Lost a Cory today :o(

[TangoTank]

I have NO IDEA what happened, he was just passed away on the bottom. He had no tail but maybe that happened post-mortam. I have 6 tetras & had 4 peppered corys in my 29 gal planted FW. Everybody was fine yesterday. How long should I wait before adding replacement fish? I was gonna up the numbers in my school anyway, so I'll get 3 more Corys. Obviously, I'll wait & see if anybody else falls ill or shows signs. Just wondering when is a good time to decide it's ok to put new fish in? Thks!!

 

[Bettafanatic]

First you need to check out all the other fish for signs of illness and test your water. What are your levels?

 

[TangoTank]

All the other fish look great, eating well & acting fine. The 1 that died was fine yesterday!! The water params are great too!! ZERO ammonia, ZERO NitrItes & 5-10ppm NitrAtes and the pH is spot on at 7.4 My last PWC was last Saturday.

I don't get it

 

[eduguy]

If you are using liquid you got of got false readings. Try again. If your using test strips they are not that accurate I hear.

 

[TangoTank]

I'm using liquid. Why would they be false readings??

 

[pugmom]

No advice tt, but I am sorry you lost your cory

 

[Bettafanatic]

Hmm that's a little strange. Perhaps something just went wrong that couldn't be prevented. It's like things in our world. Accidents happen and there can be unfortunate consequences. Sorry about your cory

 

[Samzter]

If you are using liquid you got of got false readings. Try again. If your using test strips they are not that accurate I hear.

Why would they be false readings? Most people get readings like that.... Infact that's great readings .

 

[Bettafanatic]

Why would they be false readings? Most people get readings like that.... Infact that's great readings .

As long as you followed the instructions exactly they should be accurate

 

[eduguy]

I'm using liquid. Why would they be false readings??

If you don't do it correctly there will be false readings. Maybe its just one of those things where you never know what actually happened to your cory.

 

[TangoTank]

Thks for your replies! I test regularly, change the water regularly, do not overfeed & have a planted tank w/ Eco complete--kinda hard to believe I have false readings w/ a liquid test kit & I did a fishless cycle for 2-3months. The likelihood that I have a false reading is very low. I'm looking for an answer along the lines of maybe "the quick onset of Brown Algae suggests this..." etc. I'm looking for someone w/ experience who has an outside-the-box suggestion for me to look into before I add more fish then end up w/ more heart ache. Thks!!

 

[eduguy]

It may have not been a false result just sayin.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Thks for your replies! I test regularly, change the water regularly, do not overfeed & have a planted tank w/ Eco complete--kinda hard to believe I have false readings w/ a liquid test kit & I did a fishless cycle for 2-3months. The likelihood that I have a false reading is very low. I'm looking for an answer along the lines of maybe "the quick onset of Brown Algae suggests this..." etc. I'm looking for someone w/ experience who has an outside-the-box suggestion for me to look into before I add more fish then end up w/ more heart ache. Thks!!

Okay as long as you followed the instructions your water parameters are probably fine. As I said it was probably just an accident or something that couldn't have been prevented. I'd say wait a while longer to see if any of your other fish act up, and if it's nothing go ahead and add more fish. I once had a betta that was fine one day, died overnight, and my snail decided to feast on her so I couldn't see what happened. I still don't know what became of Margaret. But I have a new betta and he is perfectly fine.

 

[TangoTank]

Aww... I'm sorry about your Betta. I'm definitely a Betta fan. I had a pair as a teenager for 4 years & have had 2 w/ my children (our 2nd one must not have been healthy, only had him four months) before the 1 we've had now for over 2 years. So heart-breaking when they pass. Since there's not fish MRI's, sometimes we just won't know why.

This is the first community tank I've had as an adult & just didn't wanna rush into building my school back up if I had any stones unturned as far as what went awry here. I'll keep y'all posted when I add more. Probably will be a few weeks.

 

[TangoTank]

UPDATE: Still no more casualties (THANK GOD) & no signs of illness... I'm going to still give it more time before adding new fish.

 

[librarygirl]

Sorry about your Cory. I've had them die on me too for no apparent reason. I don't see anything wrong with the stocking to suggest aggression. I'd wait a week or two and if everything seems ok start adding more.