Hi guys, I got 4 otos last week one had a small white patch near his tail, I have been monitoring him an the patch has got bigger I suspect it's fungus of sorts? Or could it be damage from transport Parameters are all good and he is with his mates in quarantine. How should I treat this ...tanks. Temp is around 24 to 25 C.
Could be fungal or bacterial, a little hard to say from the pic. First step, as with any ailment, is to keep up your water quality to give the fish the best chance at fighting this. Carefully monitor your fish's behaviour during this time to see if the affliction is affecting the fish any further. There are "general tonics" that can be effective against mild bacterial or fungal infections, and their application varies depending on the brand. Personally I prefer to isolate a fish that I wish to treat, either in a bath or quarantine type setup, and work from there. Keep us updated.
Hi @RobK before i kept cichlids i had a similar problem with an Angel, what i did was take some tank water out into a bucket if you use tap water be sure to dechlorinate / quarantine add 1 gram min... 3 grams max of salt per litre, I dont use table salt. put your fish in there for 20 min, keep an eye out for stress. i did this every two days for a week. followed by more a more regular wc schedule and i increased the flow (bigger pump). having said that i agree with @SalmonAfrica entirely! and hope you get sorted.
Is salt treatment ok with otos? Battling to get any info on treating them, I was told they can be quite sensitive fish. Currently treating with Dolfin Special aid but it's not that great. Just know it's pretty safe with most fish.
@RobK i am unsure about oto's as i don't have personal experience with them. i have used this method on Angels and my African Cichlids with success!
I'm not sure if these pics are any better, problem seems to be getting worse. I am trying a salt dip but worried it will hurt the little guy.
It's presenting much like a water mold, or something similar, and should be treated as such. However, the growth of this pathogen is rather extensive... you can treat and hope, I guess. While salt is perhaps the most effective method for the treatment of this disease, Otos aren't particularly tolerant of increased salinities. My recommendation is to isolate the affected fish and do as low dose as possible - the recommendation above of about 2-3 grams of salt per litre is recommended, which should be the region which the disease begins to get uncomfortable (and as far as I could read up, is within the tolerance of Otocinclus, at least for short periods up to 24 hours). This will be a long term treatment rather than a bath. If the fish appears to be coping with the salinity, you can try to increase the salinity to 4-5 grams per litre. Keep it up until you see signs of improvement, but I wouldn't extend the treatment beyond 2 weeks if possible. As per usual, keep the water as clean as possible. Let us know how this progresses.
@RobK , Scoop him gently into a bowl with as little tank water as possible Take some methylene blue in a small syringe or a dropper and drop a few drops straight onto his tail and gently put him back in the tank I did this twice now with two stingray pups that someone had taken a nip at the tail and was looking a bit fungusy Cesar netted her just above water level and i put a few drops straight onto the tail and he put her back in the tank. We did it for two days It worked like a miracle Literally the next day there was no signs of fungus and by the second day you could see it was healing @SalmonAfrica ? your opinion? I have never done it on an oto... I assume he is scaleless. You could also try Seachem Paraguard at half dose
@MariaS - dye type treatments are a known route to take with this - and similar - afflictions. People have met varying levels of success, of course depending on the actual pathogen, environmental conditions, and patient status (both species and how far gone the fish is), among other factors. I do have a mild concern about the sensitivity of Otos, beyond them being scaleless, hence why I opted for the salt solution. Methylene blue is is a good option simply because it's broad spectrum - it'll deal with the mould/fungus as well as any secondary infections that might have popped up. But I cannot say for certain the tolerance of an Oto, especially one that likely is suffering osmotic stress with such extensive superficial damage. It's worth a shot, but again I have limited experience with Otos (especially alongside meth blue), so I cannot place certainty on the results.
Thanks @SalmonAfrica ... The rays are also sensitive to methylene blue if its in the water but if you scoop them out and apply on the affected area and back in tank, they ok. That's why I thought maybe it would work but what you say makes a lot of sense as well @RobK.. maybe the Paraguard?
Will see when I get home.. if no improvement then I will try the Methylene blue. Getting a little desperate as the poor guys not looking good.
If there is no improvement, I suppose its worth trying Just don't leave him in it for long basically put the drops on his tail and take him out Will stain his tail a bit but will go away
Thanks for the help all, unfortunately the little guy didn't make it... really kills me losing a fish
Sorry to hear. At least you have some idea of what directions you can take if it should happen again, only next time you can catch it a little earlier. Good luck with the others.
Sorry to hear @RobK.... Its always heart breaking.. Just for future reference, did the methylene blue do it or was it just too late?
Thanks @TheGrissom , I lost a guppie a couple months ago too so it's a double blow. (Different tank and she was old but still)
What I wanted to know, is this fungus normally so aggressive, went from a small almost unnoticeable patch to killing the fish in about a week?
