Ottos picking on Discus...

[davsch100]

New to discus and need help. I received 3 discus for a gift in June and they are in with my Angels. Have been doing great since, but just last week I noticed an Otto and a juvenile Angel picking on one of the Discus. The Otto actually latching on like it was algae.

Keeping the temp at about 82.
Someone said it was getting parasites and the Otto was eating them and needed salt.

Any help is appreciated. Looked around here and there is great stuff, hoping someone dan help.

Also… not even sure what they exactly are… sorta transparent orange / yellow. Looked at a lot of pictures but could not find a match.

Thanks,

Dave

[ILLUSN]

bad luck dave, sounds like you've got an aggressive otto, better take it out.

[davsch100]

That is an easy fix.

Thanks.

[ILLUSN]

If you've got the time Dave, do you mind putting up a photo for one of the catfish guys to try and ID? I know theres something like 11 species sold under the name "otto" just wondering if some were more prone to aggression then others.

[samir]

flush the otto.



Someone said it was getting parasites and the Otto was eating them and needed salt.


interesting theory. I thought the ottos were the suckers :P LOL

[davsch100]

Here is the Otto you are requesting me to flush... for now he is moved to another tank with just Angels.

Also there are 3 Discus. There is quite a bit of peppering... guessing they were trying to get rid of them on an unsuspecting customer. Or I maybe wrong... just not sure what they really are.

[davsch100]

Here is baby Discus for ID

[BSW]

Hi Dave -
I'm new here too, lots of nice people and great info also. I had the same Otto problem, nothing to do but take it out. I put it in my Angel tank, and same thing, started sucking on the Angels. Have other Ottos no problems with them. Never figured it out, had to get rid of that Otto.
I also have two Pigeon Bloods, that have peppered some since I've had them. They came out of BB breeder tanks in to a planted tanks with a sub straight. Seems as soon as they had some color on the bottom of the tank, and a few places to camouflage themselves, here came a little peppering. I have been able to keep it to a minimum by using Color Bits, and a fairly long light period. It seems to come and go some. My fish are just pets so it hasn't bothered me to much. Also initially had the Angels in with the Discus, had to separate them, The Angels were to aggressive for the Discus. Also if you've got a mix going there with the Discus, I'd have to recommend a UV Sterilizer, not to sure that it helps for a fact but, it can't hurt. I run a 25 W on a 60 gal, never had any problems.
B

[samir]

flushing works best

[davsch100]

Or are they just a mix.

Will their colors change much as they get older? Probably more for the Medium and small one I guess.

Also, all 3 were purchased at the same time and were the same size. Is it just genetics that the larger one grew faster or because it is more aggressive. (I notice that the small one is usually hiding a lot)

Dave

(Also: To the catfishers... is this really an Otto?)

[ILLUSN]

looks just like a "regular" otto to me, all your fish are pigions, the planted dark tank will bring out the peppering more then a bright bare tank, if your happy with them then just sit back and enjoy watching them grow up and their color develop.

your fish will sort out a chain of dominance, with the most dominent fish getting the most food and growing fastest, try feeding at both opposite ends of the tank so as everyone get enough to eat.

[apistodiscus]

I have a discus that I got as a pressie from my LFS and it's almost completly black from peppering. And it's in a tank with a white playsand substrate with a couple of bogwood pieces in it....
Your baby discus looks somewhat under nourished. Are you sure he is getting his share of food (the eye is quite big in relation to his body)?
I never had otos picking on my fish but I have heard from people it happened to that they only pick on fish that are weakened. A strong and healthy discus wouldn't allow a oto to latch onto it. I think one of the problems you have arises from the fact that you have angels in the same tank as discus. Angels are very aggresive feeders and discus very often pull the short straw, especially the ones down the pecking order. They have to compete both with the other discus and the angels

[davsch100]

apistodiscus:

Yes, the baby does look weak. Hides a lot, does come out to eat but it is slow. I am thinking of putting it in another tank that only has two Angels in it that used to breed but nothing in the last 3 months. There will be less competition there.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Dave

[apistodiscus]

You are probably better off if you moved the angels out of your discus tank and added a couple more discus. Put food on from both sides of the tank and every fish should get enough food. Angels tend to chase fish away from food even after they had their fill.