Dead fish! Help!

[Lcc103]

We are beginners with a 10 gal tank. I just got the water checked on Friday and the fish guy said it was perfect. We got an albino Cory while we were at the store and now four days later he is dead. He was our favorite fish and we want another but not if we did something to kill it. The water looks great and the temp is a steady 78 degrees. He was laying on the gravel all of yesterday and then tonight he had a clear cloudy bubble around him and he was dead with no tail left ahhhhhh! Any advice?

 

[NRB]

Do you have any other fish in the tank? Cory catfish are a schooling fish, so they like to be in groups. With a 10 gallon you won't be able to add too many, but at least 2-3 would be good. If your tank is newly setup, you will have to do water changes regularly at least 25% daily. If you can test your water parameters at home it makes the process easier. The API master test kit works very well.

Also when you added the fish to the tank how did you do it?

 

[TheNewestNewGuy]

In my experience Cory's are hardy little fish.

I assume you've cycled the tank, yes? And you're dechlorinating the water before putting it in? ...not questions to sound demeaning, just want to make sure since you say you are new to the fish hobby.


You can easily fit more than 2 or 3 of these in a 10 gallon tank btw.

 

[jimsz]

How long passed from setting up your tank to when the gentleman said you were able to add fish?

Make sure the tank is cycled - there are a lot of threads on this site about this.

If you have not already done so, purchase an API water test kit https://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWAT...1508335187&sr=8-2&keywords=api+water+test+kit

Also purchase some dechlorinator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00025694O/ref=pd_luc_rh_sim_02_01_t_img_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Small aquariums can be more work that larger aquariums. My first tank was a 10 gallon and I was naive and listened to the chain store employee and over stocked my tank way too soon. A number of fish needlessly dies and my frustration mounted. I moved to a 36 gallon tank, cycled it properly and it was a lot less work and allowed me to happily upgrade to a 55 gal.. If I had room I would go to n even larger.

Good luck - read up and gain knowledge and your fish will do fine.

 

[Lima]

I agree that cycling may be an issue. Did the guy at the pet store say if you had nitrates? In my experience cories are pretty hardy but I've also found that when something is wrong with the water they're sometimes the first to have trouble...perhaps because they're bottom dwellers? I don't really know. The last cory I lost I tested the water and found the nitrates were *very* high because I hadn't done a water change when I should have and my tank is pretty fully stocked. He had no visible illness or injury so I feel like that was the reason. You should definitely get your own test kit...I also use the API master test kit...so you can keep track of your water parameters yourself. I've heard that the pet stores use the test strips anyway and they aren't as accurate, though I'm not sure if that's what your guy did. Did he give you specific numbers or just tell you everything was fine?

If the tank isn't cycled then ammonia or nitrites may be your culprit. Cories are awesome...I have 4 in my tank right now...they're so funny and active and they do seem to enjoy company.

Anyhow, good luck!

 

[Lima]

To clarify, nitrates in your tank is good because it means you have the good bacteria and it means your tank is cycling/cycled, but you want to keep them low because high concentrations will make the fish sick. My nitrates when I lost my cory were well above the range that is healthy for the fish...