Bruised oto, advise needed

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Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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Mareva
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Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by Mareva »

Well, it's not about puffer but they'll be puffer mates soon!

I got 3 otos about 2 weeks ago. One was the regular grey oto, and the other 2 were more of a golden color... Never heard of it but it's really the same shape just not the same color! Most of the otos at the lfs were that different color morph. The grey one died in the first night, the other 2 are still alive in my QT tank. My QT tank is in fact a rubbermaid plastic tank so I can only see from above.

The small one had a bruise near it's gills, it was like red flesh. I think it was on both sides but I don't remember well. I couldn't find a disease that would cause that, except for a really bad case of fluke. So I started treating with Jugle parasite clear tabs a week ago (had to order as the lfs doesn't have meds, I chose those as I wasnted to treat them for IPs anyways and it says it works for flukes too). The fish got a melafix treatment meanwhile in case it helped. I thought the bruise was gone but 2 days ago I saw it was still there on one side. The other side is fine. So any idea as to what it might be?

Now, I did a WC today and one of them got caught into the tube. It swam out of it before I could do anything, but then I realise the big one has a red bruise on his nose! :( Could that be caused by the accident or is he catching the other one's disease? If it's just a bruise can I put melafix with the IP treatments?

Otherwise they seem quite happy fellows. They always hang out together, they have a good appetite, the little one is always to be found on the spirulina tablet! They are quite playful and like to swim around in the evening. They are pretty shy though and hide when they see me!

I am adding pictures. Their head is reddish, I think it's their blood artery we see through their skin... I hope so!
Here's the big one with it's small bruise on the nose (on the right side)

Image

Here they are hanging out together, can't see the bruise near the gill of the small one from above...
Image
crazedpuffer
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Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by crazedpuffer »

It should be fine. Just use Melafix to help it heal.
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Mareva
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Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by Mareva »

I wasn't sure about putting melafix and the parasite clear tabs together.

Do you think the redness on their head is just their arteries we see through the skin? They have such a strange color morph I don't know what's normal with these 2!!!
crazedpuffer
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Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by crazedpuffer »

Yeah that is a pretty interesting color morph, I wonder if it could be from stress? Thats what mine looked like when they got really stressed.
I wouldn't be too worried about the red on their heads, it doesn't look like anything to worry over to me.
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Mareva
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Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:14 pm
My Puffers: 3 DPs: Borneo, Palua and Fidji!
Location: Québec, Canada

Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by Mareva »

ok, thanks! You know we're all overworrying when it's our fish! ;)

Maybe the color is from stress... At the lfs, there were like 2-3 grey ones and a whole bunch of beige ones. So we'll see, they are pretty shy and are quite afraid of me so they could actualy be stressed out of their... color! hehe! I guess time will tell me!
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Mareva
Figure 8 Puffer
Posts: 174
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:14 pm
My Puffers: 3 DPs: Borneo, Palua and Fidji!
Location: Québec, Canada

Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by Mareva »

oh, I forgot, the nose bruise is already gone! :D
crazedpuffer
Former Staff Member
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Re: Bruised oto, advise needed

Post by crazedpuffer »

Good to hear!! I used to worry a lot too over my fish, now my mom does that instead lol.
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