Unexpected Cory death...

PheonixKingZ said:

Would an airstone help? I think I can split the flow between my 20g long and my 29g.



I can’t buy any more “fish stuff” because my parents don’t want me buying anything before our big move, which should be in 6-8 months.

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Oh, OK, gotcha. Yes, an airstone would probably help. Put it on the opposite side from your filter, or better yet put one there and one right in the middle.

WhistlingBadger said:

Oh, OK, gotcha. Yes, an airstone would probably help. Put it on the opposite side from your filter, or better yet put one there and one right in the middle.

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My air pump isn’t powerful enough for a three way split, it’s barely powerful enough for a 2 way spilt.

I will try to do a 2 way split, between my 29g and 20g long. (I’ll put it in the opposite corner)

My tanks is densely planted, and I do have a lot of hardscape. If that is the problem, why is my pleco not dead and why am I not seeing dead shrimp?

This could be the issue, I don’t know for sure...

PheonixKingZ said:

If that is the problem, why is my pleco not dead and why am I not seeing dead shrimp?

This could be the issue, I don’t know for sure...

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Good question. I have no idea. My cories died, but the hoplos were fine. Something about where the cories were choosing to spend their time, I guess. And of course, I could be completely wrong, and it might not be the problem at all. Might be worth trying, though.

Will try it, thanks! I’ll let you know how it goes.

This is the current setup:

Removed all the Salvinia for now, and transported it to my 2.5g. The only problem now, is that my 20 long is without any sort of filtration...

May have to talk my parents into letting me get a small power head after all, or an airstone.

My 29g tank is “delicate” so I don’t want anything super powerful. Suggestions?

I have 2 HOB’s which provide plenty of oxygen. Cories can also go up for air. Not sure added aeration will help. Heck, I don’t know. I just found a dead bronze Cory. Shoots my Panda theory all apart. What are we doing wrong? Just tested parameters. 0, 0, 10ppm. GH/PH were correct 4 days ago and I’ve done nothing to the tank but a w/c. Maybe cories aren’t for us. @Byron???

Man, this is not our fish species.

PheonixKingZ said:

Man, this is not our fish species.

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They are suppose to be easy to raise. Let’s see what @Byron suggests.

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I was thinking that the fish store should give you some kind of warranties since they are selling the Panda at so expensive price.
At my place, it's only $1.20 each.

But by right a fish or any fish shouldn't be so fragile.
I suspect that there must be something that really killed them.
You mentioned that your water company just changed the piping.
So, there must be some toxic in the water which Corydoras or any catfish (scaless fish) will be more sensitive to it.
It may also affect your shrimps.
I think you can add some activated carbon into your filter in case there is toxic in your tank now.
Or use some filtered water to quickly change your tank water.
[ not RO water, just filtered water that have gone through carbon filter ].

For Neon Tetras, I once observed the shop owner catching the fish for me.
He was so careful in catching them and quickly put them in the plastic bag with water.
I suspect that the Neon Tetras cannot be out of water longer than most fish else they will die.
You have to quickly put them back in the water whenever you catch them.
This is my experience with them.

As for the dead zone in your tank, if you have plants that can absorb the ammonia, probably it might be ok.
There are two issue with dead zone - ammonia and oxygen(no aeration of water).
The best method is to use a sponge filter or another internal filter.
Sponge filter will provide both aeration and filtration.

Power head or water circulator isn't very useful.
Its more suitable for long tanks(55, 75 gallons or bigger tanks) where there is only a single filter.
If you have two filters or more, then you don't really need a power head.
Most fish also won't like the power head strong current unless you can find a small power head.
But if you add 1-2 sponge filters or other types of filter, then you don't need the power head.

Previously, I have at least two HOB and two sponge filters in most of my tanks.
But I have cut down to HOBs plus airstone to give more space in the tank as sponge filter will take out some space compare to just airstone.
Over here, the sponge filter is cheap. Its about $3-$4 each or slightly more for larger one.
Some small internal filters cost about $10+.

Ok, so I have 1 internal filter right now.

The warranty only lasts 1 week, and you get 30% off any stock of your choice.

I didn’t perform a water change, because they were changing the pipe line, I didn’t want any chemicals to be introduced into my tank.

They seem OK for now, so do my neons and shrimp.

I do have a sponge filter in my tank too. Sorry, forgot to mention that.

Reading through this thread, there are a couple things to mention.

First, the issue of the water pipes repair/replacement causing the water to be unsafe to drink. I've no idea what this might be. When we used copper pipes several years ago, copper was a serious issue, as the "safe" level of copper for humans will kill any fish put into the water. Today they don't use copper (though older buildings may well still have it, and it may need repairs), but even so I suppose other toxic substances can be relevant. I can only point out the possible issue, I've no idea what it may be or how to deal with it (other than not using the water obviously).

Second, water circulation. Air stones do not cut it, period. Fish that need a current--and panda cories do because they occur in small mountain streams in Peru and are designed for these, also cooler temperatures for this reason--will not benefit from airstones. The filter must produce a current across the tank or down one end wall, depending upon the filter mechanism. It is unlikely low current would kill the pandas like you describe, but as the issue of current was raised, you might as well understand it.

Third, there is always the possibility of "bad" fish. Mass-produced fish as opposed to wild caught imports are more likely to be infected with "x". I absolutely will not buy fish from chain stores; the fact that most of the fish I used to get from such stores ended up dying or causing problems over a 2-year period convinced me they are not worth the risk. Disease spreads easily in commercial fish suppliers.

Byron said:

Reading through this thread, there are a couple things to mention.

First, the issue of the water pipes repair/replacement causing the water to be unsafe to drink. I've no idea what this might be. When we used copper pipes several years ago, copper was a serious issue, as the "safe" level of copper for humans will kill any fish put into the water. Today they don't use copper (though older buildings may well still have it, and it may need repairs), but even so I suppose other toxic substances can be relevant. I can only point out the possible issue, I've no idea what it may be or how to deal with it (other than not using the water obviously).

Second, water circulation. Air stones do not cut it, period. Fish that need a current--and panda cories do because they occur in small mountain streams in Peru and are designed for these, also cooler temperatures for this reason--will not benefit from airstones. The filter must produce a current across the tank or down one end wall, depending upon the filter mechanism. It is unlikely low current would kill the pandas like you describe, but as the issue of current was raised, you might as well understand it.

Third, there is always the possibility of "bad" fish. Mass-produced fish as opposed to wild caught imports are more likely to be infected with "x". I absolutely will not buy fish from chain stores; the fact that most of the fish I used to get from such stores ended up dying or causing problems over a 2-year period convinced me they are not worth the risk. Disease spreads easily in commercial fish suppliers.

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Thanks so much, @Byron. I had baffled my filters with sponges to lower current but just removed the sponges. I didn’t realize that Cory’s needed the current. Big help and I appreciate your info.

Thank you for your reply.

The pipe line warning, was a precaution here in the US. When ever they repair a pipe, they issue a “24 hour water boil” warning, which means we should boil the water so we don’t get any of the contaminates in our water, which could make us sick, and kill out fish.

So pandas should not be kept at the same temperature as neon tetras? Why didn’t I know this when I was looking for a Cory species?

And they also need a strong current? A 29g tank was not a good choice for Cory’s, especially mine. 29g’s are tall, which means the bottom doesn’t get much flow.

Im really confused here...

PheonixKingZ said:

So pandas should not be kept at the same temperature as neon tetras? Why didn’t I know this when I was looking for a Cory species?

And they also need a strong current? A 29g tank was not a good choice for Cory’s, especially mine. 29g’s are tall, which means the bottom doesn’t get much flow.

Im really confused here...

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I seem to have a problem being understood these days. I did not say panda cories and neons would not live together. They have much the same temperature (and GH/pH) requirements. Temp in the low to mid-70's F is ideal, I would aim somewhere around 74-77F (24-25C) for these two.

And I did not say a strong current, I said a normal current from a filter. An air stone does not create currents as such. There is nothing wrong with the basic standard 29g (30-inch length). I have two of these. You can use a simple internal filter like the Aqueon Quiet Flow, placed in one rear corner with the flow directed across the back wall of the tank, or some other flow pattern. It should not be difficult to arrange things so the neons can remain out of the stronger flow, they don't like this.