Corydoras elegans fin rot?

[Dora]

Months ago I noticed a cory missing its tail fin all the way to the base. 8O It has a difficult time swimming and kind of wiggles to get to its food. I decided it must have been somehow injured. The rest of the fish seemed okay so I left it at that. Yesterday, I took a closer look at my other fish. My 7 glow light tetras seem fine. My 3 Corydoras aeneus also seem fine. But my 2 other Corydoras elegans appear to have diminished tail fins although not as bad as the one with the missing fin. They spend all day together inside a cave ornament so they have very close contact.

Does this sound like fin rot? Or could it be something else? Do fins ever grow back? What can I do? Help!

[Devilishturtles]

Hi Dora.

How often do you change the water and vaccum the gravel? Do you make sure to vaccum under the ornaments? It does sound like fin rot to me, but usually clean water and substrate keeps it from occuring and can make it go away.


Do you notice anything on the end of the "tail"? A fuzz, white discoloration, anything like that? The fin can regrow, yes. Maybe not fully, but it will.

I would try water changes every 2-3 days, vaccuming half of the tank at a time. You can also try dosing some melafix to the tank as well.

HTH

[Dora]

Thanks, Devilishturtles!

I got in the habit of doing infrequent water changes (once a month) because the guy I trusted at the tropical fish store advised me to do it that way. He said he'd had fish since he was 4 and he's 54 now. Unfortunately, he no longer works there so I'm kind of on my own now! 8O

The elegans are elusive so it's difficult to observe them except at feeding time. The two who still have tails may have a whitish discoloration on their tails, but I didn't notice any fuzz. All three elegans seem to have trouble swimming now with the loss of part of their tails and possibly top fins.

I'm not familiar with melafix. Is that an antibiotic?

[Devilishturtles]

Melafix is like an all natural bacterial remedy. It's made from tea tree oil. Used in conjunction with more frequent water changes, your cory's fins should grow back in no time.

I'd do a water change every 2 weeks or so (it's hard, I know. I'm SUCH a procrastinator!) This keeps the substrate cleaner, and thus more healthy for the cories, whom reside on the substrate.

[Dora]

I'm getting ready to do a PWT now. The last one I did was 11 days ago so I think I'll do only about 3 or 4 gallons this time (20 gallon tank). I want to swish the elegans' cave in the bucket of tank water because I'm afraid that might be where the problem is. I haven't cleaned that ornament in a long time because I didn't want to disturb them. With their fins wasting away, I'll opt to disturb them! I'll probably pick up some melafix tomorrow. Oh, will it hurt or negatively affect the healthy fish?

UPDATE:
I did a 4 gallon PWT and I'm glad I did. Man oh man! There was a lot of debris under the cave and inside! I vacuumed the right side of the aquarium (which I haven't been good about since I usually consentrate on the left side where I feed them) and there was a lot of debris there too!

Do you think I should still do another PWT in 2 or 3 days or leave it alone for another couple weeks?

[Devilishturtles]

Maybe one a week for now, the go to once every two weeks. I'd keep at it atleast once a week until you see the fins healing. Melafix is very safe to use (be careful not to overdose) except for with betta fish, who are somewhat sensitive to it.

You can also try cutting back feeding to every other day. This well help keep your tank cleaner and your fish will be just fine.

[Dora]

Do you know if glow-light tetras would be more sensitive to Melafix? I think I remember reading somewhere that they should receive only half doses of medication. I don't know if the same would hold true for bacterial remedies.

i know that gouramis, bettas and paradise fish are very sensitive to melafix, so be wary if you have any in your tank.

Any chance you and quarentine the corys? Best to avoid treating healthy fish if you can.

[Dora]

I have a 5 gallon hospital tank up and running. I can quarantine the 3 corys if necessary.

[Devilishturtles]

Everything should be just fine with melafix, Dora. Tetras too. Laryrinth fishes (like bettas, gouramis, etc.) are the ones that may be sensitive. Melafix is not a full blown medication either. It won't harm water quality (when dosed correctly) or anything like that.

[Dora]

Devilishturtles, thanks for relieving my fears!

I didn't buy the Melafix yet. It has instructions for dosage, right?

The 3 cory elegans seem a lot more active tonight. Maybe the cleaning and vacuuming helped.

[Dora]

UPDATE:
I bought some Melafix but have some questions before I administer it to the water.

The guy at the TFS told me to use one capful for every 10 gallons--that would be 2 capfuls for my 20 gallon aquarium. The instructions on the bottle say to use 1 teaspoon (5 mL) for every 10 gallons for 7 days. I measured the amount of a capful and it's only 1/2 teaspoon--that would be 4 capfuls for my 20 gallon aquarium instead of 2.

I'm thinking about using only 2 capfuls to play it safe. Would it still work if I underdosed?

Also, are there any restrictions regarding feeding fish too soon after a dosage?

[Devilishturtles]

I think 2 sounds like a good number. 4 capfuls doesn't seem like too much for your 20 gallon either. Maybe 3 capfuls for a happy medium.

You'll be fine if underdosed. Overdosing usually clouds water and junk like that. Also, don't worry if the melafix bubbles/foams when you add it to your tank. It's normal.

Feed as normal. No restrictions on that.

Best of luck.

[Dora]

I played it safe and added only 2 capfuls this morning. Thanks for forewarning me about the bubbles!

Right after I added the Melafix, my glow light tetras started schooling back and forth. I hope they're okay because I'm gone at work all day. I won't be able to check on them until this afternoon.

[Devilishturtles]

Melafix freaks fish out. I don't know why. So normal reactive behavior for the tetras. They'll be fine when you get home. Hope the cories perk up soon.

[Dora]

I feel much better knowing that my glow lights were behaving normally under the circumstances. Do you think they'll act like this every time I add Melafix or just this once? Should I add some sort of stress formula too?

[Devilishturtles]

I don't know really. Evertime I add it to the water, at work and at home, the fish just sorta freak out a little, then they get used to it. I wouldn't worry about adding a stress medicine. The frequent water changes you are doing will be enough stress reducer for them.

HTH

[Dora]

The glow-lights took it much better this morning. They didn't school like they did yesterday.

Before I added the Melafix this morning, I noticed the water still had an odor from yesterday's dose. Is it possible that Melafix might accumulate to unsafe levels over a 7 day treatment period?

[Devilishturtles]

No, I don't believe. The instructions say to dose daily. I've treated with it before with no problems.

How the cories looking?

[Dora]

The cories are a lot more energetic. Dolores, our largest one, has started cleaning our imitation plant again--something she used to do all the time. I 've looked closely at their tails but can't say I've noticed any regrowth. I'm using a lower dosage (2 capfuls) but may increase it over the weekend when I have more time to keep an eye on them.

If after 7 days and a 25% water change, I don't see an improvement in their tails, I'm debating whether I should move the three of them to the 5 gallon hospital tank to continue treatment so the healthy fish can take a break from Melafix.