Cory sorta laying on his belly on the bottom

[mkatts]

The last couple days we noticed one of our Cory's laying on the bottom of the tank but not flat on his belly. One side slightly higher than the other. Has a couple small red dots below eyes on each side. Acting much more lethargic than the other Cory is.

LFS says it sounds like high ammonia. Wants me to replace filter and do a water change.
I did a 50% water change on Saturday. I tested the water with the API Master kit before the change and ammonia and nitrites were 0 and nitrates were 5. I am at work so I can't test until tonight. LFS says that ammonia is much higher at the bottom of the tank so it affects bottom feeders first.

So when I test tonight, I am going to use the syringe that I have been using for the last 3 months to pull the water samples and pull the sample right from the bottom of the tank.

In the mean time, I am having my wife pour 3ml of prime into the water, just in case the ammonia is high.

Anything else I should be looking at to figure out what's wrong with him?

 

[BBradbury]

Hello mk...

Corydoras rest on the tank bottom in all kinds of positions that are natural to them, but not to other fish. They require pure water conditions and that means changing a lot of tank water and changing it often. I keep several species of Corys and am a water change fanatic. Changing half the water weekly isn't too much or too often. If you can commit to such an aggressive water change routine, then there's really no reason to test the water, you'll know it's always free of harmful toxins. There's just no time for nitrogen to build up before it's time to change the water again.

B

 

[mkatts]

Hello mk...

Corydoras rest on the tank bottom in all kinds of positions that are natural to them, but not to other fish. They require pure water conditions and that means changing a lot of tank water and changing it often. I keep several species of Corys and am a water change fanatic. Changing half the water weekly isn't too much or too often. If you can commit to such an aggressive water change routine, then there's really no reason to test the water, you'll know it's always free of harmful toxins. There's just no time for nitrogen to build up before it's time to change the water again.

B

So it may be a normal behavior?
It's a 29G tank and I do 50% water changes every Saturday. Last level test was last Saturday before water change and it was 5PPM then. But I pull the sample from the top of the tank.
Is there any merit to what the LFS told my wife about ammonia being higher on the bottom?

 

[BBradbury]

Water Chemistry

So it may be a normal behavior?
It's a 29G tank and I do 50% water changes every Saturday. Last level test was last Saturday before water change and it was 5PPM then. But I pull the sample from the top of the tank.
Is there any merit to what the LFS told my wife about ammonia being higher on the bottom?

Hello again mk...

If you're changing half the tank water weekly, then there's little chance of ammonia building to a lethal level. Check your water testing gear expiration date and review the procedure for testing. 29 gallons is quite a bit of water and will dilute toxic waste quite a bit.

Never heard of nitrogen like ammonia being more concentrated at the bottom. Because of the movement of the tank water by the filter system, I would think the dissolved urine and feces from the fish would be distributed fairly evenly. Anyway, you remove the wastes through large, frequent water changes. This is the way to keep the water chemistry stable for the fish.

B

 

[mkatts]

Ok thanks.
I will look at the expo but it better not be expired. It's barely a month old! Lol
But I've bought expired milk before so you never know

 

[mkatts]

Ok. So I tested the water. Sure enough ammonia is .25. Nitrites r 0. Nitrates are 20ppm.
So I am getting ready to do a 75% we in a few min.
Full disclosure here. Something I failed to think about is a recently tried to go back to daily feeding smaller amounts because I felt guilty about every other day feeding. I was worried that I was going to miss a day by not doing it daily.
I also added in blood worms to the feeding. Reducing the amount of flakes of course.
I started alternating the blood worms with a Tetra fin tank nibble too cause the cory picked at it during feeding time.
I feel pretty stupid right now that the answer was staring me right in the face and didn't dawn on me till I came home to cloudy water.

 

[Delapool]

Can I ask is that reading from bottom of tank before any water changes and the first one was from top of tank?

Edit - do you have ph?

 

[mkatts]

It was from the bottom of the tank. The 0 reading was from the top. Now that you mention it, I should have sampled again from the top before the water change.
That would have been interesting.
PH is at 7.6
I am going to test again from the bottom this morning if it's anything above 0 I will retest from the top.

 

[Delapool]

Wow - I never would of thought that. I had assumed water flow would just mix everything. Pwc tomorrow - I will try and remember to test this.

 

[mkatts]

Keep in mind that the 0 reading was from a few days before.
I tested this morning both from top and bottom. Both readings werr identical.
Was still .25 nitrates 20. So did another 75% wc.
2 hours after wc and ammonia us 0 and nitrates are 5ppm.
Will test again tonight.

 

[Caliban07]

I think the ammonia molecules would diffuse evenly in to the solute until diffusive equilibrium is achieved.

I don't think it would be more concentrated at the bottom unless you tested after just adding a bottle full of pure ammonia in to one corner of the tank.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your test kit.

Tell us, what is your full stocking, size if tank. Ph, temp and how long has this tank been set up.

Also I don't like your LFS. You should never replace the filter media unless it is falling apart in your hands.

 

[mkatts]

I'm inclined to think it's more so one person at the LFS not the whole store.
I've talked to many of them there and they're info jives with most of what I read here.
It's a 29g.29g plattys, 2 danios,2 small angels and 2 corys.
It's been running since Jan 5th. Fish went in on feb6th

 

[Caliban07]

I'm inclined to think it's more so one person at the LFS not the whole store.
I've talked to many of them there and they're info jives with most of what I read here.
It's a 29g.29g plattys, 2 danios,2 small angels and 2 corys.
It's been running since Jan 5th. Fish went in on feb6th

Did you do a fishless cycle beginning 5th jan then add fish a month later after the cycle had completed. Or was it running for a month with nothing added until you added the fish on 6th February?

 

[mkatts]

I did not. I bought the initial hardware and fish from Petsmart and like most was told to cycle with hearty fish. I lost several before I went searching online and end this site.i bought everything one day and set it up. 2 plattys and 2 danios the next day. Finally got it cycled March 5. Added the angels and corys 2 weeks ago. It has been perfect until I changed the feeding schedule. So far it's good this morning. I jave not fed since this morning. going to skip today and feed on sat.

 

[mkatts]

That earlier post should have been Jan 6 fish went in

 

[Caliban07]

That earlier post should have been Jan 6 fish went in

water changes, good tank maintenance and a healthy varied diet is the best way to keep your fish healthy however, just so you know. 0.25ppm ammonia is not the end of the world.

Ammonia exists in two forms in our aquariums. The non toxic ammonium and the toxic free ammonia. Your API master test kit measure the sum of these two forms and is known as the TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) it does not tell you how much if this ammonia is ammonia or ammonium.

The percentage of ammonium to ammonia is completely dependent on your tank water ph and temperature. The higher these two values the more ammonium shifts to the toxic free ammonia.

Studies have shown that 0.05ppm free toxic ammonia is the point at which fish gills are damaged. Studies have shown that 0.02ppm ammonia is the level that begins to harm your fish over time.

Have a look at the chart and take 0.25ppm ammonia as your starting point. You can work out the actual toxic form of ammonia in your tank if you know the ph and temp.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/your-guide-to-ammonia-toxicity-159994.html

The red spots on the Cory could either be from a bacterial infection or parasite. Most people will quarantine new Arrivals for as long as 4 weeks in a smaller tank before putting them in the main tank. This allows time to see if the fish have any disease and can be treated before Hand.

The red spots could also be damage from sharp gravel as the Cory hunts for food. Observe the cories barbles or whiskers to see if they are still in tact. A Cory may struggle to survive without these and prefer a sand substrate.

 

[mkatts]

Thanks!
That is good to know. By that chart my free ammonia os .00059 which is very reassuring.
The cory is missing whiskers on his left side now and I do have a gravel bottom. I asked for sand recommend in the general discussion forum. I would like black sand but looking at Petsmart yesterday all I found in black was from CaribSea. It had a glass like feel to me. So I was concerned with it having sharp edges when the root around d in it.
Buy now we are rethinking and going to look at some other colors and talk to another LFS in town as well.

 

[Caliban07]

Thanks!
That is good to know. By that chart my free ammonia os .00059 which is very reassuring.
The cory is missing whiskers on his left side now and I do have a gravel bottom. I asked for sand recommend in the general discussion forum. I would like black sand but looking at Petsmart yesterday all I found in black was from CaribSea. It had a glass like feel to me. So I was concerned with it having sharp edges when the root around d in it.
Buy now we are rethinking and going to look at some other colors and talk to another LFS in town as well.

If you are not worried about colour. Many on here recommend pool filter sand.

Just be aware that nitrite is converted from the TAN ammonia so although the ammonia my not be as toxic it will still convert to nitrite so pay special attention to this and do a water change when necessary.

Can you pull up your source water companies full water quality report and tell me what your chloride content is in mg/l this is for research reasons and would be a great help.

 

[mkatts]

I google it and can't find it. It's Columbus, OH USA. Franklin County. Olentangy River is where my area gets drinking water.

 

[Caliban07]

I google it and can't find it. It's Columbus, OH USA. Franklin County. Olentangy River is where my area gets drinking water.

Ok no probs thanks anyway.