Hello, I had a cory die and I cannot find it. I bought two corys three days ago and a few hours after adding him to the tank I noticed I could only find one. It was driving me crazy all day and so at night I completely took my tank apart. It was still difficult to see in the water as it was foggy from leftover food flakes. He was in a 10 gallon community tank with one other cory and three brilliant rasboras. The tank is starting to smell but I have looked everywhere for this fish. I have checked the substrate, the decorations (all the hollow grooves), the plants, the filter, and even outside of the tank and I cannot find it. Please help!! Would getting a mystery snail help locate the fish?
Missing Cory and Tank Smells
- Thread starter cplu
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If the cory died and you cant find it, the other fish probably ate it.
A smelly tank is usually caused by poor tank maintenance, most commonly overfeeding. If uneaten food makes your water foggy you are feeding too much. There shouldnt be any uneaten food after 2 to 3 minutes.
Can you give some more details on your tank? How long has it been set up? Did you cycle the tank? If so, how? What are your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). What kind of cory was it and do you have any idea what it died of? Any symptoms? 10 gallons is a little small for keeping corys.
A smelly tank is usually caused by poor tank maintenance, most commonly overfeeding. If uneaten food makes your water foggy you are feeding too much. There shouldnt be any uneaten food after 2 to 3 minutes.
Can you give some more details on your tank? How long has it been set up? Did you cycle the tank? If so, how? What are your water parameters (pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). What kind of cory was it and do you have any idea what it died of? Any symptoms? 10 gallons is a little small for keeping corys.
Bought the tank at the end of December. Tank was cycled and ready to go at the end of January (I added Fritz Turbo start 700 to put the bacteria in). Ammonia & Nitrite has been at 0. Nitrates have been low as well, usually staying around 5 ppm (I have a few live plants in the tank as well). pH has been stable at around 7 or just a little under. The cory was a salt and pepper cory. I am not sure what would have eaten him so quickly. He originally was with a betta in the tank too, but the betta started getting aggressive so I isolated him into a new tank.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi and welcome to the forum 
Test your water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for at least a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
Reduce the feeding. There should be no uneaten food on the bottom of the tank because it rots and causes ammonia levels to rise, which make the tank smell bad and kill the fish. You are better off underfeeding than overfeeding. More fish die from poor water quality caused by uneaten food than die from starvation.
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How often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it?
How often do you normally do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
Test your water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for at least a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
Reduce the feeding. There should be no uneaten food on the bottom of the tank because it rots and causes ammonia levels to rise, which make the tank smell bad and kill the fish. You are better off underfeeding than overfeeding. More fish die from poor water quality caused by uneaten food than die from starvation.
------------------
How often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it?
How often do you normally do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?
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