Corydoras and glut (updated)

[malonbl]

Several posters were having a thread conversation about this topic a few days ago. Specifically, there is some thought that Corydoras might be more sensitive to glut dosing. Some mentioned personal experience with heavy glut dosing without any adverse effects. I have habrosus corys and have heard that they might be particularly sensitive along with the other more diminutive cory species.

I have been increasing the amount of my daily metricide dosing on a weekly basis. I started very conservatively and just yesterday made another weekly increase. I am currently dosing 3.1 mls metricide (roughly 6.2 ml excel equivalent) daily. I figure my tank volume is about 25 gallons. So, on an excel equivalency, I am at 1 ml/4 gallons which equals half the bottle recommendation for excel dosing.

Today, 2 days into this dose, I found a dead cory. I have about 40 fish in this tank and all the others look great. The other 8 corys are very active, feeding and swimming frenetically as usual. My water testing shows ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, phosphate 1 ppm. I am dosing dry ferts so that is why my nitrates and phosphates are up.

I hope this is coincidence, but who knows. I plan to continue this dosing unless I see another death or two.

Just wanted to update for any of those who were interested in this topic the other day.

 

[Old Scales]

Strange. IMO it's coincidence. I've been dosing 1ml Glut per 2 gal daily for almost a year now and my six false Julies are that old and doing just fine. Make sure you keep the substrate vac'd of grungies regularly. OS.

 

[Brookster123]

I dose excel at normal levels with 6 habrosus, it's been about 3 months now, the first day it hit the water they all went ballistic for a minute, haven't seen any adverse reactions since.. I am still apprehensive in upping the dose..

 

[Old Scales]

Wise move Brooks,
We don't know exactly what species of Corys may be more sensitive to Glut than others. Careful observation is the best course. OS.

 

[malonbl]

OS, I am fairly obsessive about weekly 50% wc, removing unhealthy plant debris promptly and water quality in general. However, what I haven't figured out (and it bothers me) is how to vacuum my fine grain gravel. My siphon just sucks the gravel right into the bucket. I have seen some siphons with a gravel guard type feature, but am not sure if they work.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I am certainly hoping this is coincidence. My corys are great fish, but I also have a lot of money and effort in some heavy planting and need to fertilize it.

 

[Old Scales]

Try this trick malon.
Swirl the siphon tube in a circular motion just above the gravel to stir up the detris above the substrate and then suck it out. Luckily my python's suction is just weak enough that it won't let the Eco fine get all the way up. My hand siphon will suck it out big time though. If you know your water and maintenance is good then you just have to consider that the Cory had a medical condition that you couldn't affect anyway. OS.

 

[Brookster123]

I don't know how far you feel like taking this but I have found that using different diameter tubes at different lengths will let you fine tune suction for different tasks.. I have say 6' of 1/4" tubing which will provide just enough suction to get particles on substrate up and out. I also have 3' of 1" tubing which if left unattended would remove every last bit of material from my tank.. I have about 5 different vacs for various tasks..

 

[malonbl]

Just updating this thread again. I had another dead cory yesterday. That's 2 of my 9 that have now died during the week of increased glut dosing. Still unsure if coincidence or not. I have decreased the glut (metricide 14)to 2.5 mls per 25 gallons; I was at 3.1 mls per 25 gallons. I plan to leave the dose here for several weeks before "re-upping" the dose. The 7 remaining corys (and all other fish) appear to be in good health.

There was also mention in this thread about vacuuming the gravel . I am going to have to be better with this to rule dirty gravel out as a cause of death. I examined the dead cory closely this time and I couldn't find any barbels, so maybe it is dirty gravel that led to a barbel infection and subsequent death.

So, for clarity and in response to Brookster's info, less powerful suction will be provided by a smaller diameter tubing (not siphon head, but tubing) and a longer length of tubing? I have also heard that a smaller diameter siphon head provides more powerful suction, but these principles seem to be in contrast with each other. So, I just want to be sure that whatever I buy will decrease the suction, enabling me to remove detritus but not my gravel. Even linking a specific product might be most helpful.

 

[Brookster123]

Bummer man.. I've found that w habrosus.. If they're not actively going nuts than they kind of tick their barbels in, not being able to see them in a dead one may not mean much?? Do you have lots of cover? Places for them to catch some shade?

 

[malonbl]

Yeah, pretty heavily planted tank with lots of shade. I even have frogbit covering half the tank on my "low-light plant side". They are generally very active as you say. If I see one sitting around in one place too long, I definitely get worried about it. I pretty much knew this one was a goner for 24 hours prior to finding him dead. He wasn't moving much and his respiratory rate appeared increased.

 

[Darkseid76]

In my opinion malon if the glut is giving you concern then maybe DIY or pressurized CO2 is your next option.

If your tank is only 25 gallons then a DIY system is a wallet friendly option.

 

[malonbl]

That's a great idea. Honestly, as I am new to tanks and plants, pressurized CO2 has been a bit of an intimidating topic. I need to look into it though.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

I bought a cheap CO2 that uses tablets and sugar.
http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium-CO2-Equipment/I/Plant-Gro-CO2-System.aspx

I haven't set it up yet so I can't tell you if it good. There are videos at YouTube about how to set it up.

Almost forgot, I found a corydoras forum but they charge a membership.
( I didn't join):
http://corydorasworld.com