Hey guys, I recently got some Otos and don't think they are quite doing well in my tank. It's a relatively new 75 gallon tank, but used stuff (water, filtration media, gravel, decor) from the fully cycled 30 gallon tank I had before it. Luckily, it appeared that the new tank didn't undergo a mini cycle.

I recently had an outbreak of ich (7th day of medication), and some other strange issues, but ended up purchasing the otos even though it probably wasn't the best decision. My justification for this was because of what I had researched/been told about ich, was that fish that have experienced ich may not get it again in the same matter of fashion we get immuned to chickenpox. Thus, I pondered if it was worth trying to get any new fish I'd be interested in, exposed to the weakened state of ich so that it would help immunize them for any future outbreaks of ich (which during my short experience of fishkeeping, I've been reading that I should expect to see it again -_-).

Anyway, I know not if I was a fool to do that, so feel free to bash me in the head for that one.

Nonetheless, they have been purchased and I did my best to acclimate them for two hours because I have read that many oto buyers have often lost the otos over the period of the first few weeks.

Never having had otos before, I'm not sure if they are just being them, or if I have done wrong.

High temperatures and medication and slight aquarium salt is present in the tank for ich.

They don't interact with one another (I have bought 3), they go around trying to find something to munch on every now and then, and are usually stationary most of the time when they aren't trying to graze the decor. Their... neck below the mouth of their underbelly, is reddish, I doubt that is normal?

I've placed algae wafers and zucchinis (I microwaved slices of them, but read you should boil?) to try to get them to eat, but no avail. Alongside them, I had also purchased 3 dwarf siam loaches, and they seem maybe a bit too happy if anything. All other fish including the siam loaches eat. (Nobody seems to really eat the zucchinis however, despite all that I've read about many fish loving them)

Any suggestions or thoughts?

I also microwave the zuc in a bowl of water. Let it cool, then add to the tank. My otos tear up the zuc, but I also purchased them from source that readily fed them veggies...so they knew it to be food. Leave it in there for two days, then I would take it out if they aren't eating it. It may take a few tries before they figure out that it's food.

As far as not grouping up, mine hang out on leaves separate from the other otos, but sometimes they are together. Most of the time they are still. Usually eating

Good luck with the ick. I wish I could offer advice on that subject, but cannot.

=/ Thank you.

My otos have really skeletal looks on their underside... It's been 3 days since I've purchased them and I'm contemplating if it's better to return them. They don't seem like they will survive a few weeks.

Ok...I'm not gonna bash ya as that's just not me. Sooooo..

First off, this is bad for the little Oto guys (and your loaches too). :o(
Being that they are already in this environment, it won't be good to pull them out and QT them and then right back in.

Are you done with your ich treatment or are you still medicating?

If at the end of the treatment, we have options to explore. During the course of treating ich, you're pretty limited as to what you can do.

Being that you said they are not hanging out together, they probably have not tagged a mutal hang out spot yet. I would advise to add more zucchini throughout the tank. I have found boiling them is better than nuking. (cut zucs in 1/4" slices, bring water to rolling boil, add to water for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat, drain, place zuc in a large bowl and add cool water). When cooled, feed accordingly and you can freeze the rest.

Yea, I know that the current living situation isn't ideal considering the ick, but there's nothing I can do about that. I had already damaged the loach trying to catch him, trying to chase it around to quarantine him will probably only worsen it's condition.

The ick came back within the last two days, and infected the loach and some other fish. I'm not sure how it came back for a second round.

Well poo! Did you run the course of the treatment? That's one of the first things I hear is that as soon as people don't see the spots anymore, it is assumed that it is gone. Treating ich is like taking antibiotics. You have to run the full course of meds for it work properly. Oh...and toss out your media too and replace at the end of treatment.

Not saying you didn't, just a common thing when it reappears. I'm not a fishy illness expert as I have only dealt with it once thankfully.

As for meds, look into Ich Attack by Kordon. Haven't used it but it has been recommended for use on sensitive fishies.

What do you mean by run the course?
I'm assuming you mean if I continued the treatment even after ick appeared to be gone. Yes I did, though I did lessen the treatment to some extent (about 25% less).
What do you mean by toss out my media? The sponge, the bio-max? If so, why must I do that? Wouldn't that essentially restart my cycling process?

Oh, and what are the options that I can explore after the treatment? I probably won't stop treatment for at least another week or two, though the ick has not spread to anybody else except the loach and german rams.