Ots?

Just read a thread and OTS (old tank syndrome) was mentioned. What is this, why does it happen and what are the "symptoms"? My tank is 7 years old and this causes me some concern. :-/

 

OTS relates to a fish itself. It basically means, that a fish has been in a tank for numerous years. And with no sign at all, the fish may stop eating, become lethargic and eventually whither away.
Why it happens? I don't know. My guess would be old age.
HTH

 

Thanks for the question. I've never heard of this. I looked it up, and found some interesting items of concern. In a nutshell, Old Tank Syndrom talks about an older tank's predisposition to no longer thrive. Many things can account for it, like coral growth that blocks water flow, detritus that is not removed by microfauana, and the inability of water changes to remove nutrients.

I've not been in the hobby long enough to experience any of this, and due to the success of reefkeeping as of late, it's a relatively new phenomena.

Read about it here. Again, thanks for bringing this up. I learned something.

 

That makes me feel better about my tank... as for the fish, guess we all have to go sometime. Thanx, Siddique