okay, so i bought 2 otos 2 weeks ago and they settled in my aquarium very happily so 1 week ago i returned to the pet store and got 2 more. Usually the fish manager guy is the only person i would buy fish from but he was in vacation so i went ahead and got some other peon to get me 2 more otos and 1 opaline gourami. It was CLEAR that he never worked in the fish department. he didnt catch the fish into the net, he simply dropped the net on top of them and pulled them out as well as the layer of gravel underneath them. so this retarded guy pulls the net out with gravel and otos around and he forgets to get a bag, so he's suspending the wet net around while trying to get the fish into the bag. he found a bag, filled it with water and dumpped the gravel into the bag. but it turns out that 1 of the otos sucked onto the net and got stuck. so he took his forefinger and thumb and RIPPPED the otto from the net.
during this whole time i was shocked and stood there with my mouth wide open.
i looked over the fish in the bag and didn't see too much damage and since they were the last 2 otos i decided to take the risk and take them home. I drip acclimated them for a couple hours and then gently scooped them into the tank. the unharmed otto has been successfully eating and has a big belly. but the other otto seemed to have a sunken belly and always just floated around. at the time i didn't recognize anything and just thought that they were hungry so i got some algae wafers. the other 3 otos were swimming around happy but the 1 oto always just layed on its side and always seemd to have a sunken belly. so tonight i got home from work and found the oto dead beneath some wood. I felt bad for the poor guy and scoopped him out of the water when i noticed something. his mouth was completely torn open and he didn't have any sucker thing like the other otos. i knew why.
the stupid useless guy had ripped the sucker off and thats why the oto never stuck to the glass or ate anything. IT HAD NO MOUTH.
I'm so enraged right now! as soon as the store opens im going to go straight to the fish department and tell the manager!!! i demand a fulll replacement. I LOVE the petstore (its the only one in MILES that carries otos and amano shrimp) but the people that work there CLEARLY have to be better trained.
im sorry for the length but i was really mad and needed to vent. the rest of the otos and tank inhabitants seem to be thriving.
my 29 gallon high tech tank has been thriving for 1 month and its 99%%%%% algae free. im so happy. hopefully my next oto will live a better life.