Cory lost whiskers?

[Noviceafter2yea]

I just noticed one of my cories is missing its barbels. What do I do? My QT tank is currently occupied by platy fry.

20 gallon tank 10 fish and 1 mystery snail
2 Cory (julii or leopard - don't know)
3 bleeding heart tetra
1 Molly
1 male guppy
3 platy

Please note - I know I need to get more cories but I can't buy any without first QT and my QT is occupied. I am starting a 14 gallon tomorrow, but I have to cycle it.

Readings:
Ammonia 0
N2 0
N3 35-40
PH 7.9ish

Temp is 80

Thanks. I hope the little guy is not in pain. I think it may have just happened.
Should I add pimafix?
Partial water change 2 days ago

 

[Mama Karoti]

It's probably because of the rocky substrate. They wear them off. If you can replace the substrate with smoother rocks or (better yet) sand, then wait and see if they grow back. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.

Despite having sand substrate, I have a whisker-less little guy. I have read that they will starve without their whiskers, but mine somehow manages. He is smaller than the others, but otherwise healthy. I've had him for well over a year like this. I'm honestly not sure if he is small because he has nubs for whiskers or if he has worn his whiskers off because he searches harder for food than the others because he's small. It's weird. My others have nice long whiskers.


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[BBradbury]

Your Corydoras

Hello Nov...

Rough bottom material will cause injury. Keep the tank extremely clean by changing out a lot of tank water. Feed a good diet that includes some minced garlic. Spice World has a good product. Garlic is high in vitamins and has natural antibotics. I keep a lot of different Corys and they love garlic.

In pure water conditions and good food, the chances are very good the barbels will heal.

B

 

[Delapool]

Must admit I'd skip the pimafix unless he was looking poorly.

 

[RadMax8]

I've had a couple cories in my tank without barbels for about a year, so they definitely don't starve without them.

I really let my tank go and ended up with dirty substrate, and that's when a lot of barbel damage occurred. I'd say 6 of the 9 have recovered well, with the other three in various conditions. I've got smooth gravel.

I recommend making sure your substrate is very clean. This will help. No meds needed.


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[Noviceafter2yea]

I've had a couple cories in my tank without barbels for about a year, so they definitely don't starve without them.

I really let my tank go and ended up with dirty substrate, and that's when a lot of barbel damage occurred. I'd say 6 of the 9 have recovered well, with the other three in various conditions. I've got smooth gravel.

I recommend making sure your substrate is very clean. This will help. No meds needed.


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Did you have smooth gravel prior to the damage to your cories? I am setting up a new tank today and was planning on using (and already cleaned - not that it matters) the same type of substrate in the photo above.

I will be doing a vacuum in the established tank this afternoon which usually results in a 40-50% water change.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Must admit I'd skip the pimafix unless he was looking poorly.

I did a small dose of pimafix because I was worried about bacteria. I also did some melafix in case i am right about it being a fresh wound. I will be doing a major vacuum this afternoon which will mean about 40-50%'water change.

The consensus is to change the substrate. I haven't read a lot of positives about sand. It seems using smooth pebbles would be best. Do you think a gravel change really is warranted?

 

[RadMax8]

I've had the same substrate in my tank for three years. They are somewhat small, smooth, black pebbles. Not the best for cories, but a much better alternative to anything sharp or jagged.

 

[absolutangel04]

In my opinion and experience, your substrate is fine. That IS smooth gravel. I think the issue is more related to the fact that your nitrates are rather high. No, I do not think a change is warranted at all, I think you could use a slightly more rigorous pwc schedule though. If you did a pwc 2 days ago and already have 40ppm on nitrates, that is not great.
Cories do not starve without their barbels. I purchased one without barbels accidentally years ago and kept it for about 3 years. Vacuum the gravel well too. They may have a harder time, but life in a tank with regular meal availability is not exactly a super tough life as far as foraging goes.
Whether or not the barbels grow back depends on how much has been damaged. If the whole barbel is gone down to the root, it will not likely grow back. It can be hard to tell where the damage actually starts and stops on such a small body though, so you will just have to wait and see.
Melfix and pimafix are not good meds. They are very low dosage and quite expensive for what they actually are. If you want to dose them, you can. I suggest treating primarily with clean water. I would do some large pwcs over the next few days and try to get your nitrates down as low as possible. Also, if you are interested in live plants they will help keep nitrates down as well.
Keep us updated, and feel free to ask anymore questions. He is a cute little bugger. With some tlc and good, clean water he should hopefully be fine.

 

[Delapool]

I did a small dose of pimafix because I was worried about bacteria. I also did some melafix in case i am right about it being a fresh wound. I will be doing a major vacuum this afternoon which will mean about 40-50%'water change.



The consensus is to change the substrate. I haven't read a lot of positives about sand. It seems using smooth pebbles would be best. Do you think a gravel change really is warranted?

I thought your greenish ones looked smooth but there were some lighter coloured stones I thought I could see that looked more edged. These I did wonder if could be sharper quartz pebbles?

How are the barbels on the other one?

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

In my opinion and experience, your substrate is fine. That IS smooth gravel. I think the issue is more related to the fact that your nitrates are rather high. No, I do not think a change is warranted at all, I think you could use a slightly more rigorous pwc schedule though. If you did a pwc 2 days ago and already have 40ppm on nitrates, that is not great.
Cories do not starve without their barbels. I purchased one without barbels accidentally years ago and kept it for about 3 years. Vacuum the gravel well too. They may have a harder time, but life in a tank with regular meal availability is not exactly a super tough life as far as foraging goes.
Whether or not the barbels grow back depends on how much has been damaged. If the whole barbel is gone down to the root, it will not likely grow back. It can be hard to tell where the damage actually starts and stops on such a small body though, so you will just have to wait and see.
Melfix and pimafix are not good meds. They are very low dosage and quite expensive for what they actually are. If you want to dose them, you can. I suggest treating primarily with clean water. I would do some large pwcs over the next few days and try to get your nitrates down as low as possible. Also, if you are interested in live plants they will help keep nitrates down as well.
Keep us updated, and feel free to ask anymore questions. He is a cute little bugger. With some tlc and good, clean water he should hopefully be fine.

Thanks. I just did a 50% water change with vacuum. It was gnarly the amount of gunk that came up. I also did the vacuum a little differently than normal so that could be part of the difference. This time I was able to siphon more water without the gravel getting too high into the tube.

I think the damage was pretty bad based on what you said. It was down to the nub, almost like the pucker is gone too. I really think it was an injury because all of a sudden I saw him swim really fast, kick up some gravel, and then breath rapidly. It looked a little red where the whiskers were, but just a little.

I will keep you posted.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

I thought your greenish ones looked smooth but there were some lighter coloured stones I thought I could see that looked more edged. These I did wonder if could be sharper quartz pebbles?

How are the barbels on the other one?

The substrate is all the same brand, but the greenish ones were a separate bag. The colorful slipped in there from old gravel when I started from scratch months ago. I suppose I could try to scoop more out, but I don't think I will ever get them 100% gone.

The other guy is intact. I think this situation is the result of an injury because I saw the guy dart quickly and kick up gravel and then breath very fast. That was when I noticed the missing whiskers and a little red spot.

Just did a very big water change and will do more frequent pwc until the N3 goes down.

Thanks for the input!

 

[absolutangel04]

Thanks. I just did a 50% water change with vacuum. It was gnarly the amount of gunk that came up. I also did the vacuum a little differently than normal so that could be part of the difference. This time I was able to siphon more water without the gravel getting too high into the tube.

I think the damage was pretty bad based on what you said. It was down to the nub, almost like the pucker is gone too. I really think it was an injury because all of a sudden I saw him swim really fast, kick up some gravel, and then breath rapidly. It looked a little red where the whiskers were, but just a little.

I will keep you posted.

Well, is it all his whiskers? I was under the impression it was all of his whiskers, though perhaps I misunderstood. If so, I don't see anything that would result in all his whiskers suddenly being cut off. Also, the red is sign of irritation which takes a little time to show in the event of an injury typically. The darting up is what cories do, so I doubt it is an injury. He could very well have been sensitive and hit a whisker nub though I suppose.
But, regardless of how it happened, keep testing and do another pwc soon to get those nitrates down as much as you can! Also, watch for signs of infection or sluggish behavior. Hopefully he will be fine soon.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Well, is it all his whiskers? I was under the impression it was all of his whiskers, though perhaps I misunderstood. If so, I don't see anything that would result in all his whiskers suddenly being cut off. Also, the red is sign of irritation which takes a little time to show in the event of an injury typically. The darting up is what cories do, so I doubt it is an injury. He could very well have been sensitive and hit a whisker nub though I suppose.
But, regardless of how it happened, keep testing and do another pwc soon to get those nitrates down as much as you can! Also, watch for signs of infection or sluggish behavior. Hopefully he will be fine soon.

My bad. All the whiskers are gone. When I said nub, I meant nose. It's swimming around foraging, but the first night it seemed to have trouble with balancing.

I'm used to the darting, but this was a weird, violent one that looked out of the ordinary. I am monitoring closely, thanks!

 

[Delapool]

I'd see how the second one goes as well. Like politicians, to lose one could be an accident, to lose two would be (insert words of choice ).

 

[Mama Karoti]

If it was a sudden darting movement like it was rubbing its gills against something, that's flashing and is an indicator that something is irritating him. Watch your other fish for it and check for ammonia and nitrites, and keep an eye out for ich.


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[Noviceafter2yea]

If it was a sudden darting movement like it was rubbing its gills against something, that's flashing and is an indicator that something is irritating him. Watch your other fish for it and check for ammonia and nitrites, and keep an eye out for ich.


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No rubbing, just almost startled. The other guy as of this morning now has a rip in its top fin. Put fish anti sceptic in the tank and removed the filter. After an hour I did another big water change. No signs of ich. No signs of issues with the 8 other fish, except snail yesterday which I posted about yesterday. After soaking filter in used water, returned it to the cleaned tank. I'm sure it makes the anti sceptic gone, but I felt an hour is enough and it is only melafix.

Tested yesterday. All readings normal. Will test again this afternoon. I just majorly cleaned most of the fake plants because they had black stuff on part of the leaves (had a house sitter for 8 days 3,weeks ago who didn't do any water changes even though I showed him how to do it - don't get me started). I soaked the plants in aquarium water, scraped with my fingernail and an unused toothbrush. Doused with boiling water and soaked in cool, clean water treated with very small bit of prime. Returned to tank - stress coat and prime as well. Did all but 3 of plants which didn't have black and wanted to make sure there was still slime. Kept the light off and just turned it back on.

Will do another change tomorrow if necessary. Done with the medicines and will stick to cleaning water. Will have to figure out how to QT if look worse tomorrow. My QT has platy fry in it now. Guys are foraging and otherwise acting normally.

 

[absolutangel04]

No rubbing, just almost startled. The other guy as of this morning now has a rip in its top fin. Put fish anti sceptic in the tank and removed the filter. After an hour I did another big water change. No signs of ich. No signs of issues with the 8 other fish, except snail yesterday which I posted about yesterday. After soaking filter in used water, returned it to the cleaned tank. I'm sure it makes the anti sceptic gone, but I felt an hour is enough and it is only melafix.

Tested yesterday. All readings normal. Will test again this afternoon. I just majorly cleaned most of the fake plants because they had black stuff on part of the leaves (had a house sitter for 8 days 3,weeks ago who didn't do any water changes even though I showed him how to do it - don't get me started). I soaked the plants in aquarium water, scraped with my fingernail and an unused toothbrush. Doused with boiling water and soaked in cool, clean water treated with very small bit of prime. Returned to tank - stress coat and prime as well. Did all but 3 of plants which didn't have black and wanted to make sure there was still slime. Kept the light off and just turned it back on.

Will do another change tomorrow if necessary. Done with the medicines and will stick to cleaning water. Will have to figure out how to QT if look worse tomorrow. My QT has platy fry in it now. Guys are foraging and otherwise acting normally.

Sounds good. I do know how frustrating it can be to find a find a good tank sitter while one is away!
I am not sure what exactly "normal" readings are since our last set of readings was on the high side. I would work on getting t your nitrates as low as possible, preferable under 10 if you can. This guy needs extra help while healing.
A ripped fin is normal enough in a community, and should heal up fine as long as the water is kept clean.
Good job trying to get everything all cleaned up.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Sounds good. I do know how frustrating it can be to find a find a good tank sitter while one is away!
I am not sure what exactly "normal" readings are since our last set of readings was on the high side. I would work on getting t your nitrates as low as possible, preferable under 10 if you can. This guy needs extra help while healing.
A ripped fin is normal enough in a community, and should heal up fine as long as the water is kept clean.
Good job trying to get everything all cleaned up.

Today's water test was Am 0, N2 0, N3 20, Ph 7.9

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

I think the barbels will grow back.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...-Catfish-Barbels-Whiskers-will-they-grow-back


(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)