something wrong with corydora?,please help

[annnie]

hi everyone,

I have noticed that 1 of my peppered corydora's looks a bit off .
He/she is very pale, looks like its peppered skin has been rubbed off and there are just patches of peppered colouring. its also a little pink and the others dont have this sort of pink.. maybe because i can see through it better because of its lack of peppered skin. There also acting a bit strange lately, they are more scared and mostly hide than usual. i used to be able to walk right up to the tank without bothering them and now they freak out and hide. Also when my betta gets close they freak out but before they never did, they would always swam up to him when he was close. I havent seen any fights and i havent seen my betta flare or harrass them ever except when they first got to know each other.

the water is all fine
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0-5

temperature at the moment is 26 degress/80fahrenheit

any advice will be appreciated!,
annie

 

[Zagz]

How long have you had them? Has anything new been introduced to the tank? How many cories are in the tank with the betta?

 

[annnie]

i've had the corys for over a month, nothing new has been added.. last thing i added was a cherry shrimp which was almost a month ago. i have 3 cories in the tank with my betta and that cherry shrimp i mentioned.

 

[Zagz]

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to rule out things. What kind of test kit are you using, liquid or strips?

 

[annnie]

thats ok.. ask as many questions as u need!. i'm using a liquid test kit... cost me over $50 AUS

 

[Zagz]

It sounds as though for some reason his slime coat is being rubbed off. If you can get a picture that would be great. I'd recommend doing a few extra water changes and of course remember to add dechlorinator.
Cories are sensitive to medications as can bettas be, so I am reluctant to recommend any meds. It doesn't sound from your description that he is really bad off. It sounds as though you have noticed it at the beginning.

Your parameters are very good but extra water changes never hurt.

 

[annnie]

hmm got the camera out and found some batteries but the corys disappeared as soon as i got to the tank.. i miss watching them. anyway i've found a photo, i think this pic is a week or less old.

you can see the patches of missing skin.. i have also noticed that it is rubbing itself on gravel now and then.

i'll do a water change today and probably everyday this week?

oh btw do you know if it is a male or female from this pic? haha i just cant tell.. its a little bigger than the other cories tho.

thanks for the help!

 

[annnie]

heres a older pic of how dark it used to be

 

[Zagz]

If he is rubbing then that explains the skin removal. It may be ich, you can treat the entire tank safely without meds. Start turning up the heat slowly until it is 87F, add an airstone or lower the water level a bit to keep the tank oxygenated. You should start seeing spots that look like grains of salt if it is ich. If you see ich, keep the heat up for 2 weeks after the last spot is gone. Don't do daily water changes with the temps up, every few days will work. Just match the temp of the new water.

If it is ich, then it will eventually infest the rest of the tank.

Sorry I can't sex cories at the best of times LOL.

 

[annnie]

hmm they've been itching for maybe 1 or 2 weeks without seeing any ich.. and my betta hasnt shown any signs, hes had ich before ages ago, not in this tank. I've also got ich meds but thought they might kill my shrimp.. but anyway i'll have a go at slowly raising the temp. will it make them behave differently? like lethargic from the heat? i just want to know so i dont freak out that there acting differently haha.

 

[mfdrookie516]

As long as the meds dont contain copper, they wont bother the shrimp... now if they do, and you treat the tank, you need to remove the shrimp until all the copper has been removed from the tank...

 

[Zagz]

The heat will possibly make them more active as it increases metabolism. Without knowing for sure what you are dealing with I would not medicate. The heat method will not harm any fish or shrimp.