problem. Bought 20 and all died did it again and died again, My Yamatos, Cherry, Tiger and CRS are doing fine. The funny thing is that my old match of Octo actually breed and have have 4 offsprings in my tank. I also have BN Pleco hatching every 4 weeks in the same tank. I noticed that the ones who died have severly sunken in stomach or bladder problems. Some don't die but cannot swim and just lie down on the gravel bed. I read somewhere that Octo are prone to mass deaths. Wonder why?

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## shihyong

Acclimatise is very important for Otocinclus. They are very sensitive to new environment. They are more fragile then cherry shrimp eventhough they look tough.

When choosing from LFS tank, choose those are still active and looks healthy.

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## AquaObsession

The only time I had a dead oto in my tank was one which was stuck in the surface skimmer. 

Once you put, try not to disturb the tank. Sometime they go hiding, and do not try to move DW or rocks around to look for them (some people do_  :Smile: 

Feed the fish also with some algae wafers etc. Try to see what else is causing that... could it be an aggressive fish? bad water? decaying plants? ammonia peaks? over fertilizers? or not enough hiding space and too much lights that are stressing them

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## snowc

My experience is that they are sensitive fishes. My otos have been with me for 1yr until i decided to do a massive water change (50%). The next day i find them lying motionless. Agree that acclimatise is very important for otos.

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## vinz

Hmmm? Otocinculus affinis has always been the hardiest fishes I have and I for one almost never acclimatise my fishes. I simply let the bag float in the tank, till the temperature equalises. Every 10 mins or so, I top up the bag water by 20% with tank water. I never pour the bag water into the tank.

What are you tank specs?

Sunken stomach is a symptom of fish TB.

Also, make sure you catch the active otos from the LFS tank. Perhaps there's a tendency for people to try and catch the easy ones... i.e. inactive but 'looks' healthy? Any fish thats stays too still is a bad sign, no matter whether it looks healthy or not.

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## eddyq

So far so good with otos but I noticed when changing water (25%)they are always swimming weird, fast and zig zag.

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