Why do my cory's keep dying?

[Nils]

Ok, this is the third weird death I've had with my peppered and julii cory's.

16 gallon tank

Sand and round gravel substrate

Lots of real plants, no fakes, only one lava rock

Right now, 2 peppered cory's and 3 julii cory's, but one has whirling disease

Parameters:

Nitrates: 10-20 ppm

Nitrites: 0 ppm

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm

Filter: Aqueon PowerFlow 10, but with Biomax media

I have no idea what is going on, I have already lost two other cory's to this for seemingly no reason The first one I lost was after a series of small water changes, but that was in my 10 gallon before I moved them to the 16. The 16 has been set up for a month and a half, and I went through a full cycle before moving fish. Now I did a small water change yesterday, probably 20% of the whole tank, and one of the julii's can't swim right and is always on his side. Please help as I have no idea what is going on and i hate losing fish!

Nils

 

[ImACoolguy]

Ok, this is the third weird death I've had with my peppered and julii cory's.



16 gallon tank



Sand and round gravel substrate



Lots of real plants, no fakes, only one lava rock



Right now, 2 peppered cory's and 3 julii cory's, but one has whirling disease



Parameters:



Nitrates: 10-20 ppm



Nitrites: 0 ppm



Ammonia: 0.25 ppm



Filter: Aqueon PowerFlow 10, but with Biomax media



I have no idea what is going on, I have already lost two other cory's to this for seemingly no reason The first one I lost was after a series of small water changes, but that was in my 10 gallon before I moved them to the 16. The 16 has been set up for a month and a half, and I went through a full cycle before moving fish. Now I did a small water change yesterday, probably 20% of the whole tank, and one of the julii's can't swim right and is always on his side. Please help as I have no idea what is going on and i hate losing fish!



Nils

First I'd water change to remove the remaining ammonia. Is there any physical signs besides the one laying on its side? Bloating? Bumps? Sores? Heavy distressed breathing? Hiding? Staying near the top?

Just some ideas so we can narrow it down.


Caleb

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[Nils]

No, actually there isn't, except that maybe the gills are a little bit more red. I would do a water change if that wasn't what is killing my fish. I've done tons of research and tried to save the fish but there is literally nothing I came up with. I guess his breathing is harder than normal, but other than that he is showing full coloration and doesn't seem stressed. Every time I would do a water change, my fish end up getting the disease. I do a water change once weekly, not too much but enough to remove all the ad stuff. I believe this one will die soon, but if there's a cure I will try it so people please help me! Thanks for chiming in Caleb.

Nils

 

[ImACoolguy]

No, actually there isn't, except that maybe the gills are a little bit more red. I would do a water change if that wasn't what is killing my fish. I've done tons of research and tried to save the fish but there is literally nothing I came up with. I guess his breathing is harder than normal, but other than that he is showing full coloration and doesn't seem stressed. Every time I would do a water change, my fish end up getting the disease. I do a water change once weekly, not too much but enough to remove all the ad stuff. I believe this one will die soon, but if there's a cure I will try it so people please help me! Thanks for chiming in Caleb.

Nils

If you use city water check with the water company to see if anything has changed


Caleb

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[Nils]

Ok, I always add dechlorinator but I'll check with them to make sure. I doubt it though but only because I would have lost all the fish because it happened probably 3 months ago and all the fish have been healthy since then but now this came up. I'm really hoping for a miracle and that he pulls through.

Nils

 

[ImACoolguy]

A minor does of prime would help take care of the ammonia and remove any toxic metals that may be in there


Caleb

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[Nils]

So do you think that using prime might cure whatever is in the tank? Or maybe even save the fish? Also, do you think PetCo or Petsmart carries it because those are the only ones near me that aren't a half hour away.

Nils

 

[ImACoolguy]

Prime is the best water dechlorinator on the market. It also helps remove ammonia and detox heavy metals that at be in the water. My Petsmart sells it


Caleb

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[Nils]

I think it may be my stock. I was reading up on causes and this parasite can lay dormant for up to 10 years, and it can be caused by poorly bred stock and fish. All the fish that have died or are dying are from PetCo, but all fish from a private store that I brought them from are okay. I doubt that it's water quality, but instead my stock. Could this be the case? I am going to eauthanize this because of it's suffering, and I hate to see that. Thanks.

Nils

 

[Coursair]

Cories are esp sensitive to Ammonia and also dirty substrate.

Red gills can be a sign of ammonia poisoning.


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[Nils]

Tanks, I will keep a very wide eye open for ammonia and other substances that are bad for the fish. My substrate isn't dirty, it's actually really clean and my amano shrimp keep it clean. As for the red gills, it only started showing up after he started going funky, which was today. I'm still stumped though.

Nils

 

[stooker]

How's your water temp, and the temp when you do water changes? It seems these issues are coming up after your water changes...

Would recommend larger water changes as it's not just about getting the bad stuff out. It's also about replenishing the good stuff.

What's the story with the ammonia? Cycled tank should show zero...

What other fish are in there with the corys?

 

[Nils]

My temp is pretty warm, 72-74 degrees fahrenheit, and the temp when I do water changes is only a little cooler than my tanks water. My fish have been fine, except for after my water changes. They are the only fish in there, but I recently added 3 amano shrimp to clean up algae. Thanks for all your help guys. Could the amano shrimp have been a problem?

Nils

 

[erla]

What are you feeding them, and how often?


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[Nils]

I feed my cory's Aqueon tropical granules, it's easy for them to swallow and they enjoy it. I'll also throw in a Sera catfish tablet every third feeding instead of the granules. I feed them every third or fourth day, and they are getting along quite fine actually. Should I feed more variety?

Nils

 

[erla]

I don't know about the variety... I was curious because my cories have been dying too, and my current theory is that I wasn't feeding them enough, so they were starving.


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[ImACoolguy]

Mine get an algae wafer every day and any tropical flakes that make it to the bottom. I tried shrimp pellets and veggie wafers they didn't like them much though.


Caleb

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[Coursair]

I feed mine daily. They should have meaty foods. They aren't Algae eaters. It won't hurt them to eat an Algae wafer on occasion, but frozen or live worms and shrimp are best.
Meaty sinking foods are next best.

Zero Ammonia is also important.


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[StrangelyNormal]

My suggestion is to also try gel food. It sinks very easily and is VERY good for catfish in community tanks with greedy upper level fish. That way instead of flakes needing to soak and hit the bottom, the gel food just falls there.

 

[Coursair]

I use target feeding with frozen/thawed and a turkey baster.

I do use Repashy Gel and yes, I recommend it as well. I was a Beta tester for the company.


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