My Cory just passed away

[ADCISCO]

I got up this morning to find that my cory was on his last fin...then just a bit ago I found him pretty much dead on the bottom. He moved just a bit and quit and I took him to the bathroom to flush him and he moved a little acter I dropped him in the toilet. I know that there was no hope for him but I cant figure out what killed him. He never came out and ate when the other fish did and I just was wondering if he starved or what. Should I have been giving him something other than flake food?

 

[LondonGman]

Whilst it is important to find out why fishes die and I hope someone more experienced here can give you an answer, however I have only been keeping fishes for 3 months and this is only my 5th post here but I have already learnt that it is sometimes impossible to say why fishes die.

I want 12 Cardinal tetras in my tank and once lost 9 of them in 2 weeks but in the last month I have only lost one. I went to the shop and bought 2 Dwarf Gouramis. One died and the LFS people said that it was probably because they were both male so they sold me a female. The second male Dwarf Gourami then dies the next week. I persisted and bought another male Dwarf Gouramis and I have had him for 6 weeks. I have not altered the setup at all.

I am sure you looked for signs of diseases. If it is a peppered cory, you should note that they sometimes play dead. Apparently they do not have fully developed “swim bladder” (??) or something like that hence they hug the bottom of the tank. However when they go swimming about they tired and “play dead. My Albino Peppered Cory has given me a few scares but ….I am sure you checked that too. I have had mine from day one (3 months) and he as only been fed flake food or frozen bloodworm. Same as the rest of the fishes in the tank.

This is more of a philosophical reply than a scientific response

 

[Cherry Barb]

I am so sorry to here that adcisco. I myself have a school of 5 spotted corys that I absolutely adore. And here's the bad news....Corys eat sinking shrimp pellets. They are bottom feeders and will scour the bottom of the tank for the "leftovers" that fall from the other fish food, but you should add some sinking pellets to make sure they have enough. I am sooooo sorry !

Out of curiosity, how long did you have that cory? And your lfs should have informed you of their diet before you left the store with them. That's where I got my first lessons on caring for corys before I started researching them online.

Its a sad thing ad, but remember, we all make mistakes and we learn new lessons everyday.

 

[Allivymar]

Oh bummer ADCISCO I'm sorry

Cherry is right on the mark with the cory diet. Sinking wafers (Hikari Tropical Sinking wafers are an example...great stuff) and shrimp pellets are a good diet for corys (are you reading this Gman? *grin*).

And just to be sure, double check your water parameters AD; better safe then sorry.

 

[ADCISCO]

My water is a little better than what it was. PH fine, Ammonia was just barely registering but is now OK,nitrites a little high and nitrates a little high. But I think that he probably just starved....I'm sad to say. My sister in law gave me that kissing fish and she doesnt want to come to the top and eat when I feed the other fish. I'm afraid that she will croak if she doesnt start eating more.If I see her near the top I go over to feed her and then she goes directly right back to her favorite place like some kind of animal that has been mistreated and wont come up to eat. I think I might try some pellets or something with her. I finally took the female swordfish that went blind out of the tank and she is in the quarantine tank....I hate to say it but she would probably be better off if she died. I feel so sorry for her. I try to feed her but that doesnt work out too well either. Still waiting to get some more fish.....its killin me to wait! But I dont want them to die on me. But I had this cory for a couple of months...I started out with 3 and 2 died not long after getting them.They were leopard corys. And I havent had good luck with neons either! Got three of them a month or so ago only to get up the next morning and all were dead.

 

[Allivymar]

Do me a favor; if decide to increase feedings in hopes of getting the kissing fish to eat, promise me you will vaccuum up any uneaten food (since you have ammonia registering, no matter how little, and your nitrites are a little high, you don't want to give them an opportunity to spike at all).

 

[ADCISCO]

Believe me I keep an eye on that. You should know that by now!LOL We are going camping tomorrow and will be back on sunday...gonna vacuum then and do a partial water change. I dont have to worry at the moment about uneaten food...thats the reason I think the cory died! They eat every little bite of food. NONE ever drops to the bottom! Bunch of little pigs!They act like they have never been fed in their life! Some of them just about jump out of the water to get the food! Never seen anything like it!

 

[Allivymar]

LOL My angels do the same thing; they will push themselves head first out of the water to get to smooshed snails.

And yeah I know you're good at keeping up the tank, just had a need to emphasize LOL

 

[Cherry Barb]

Hey ad, this is just a thought. I have a Boesmani Rainbow that stopped eating. I was at my wits end not knowing what to do. So, after a little research I found they are omnivorous. (New word, lol) Anyway, I went out to my lfs and bought some frozen brine shrimp. I put it in a shot glass (one specially for my fishies) and let it thaw a little. I then mixed just a few drops of tank water in the glass so the shrimp would kind of separate and I shook it around a bit. I poured it into the tank and voila! My Rainbows attacked it!

Now keep in mind, there's not a whole lot of nutritional value in "only" feeding the shrimp. I just used the shrimp as a coaxer to get her to eat. Now, she does eat her flake food, but she knows every Thursday (the day before her tank gets cleaned) that she will get her treat of shrimp.

Might be an idea to at least get the kissing fish to eat. (As an aside, if you should get more corys they will come out of hiding so fast to get that shrimp you'll think lightning struck! 8O )

Hang in there!

 

[Allivymar]

Whoa! Thank you for posting Cherry; you reminded me of a technique I completely forgot.

Go get some of those garlic pills at the healthfood store AD; the kind that has the oil inside. Poke a hole in one and soak the food in the garlic oil each time you feed. Garlic is a strong attractant and appetite enhancer in fish and may just be the thing to get that gourami to eat. If that doesn't work after a couple of tries, definitely try the brine shrimp (btw, baby brine shrimp are vey nutritious; they still have the egg sac with all the nutrients in it. its the adults that are sorta the potato chips of fish food).