Cory missing barbel(sp)?

[new2betas]

I had this posted under another thread, but it hadn't been seen. I am a little worried about one of my new peppered cories. I have noticed yesterday that one of my corys is missing their barbels (sp). I did not notice this at all when I brought them home, but to be quite honest I wasn't counting barbels. I noticed that one of the cories doesn't have them. I did another pwc today also because my parameters for nitirites and ammonia keep hovering around 5 for ammonia and .25 for the nitrites. It is the ammonia that worries me the most.
There is regular acquarium gravel from lfs in the acquaruim. Should I take all of it out? I can't get another substrate in the next few days. Busy week ahead. Thanks all! And also, in the new 10 gallon tank that I have ready to move them to after their QT...there is acquarium gravel in there also.....

 

[warped1]

I once had a Cory with no barbels - it seemed to be a genetic fluke. When I purchased it he was already about 3/4 inch long. They never grew back and to tell you the truth I don't know if they do grow back if one is damaged.The Cory seemed to adapt just fine without them. And besides, its not like he was out in the wild looking and scrounging for food - all his food was delivered to him by me and was easy for him to find and eat. I don't think he missed what he never had. The important thing to look for is to tell whether the missing barbel is missing due to a genetic fluke or was it damaged (ripped off - bitten off - pulled off) because if it was there may be a wound that should be monitored for any infections/diseases. If all is well and there is no wound - relax. The Cory made it this far in its life without them and he will finish it without them.
It also sound like your tank is still cycling with readings like what you posted. I would suggest you do a 25% water change at least 2 times a week - more would be preferred. Monitor your levels - they well tell you when a partial water change is needed. Do not disturb your gravel in your tank - let your tank cycle with what is already in there and you may want to read the articles that are posted in the Articles section of this site for more information on a cycling process
Keep us posted

 

[new2betas]

I once had a Cory with no barbels - it seemed to be a genetic fluke. When I purchased it he was already about 3/4 inch long. They never grew back and to tell you the truth I don't know if they do grow back if one is damaged.The Cory seemed to adapt just fine without them. And besides, its not like he was out in the wild looking and scrounging for food - all his food was delivered to him by me and was easy for him to find and eat. I don't think he missed what he never had. The important thing to look for is to tell whether the missing barbel is missing due to a genetic fluke or was it damaged (ripped off - bitten off - pulled off) because if it was there may be a wound that should be monitored for any infections/diseases. If all is well and there is no wound - relax. The Cory made it this far in its life without them and he will finish it without them.
It also sound like your tank is still cycling with readings like what you posted. I would suggest you do a 25% water change at least 2 times a week - more would be preferred. Monitor your levels - they well tell you when a partial water change is needed. Do not disturb your gravel in your tank - let your tank cycle with what is already in there and you may want to read the articles that are posted in the Articles section of this site for more information on a cycling process
Keep us posted

Thanks warped1!! I am familiar with cycling (kind of) now. I just finished cycling my 10g. I am just used to PWC helping the situation. I did two PWC yesterday on my 2g QT tank that my cories are in. This morning the readings are still nitrites between .25-5 and ammonia at a 5. That is with doing two PWC's yesterday (one in the morning and one in the evening).
I don't see any injuries or wounds on the cory that has no barbels. I just can't believe I didn't see it when I brought them home first thing. Anyway. I will watch its behavior and see if it keeps acting normal. They seem to be fine, even with the parameters. They are swimming all around and looking for food constantly. I am so not used to cories obviously. They look constantly hungry. I guess that is because they are constantly foraging and moving....

 

[JohnPaul]

Any commercial aquarium gravel is designed to be safe for bottom dwelling fish such as corys. It is a long-standing myth that gravel "causes" barbel erosion in corys; enough tests of this have been done to disprove that theory. Corys kept in tanks with the softest, finest sand substrates sometimes develop even total barbel erosion; corys kept on the sharpest of substrates (one example I read was someone who kept them over crushed glass) can live for years with no barbel erosion at all.

The main culprit of severe barbel erosion in corys is some sort infection (probably bacterial), usually caused by less-than-perfect water conditions and/or dirty substrate conditions. With any substrate at all, with all the digging corys do they end up getting lots of little knicks & scratches on their barbels (most of them way too small for the human eye to see). When a cory is healthy, these little knicks are no problem as the cory is able to keep them healed and the corys immune system is able to fight off the expected, small levels of bacteria that might get into those wounds during the healing process. However, if the fish is stressed (due to poor water conditions or other stresses), or if the substrate is so dirty that it is literally a bacteria soup, then the corys immune system simply isn't strong enough to fight off the infection, and so the barbels develop serious infection and erode away.

The fact you have any ammonia in your tank is an immediate red flag for me; if you reall have 5 ppm ammonia (and not just 0.5), then I am honestly surprised any of your corys are even alive still. Scaleless fish (like corys) tend to be much more sensitive to water parameters than scaled fish. I am assuming your tank is not yet cycled (if so, then I blame the pet store, as NO responsible pet store would sell corys to someone whose tank was not cycled). You need to do a series of water changes and get the ammonia down to under 1 ppm ASAP, and keep the ammonia levels there or lower by doing PWC's as frequently as necessary. If this is a new tank then I am sure there hasn't been time yet for lots of gunk to gather in the gravel, so I would strongly suspect it is the poor water that is causing the problems. The faster you can get your water parameters under control, the better for your little corys.

 

[new2betas]

The fact you have any ammonia in your tank is an immediate red flag for me; if you reall have 5 ppm ammonia (and not just 0.5), then I am honestly surprised any of your corys are even alive still. Scaleless fish (like corys) tend to be much more sensitive to water parameters than scaled fish. I am assuming your tank is not yet cycled (if so, then I blame the pet store, as NO responsible pet store would sell corys to someone whose tank was not cycled). You need to do a series of water changes and get the ammonia down to under 1 ppm ASAP, and keep the ammonia levels there or lower by doing PWC's as frequently as necessary. If this is a new tank then I am sure there hasn't been time yet for lots of gunk to gather in the gravel, so I would strongly suspect it is the poor water that is causing the problems. The faster you can get your water parameters under control, the better for your little corys.

I am sorry for my previous mistake, JohnPaul. The reading for the ammonia is .5 not 5. It is a new tank that I got for QT my new fish before I put them into my new 10g. BUT, I put in it gravel, and two plants from my old 2g tank that my betta had been in before I moved him to the 10g. There was no time in between for the bacteria to die. As soon as I took the betta out, the cories went in. Still, I know it will go through a cycling process, but I thought having some of the media in there from my old 2g would help make the cycling easier. Anyway...I can't seem to get the nitrite below .25-.5 or the ammonia lower than .25-.5 even with two water changes yesterday.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

well I think you could take the filter media from your 10G and put it in there for a couple hours. Then put back in the 10G that should help and not hurt the 10G because there is not much in the 10G.

Now when you go to move the corries to the 10G your prob going to have a mini cycle there also because the bacteria will be only to handle the betta. You have a good population of bacteria now after fishless cycling it, but they will die off since there is not that much ammonia, ect.. in there now with only 1 fish.

Like I said I'm new at this and when I have added fish after a cycle I've only added 2 to the 3 fish I had in the tank(2/5=40%). Your going to be adding 3 fish to a tank with one(3/4=75%), thats a much larger change in bacteria requirement and may take a couple days to even out. So take the filter from the 2G and add to the 10G, even though it may only help slightly(depends if the 2G actually cycles by then).

Its just a hard way to do either way, meaning you put fish in a QT which is not cycled, so maybe the fish could die from ammonia stress and you dont really know if it was that or they were sick from before. Kinda defeats the purpose of a QT tank IMO.

I understand if you have like 10 nice fish in a tank and want to add more, you dont want to risk it, but if I had 1 beta and was in your situation I would just put them all together and forget QT, but again I have not been burned yet and by far dont have all the answers(and never will, lol)

 

[new2betas]

Thanks Speed...I will change over the filter....although...if it is possible one of the cories might be sick couldn't switching it back over to the 10g introduce sickness to my betta possibly? AAgghh, so confusing....

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

although...if it is possible one of the cories might be sick couldn't switching it back over to the 10g introduce sickness to my betta possibly? AAgghh, so confusing....

Good question!!

Wait for the experts, as I'm not one, lol

It is confusing, especially if you have limited resources, like only smaller tanks. Thats why many people do it in different ways depending onthe situation. I guess one day after gaining some experience under our belts we may know whats best for different situations. Also by then we may have larger/more tanks and more fish going in and out so be more setup to do it how others do.

Like I said personally with all of this confusion, I would just put all the fish in the 10G, knowing its cycled and take my chances since its only 4 regularly available fish

 

[Purrbox]

If you're going to move the filter from the 2 gallon to the 10 gallon, the cories will be without any sort of filtration and you'd be introducing any disease they might be carrying to the Betta. In that situation you might as well just move the cories.

If you can take a chunk of the filter material from the 10 gallon and add it to the 2 gallon, this would be your best bet for speeding up the mini cycle without risking your betta.

Unfortunately I have no input as far as the barbels go.

 

[new2betas]

I guess I will just keep doing frequent PWCs until I get some more expert advice....no offense intended. I guess I just want more opinions as to whether changing the media could be harmful to my betta....because if that is the case, I just should have not QT'd them in the first place and put them straight in with him....

 

[new2betas]

If you can take a chunk of the filter material from the 10 gallon and add it to the 2 gallon, this would be your best bet for speeding up the mini cycle without risking your betta.

Unfortunately I have no input as far as the barbels go.

I hate to sound so ignorant, but when you say filter material do you mean directly from the filter or something from inside the tank??

Also, I just did another 75% water change on the QT tank. Like I said before, they are acting fine...it is just that I don't like seeing those parameters above .25 for nitrites and ammonia. But, they seem to be fine.
Thanks for all help, as always!

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Yeah filter material/media is just the filter itself(pad/bag/ect..), so cut some off of it. Mine is like a fiber/cloth bag(not sure what its made out of?). If it was some foam type filter media like the stuff purrbox posted a link to before, it would be much easier to cut a piece off.
H.B.H Polyfiber Pad- 10" X 18" at Big Al's Online

I will pick up in the future since you can cut it and put in any filter for the most part, then cutting some off to seed would be very easy. Also replacing it is cheap, its like universal filter material.

If you're going to move the filter from the 2 gallon to the 10 gallon, the cories will be without any sort of filtration and you'd be introducing any disease they might be carrying to the Betta. In that situation you might as well just move the cories.

I think you misread if refering to my post, or just mistyped(as I know you understand what your doing). The suggestion for moving the 2G filter to the 10G was for later on when the corries come from the 2G and go into the 10G, after the QT period. So then then you move the fish and the 10G doesn't have as much bacteria as needed, so by then you assume the corries are not infected so moving the filter is just to help the added bioload in the 10G keep up and not spike as much.

 

[new2betas]

I am pretty sure I can't cut the bag. It has carbon in it, as I didn't know better when I first started to cycle the tank. Should I take it out and cut it anyway? And, my filters are two different sizes. Would that matter? Gotcha on the moving of the filter later on....

 

[Purrbox]

I hate to sound so ignorant, but when you say filter material do you mean directly from the filter or something from inside the tank??

SpeedEuphoria has done an excellant job of answering your question. Basically the filter is the entire filter (container, pumps, media, etc.) The filter media is the Floss, Polyfiber, BioBalls, Ceramic Rings, or whatever else is being placed in the filter as a surface for the beneficial bacteria to grow on. It is where the highest level of beneficial bacteria is concentrated in your aquarium, which is why a piece of it is the best for seeding a new aquarium.

I think you misread if refering to my post, or just mistyped(as I know you understand what your doing). The suggestion for moving the 2G filter to the 10G was for later on when the corries come from the 2G and go into the 10G, after the QT period. So then then you move the fish and the 10G doesn't have as much bacteria as needed, so by then you assume the corries are not infected so moving the filter is just to help the added bioload in the 10G keep up and not spike as much.

That makes much more sense and is a very good suggestion.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

I am pretty sure I can't cut the bag. It has carbon in it, as I didn't know better when I first started to cycle the tank. Should I take it out and cut it anyway? And, my filters are two different sizes. Would that matter? Gotcha on the moving of the filter later on....

My filter is the same way, its like a bag, not sure I would cut it(but you sure can cut some off it after removing the carbon). I can tell you that after its wet, the carbon sticks in the filter bag and its kind of hard to remove it all, as thats what I did. Its basically like black gravel inside the filterbag.

Again the carbon is basically useless, and seems to get used up after around 1-2months(well its qualities). You may want to read up on it more.
Activated Carbon in the Marine Tank

The main things that I would like to point out from that link are

The use of activated carbon in Marine aquariums has always sparked debate. In the past opinions ranged from “never use it” to “never be without it.”

Activated carbon removes organic compounds from aquaria by adsorption and absorption principles.

Most carbon products last about six weeks in a marine “fish” aquarium.

Most aquarium medications are readily sorbed by activated carbon. Carbon products must be removed while treating with antibacterial drugs and antiparasitic chemicals (formlin, malachite green, copper sulfate.) Use fresh carbon to remove the medication after treatment is completed.

So its up to you, personally I removed mine, since my filter is cheap and I wanted more flow. You may want less flow for the Betta so may be best to leave it. Or you if your filter has adjustable flow you could turn it down if too much.

Now another idea is, if you have an extra filter pad/bag for your 10G or 2G, you could put that in the filter with the current 10G filter(just shove it in there) Then after a couple days, move that into the 2G to help seed it. But again I'm not sure how much any of this is going to help as its been a couple days with only the Betta in the 10G so the magnitude of the bacteria that was in the 10G from fishless cycling it with high quantities of ammonia have already started dying off since the betta only produces a small amount of waste..

Having said and discussed all of this, its time to make your own decision on what you think is best for your situation as you have a couple options. One being just regular PWC's on the 2G. The other extreme is just putting all the fish in the 10G. Then a couple of options of playing around with filter media.

 

[new2betas]

aaagghhh....so difficult to choose as I don't want to lose any of my fish, but especially not my betta that I have had for a few months now. The twice daily PWCs on the 2.5g is getting old already. I am just afraid to move them over without knowing 100% sure that they are well and won't introduce something to my betta. They look fine now, but who knows. Let me get an opinion on all who have read this post......what would you choose to do:
A: Move cories over to 10g and hope all goes well
B: Keep doing twice daily PWCs
C: Move limited filter stuff that I do have over to the 2g

Also - a little more info... my parameters on my 10g tank where betta is are fantastic. Nitrites 0 ammonia 0. Would it be hard on the cories to go from .25-.5 ammonia and nitrites to 0 if I decide to move them over?? I also just checked my parameters on my 2.5g after my 75% PWC about an hour ago. They are both now hovering between 0-.25 on both nitrites and ammonia....

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Would it be hard on the cories to go from .25-.5 ammonia and nitrites to 0 if I decide to move them over??

no

another thing, some people recommend aquarium salt to help fish cope with nitrites they recommended 1/2 tablespoon for 10G. Should let it dissolve in the waterchange water, dont just put in the tank. So if you keep the corries in the 2G you could add a very small pinch of salt to relieve stress. Again not sure if salt is OK with corries but that small amount should be OK? If you dont have any salt, I would not worry about it.

 

[JohnPaul]

While a tiny bit likely wouldn't hurt them, in general corys do NOT do well with salt. I wouldn't put any salt in a tank with corys unless it was absolutely necessary.

 

[new2betas]

Well - I finally went with option A. I have watched them all day and the parameters will not get below a .25 for both ammonia and nitrites in the 2.5g and they also seemed to be doing less swimming around, so I decided to cross my fingers and hope for the best and then put them in the 10g with my betta. Keep your fingers crossed for me

 

[new2betas]

It's been 10 minutes and I am already regretting my decision....my male betta is being mean to them. He ignored them the first few minutes but now he is chasing them all around the bottom of the tank..........what do I do now? I am so frustrated....I also have plenty of hiding spots for them....the hornwort, a cave, behind a rock. They keep coming out in the open and he keeps chasing them around, nipping at them.