Help! I've Jinxed Things!!

HELP!  I think I've jinxed things saying everybody looks healthy and happy....
I'm so upset, I've just found one of my little otos dead...and I don't know why?  Now, I'm terrified he hasn't 'just died' but that something is wrong within the tank.  I had a moment of panic when I could only find one of the other two otos, but I have now seen both.  They seem to be ok and are munching over the rocks, but then he seemed ok yesterday.  The only thing was I did comment to my hubby that one of them looked like he had a tiny break in his stripe colouration but they are so small and so quick it was hard to have a proper look.  I'm not sure also that when I noticed his stripe it didn't also look a tiny bit furry...almost like the tiniest piece of blanket weed, like you get in ponds.  I could have made that up though and been seeing things!  It was only slightly bigger than a pinhead.  Looking at him now, there is no sign of this 'fluff' but maybe a slight yellow discolouration at the same place. Could it have been an injury?
I've just remembered I have a magnifying glass and had a look at him with that , and yes, there is a bit of a yellowy mark.
Can anyone help, please?  Is this a disease?  Should I treat my tank with anything?  I'm due to do a water change today as well.

Any advice gratefully received...thanks.

Resa

Thanks Colin...yes, a very sad day    I was so pleased with how everyone had been settling in, as well.
In answer to your question, yes, the otos do seem to be plump.  I had said to the other half just a few days ago how much they had seemed to have grown, and have been endlessly demanding of him....did he think they looked plumper, he felt that they did too.  I should have been more prepared for this...I know that otos have a reputation for not making it, but I had relaxed a little, thinking they would be ok as they seemed to be eating well.
So no, I won't get any more fish......probably ever!  Why aren't the little pandas hard as nails???  That would be so much easier.
I have a million things to do today but probably won't get anything done as I'm watching my fish like a hawk!  I so hope they will all be ok.

Thanks though, Colin, for your help.  I admit I did panic a bit when you weren't online and Sue had posted that she was going out! I have posted back to her that she is not allowed out and that you two must work shifts 

Resa

I've just found one of my little otos dead...

My two Zebra Oto's lasted 18 and 51 days, so I know how you feel.    First one must have had a disease because it was left alone by the tank mates, the second was half eaten by the time I got to it.

Tigzfish.....were your otos very tiny when you got them?  Did they seem to be eating ok?  I don't know when my little fella died, he was there at bedtime.  No other fish were near him but there were three tiny snails on him....does that help with whether he had a disease or not?
Thanks...

Resa
 

WORMS!!!  PLATYS!!!!   Eeek...now I've got something else to worry about!  How would I know if mine get worms??  My platys (the girls anyway) are looking very rotund....could that be worms?

Get you....terroir, indeed.  Yes, as a keen gardener, I know exactly what you mean.  There was a song that went something like...." I know what I want...and I want it NOW!"  My hubby has always said that it was written for me....cheeky sod!

Resa
 

You can tell if the platies have worms by the thin, white, stringy poo. One of mine came with worms as an added extra and the others picked them up.

From what you say you might be about to increase your stock of platies by, errr, natural means.

Platies give birth about once a month. If a platy's abdomen looks almost square when looked at from the side, it's only a matter of days.

Looks like you're going to be a mummy again! 

I'm afraid to say that platies aren't the best parents in the world as the bestest parents don't usually eat their offspring.  If you want them to survive then the kiddies will need lots of hiding places like java moss etc.

So sorry about your fish Resa :-( Fingers crossed it was just a one off poorly otto

Bonjour Resa.

There's loads and loads of very interesting stuff about Oto's here, and the article also contains links to other articles. Put the kettle on and settle down to a good read!

Congrats on the new arrivals. Do they have places to hide or are they destined to be on the menu?

You never can tell with guppies. Sometimes just the stress of 'moving house' seems enough to see them off. One of the first signs of an unwell guppy is fin-rot. Are you sure the chunk of tail was taken by another guppy because guppies, as surface feeders, don't really have the correct mouth shape to bite out tails? Is the missing bit very clean, or is there a bit of white around the wound? Is it getting bigger? My guppies occasionally rest on the gravel and occasionally shimmy.

A bad sign seems to be when they swim at 45^o with their mouth at the surface, very noticable gill movement and using the surface plants for support. None of my guppies that showed this behaviour lasted for more than a week. Dragging along the bottom was also a bad sign.

Here's some helpful, yet grim, reading.(link)

At the moment.... close observation is best. Lots of hiding places are good so any extra plants you fancy might be a good idea, and keep an eye on your water parameters. You might want to move some of your decorations/rocks etc around as this can change a fishes idea of territory and can stop challenging behaviour.

Don't medicate for anything until you're sure what you have. If you need to use anti-fin-rot medicine in the future then I've used Interpet's Anti Fungus and Finrot #8 with good effect. But be warned, it dramatically lowers the oxygen content of the water and I had to rush out and buy an air-pump and bubble stone thingy to stop all my fish gasping and panting at the surface. It also caused an ammonia and nitrite spike 'cos the filter bacteria died off due to lack of oxygen.... and this didn't help the survival rate of my guppies either. The only good thing was all the snails headed to the surface too so I could catch them!

Don't panic - this is what I meant when I said the first month or so is the hardest.