Lethargic Corydoras

[CherryBarb123]

On Saturday, I returned from my LFS, with 6 happy, healthy Julii corydoras. They seemed to quickly settle in, and were taking food the following day. However, yesterday I noticed that one of them was seperated from the group, in a small cave. This morning I checked and he was back with his group seemingly happy. This afternoon however, I could only count 5 of them, so checked the tank carefully and found him in a tiny gap (I assume it is the same fish!) He had squeezed in there and was not coming out.

All of the other residents of the tank seem to be healthy and happy. They are:

6 x Bleeding Heart Tetra
4 x Cherry Barbs
2 x Honey Gourami
6 x Julii Corydoras

I did notice yesterday that one of the Bleeding hearts was nipping one of them, but I didn't think much of it. Could it be that he is being bullied?

I have been cycling with Tetra Safestart and it has been running for just over 5 weeks. My water is showing:

Ammonia - About 0.10 - 0.15 PPM
NitrITE - 0 PPM
Nitrate - 5 PPM

The pH is about 6.8 - 7.0 and the water is soft. That is more or less the same as my LFS

Could the ammonia be causing him to be ill? None of the other fish are showing any signs of stress at all.

I have a Fluval U4 Filter on it (Internal)

Do I need to dose the tank with some sort of general medication and hope he gets better? Does anyone have any ideas of what could be wrong with him? When I got them they seemed to be quite healthy and now I am quite concerned at how lethargic this fish seems to be. When I put my hand in to get out a half eaten algae wafer (I was right next to him) he barely moved at all, and the others were all huddled at the other side of the tank when I did that, so he dosen't seem normal

They were acclimated.

Thanks!

 

[LyndaB]

You shouldn't have gotten corys for an uncycled tank. They can be sensitive and it's not unusual to lose them within the first month.

You should do 50% water changes daily until that ammonia comes down. Given the amount of time you've been cycling, you're probably close.

What size tank is this?

 

[CherryBarb123]

200 litres

 

[LyndaB]

Just wanted to be sure your tank could support the species you have. Looks okay.

 

[CherryBarb123]

Thanks for the advice.

After doing a PWC, should I add some prime?

 

[LyndaB]

You should add Prime any time you add new water to the tank.

 

[CherryBarb123]

Sorry, I meant enough to bind the ammonia etc.

Sorry, I should have been more clear

 

[LyndaB]

I put in enough to dose the amount of water I'm changing out. You might want to put in enough to dose the entire tank.

 

[CherryBarb123]

Ok, I will try that. I did notice that his tail appears to be slightly bent. It may have been the current, I'm not sure, but could he be injured?

 

[LyndaB]

It could just be a deformity, that might also be why you're seeing odd behavior.

How did you acclimate them to your tank?

 

[CherryBarb123]

Thanks! Sorry about all of the questions.

Yeah, I acclimated them by soaking the bag for a while and then adding tank water every five mins over about half an hour - 45 mins