little hole

[LestWeForget13]

i came home from school one day and went up to feed the fish. and im looking around making sure all of them are still there and i notice a little 2 inch deep hole dug by something. what would cause this?

10 neons
2 corys
1pleco
2 red eyed tetras
1 large apple snail

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm not exactly sure if your fish are diggers, but I know that our cichlid's will dig and dig and dig in the sand/gravel until they reach bottom. Maybe the Cory?

[TankGirl]

I would definitely say it is the cory cats - especially if there is not a lot of decorations or other hidey holes for them. They are naturally shy, and prefer to be in groups, so a few more members would be a good idea to make them feel more secure. They will actually dig into the substrate in the absence of hiding places. Is this in your 55? If so, you have plenty of room for more.

[LestWeForget13]

ill see if i can get more cories. would it mean anything if one of my cories has gotten really fat and lost some color?

[TankGirl]

Depends on what you mean by really fat. Is it bloated, with scales sortof sticking out? If so, that's dropsy and the fish needs to be removed to a hospital tank of some kind, even a bucket with a small heater (incandescent lamp bulb will do in a pinch) and an airstone. Once dropsy gets to the "pinecone" stage it is almost impossible to cure, but a broad-spectrum antibiotic is in order to save the fish.

[LestWeForget13]

its scales arent stickin out. just the underside of it is really fatter than the other's

[TankGirl]

It might just be a female. Try feeding them sinking algae wafers for some veggie roughage in case it has an intestinal blockage.

[LestWeForget13]

i do give them sinking wafers and he/she doesnt seem to have anything wrong with it.

[TankGirl]

Good, then I think it must just be a female, perhaps laden with eggs.

[LestWeForget13]

....nice.