Otos With Red Worm-like Thing Under Fin

You can see the fish better than in a photo - does it look like some sort of creature attached to the fish? As it is red, if it is a creature, it suggests some sort of blood sucking thing.


Does the red thing move at all?
Are there small round marks on any of the otos?

Could it have impaled itself on something that broke off and left it sticking in the skin? And got coated with blood, obviously.

There is one thing you can try. Have a flattish container filled with tank water ready, and a few paper towels soaked in tank water. Net the fish and carefully transfer it to a soaked paper towel and hold it with its head in the container of tank water and have a good look, with a magnifying glass if necessary. It might be a good idea to have a pair of tweezers to hand just in case they are needed. You need to use the paper towel so that your skin does not touch the oto.
I've done this to try and free a bit of gravel stuck in a fish's throat. I got the gravel out of the goldfish and it survived several months till we gave them away, but I couldn't budge the gravel in the bolivian ram - she died shortly afterwards but I think that was due to the gravel not the handling.

Fish surgery! I hope you find out what it is, and he is ok 

Water changes are the best thing for now, as often as you can manage. The danger now comes from an infection getting into the wound so keep an eye out for that.

Well done for trying to help him! I would of been so nervous getting him out to do this hopefully it's a cut and doesn't become infected.
Fingers crossed. X

No overnight casualties or worsening of the problem, that's good to hear. 

Amazing how well they can hide, isn't it?
Thanks to a recent bout of bullying in my 120 I didn't see Lefty for 2 days.  And he's a Dwarf Gourami!!

Glad to hear it seems to be going good.