This is a strange one....

Hi guys,

I have a female peppered cory, Remus, (named before I knew she was a girl) that is about 4 years old. I noticed an unusual shaped lump under her belly a few days ago and thought maybe she was constipated so I withheld food for a day and then fed a pea the following day. When I checked the next day the lump seemed to be better but upon further observation to my horror there was a hole in her belly!



There is no redness or bleeding around the area and she has not acted ill in any way (still has a great appetite and plenty of energy, no strange behavior that I've noticed).

I did a large water change and suctioned the gravel well to try to prevent any secondary infection. BTW I'm well aware of a lot of people's view that cories should not be kept on gravel. If you must criticize my use of the gravel please start a separate "Shame on you coriesinhawaii" thread to do that. These cories have been on gravel for years and I've never had any illness before now.

I tested my water and found the following:



Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-20 (this was at the end of my weekly water change, and it's usually more like 5-10)
high-range pH: 8.2

I realize that pH is too high for cories. It has always tended to be on the high end but the last time I tested it it was only 7.8. I'm not sure why it's so much higher now. I did move to a different location on the island since then. I tested the water out of the tap and it was 7.4 so there must be something going on in the tank to make it that high. I recently started using a potassium supplement (Seachem Flourish Potassium). Could that be raising the pH? I don't have any decor in the tank that would do it I think. Just resin ornaments, rocks (quartz I think) and a small piece of driftwood. I do weekly 50% water changes and gravel suctioning and also add the regular Seachem Flourish in at that time.

So I need to figure out the pH issue but the main reason for this post is to see if anyone has come across this strange hole in the belly phenomenon before. Not sure if it's a burst abscess or perhaps a parasite that exited through the hole. If it's a parasite it makes me think I might need to treat the whole tank before it speads. I did put in some hornwort several months back from a pet store that must have not come from the cleanest source because a damselfly nymph was in it. Perhaps a parasite came in that way too. Any help is appreciated.

Note: The last picture below is NOT my fish. It's a picture I found online. I only include it because it looks just like my fish's does when viewed from underneath. I tried to get a picture of my fish from that view but couldn't.

Is she alone or are there others in the tank?

There are 4 other peppereds in there, 3 sterbais, and 4 kuhli loaches

Are there males?
Because it could be getting ready to bear eggs

Yes there are 2 male peppereds. She has spawned a few times but it has been a while. No new fish additions in about 10 months, and those were quarantined first. Just live plants that I add periodically (I do a bleach dip on them first).

The hole is slightly off center when you view it from underneath and a little higher up than the spot where they release the eggs

Well then I don’t see anything to worry about but if the site becomes red or any other Color then you might need to worry

Thanks for the reassurance. It’s definitely good that it doesn’t appear infected. But I can’t help but feel that a hole in a cory’s belly is an ominous sign It doesn’t seem like it would be a good thing that causes that. I just want to find out if it’s a parasite or something that I should treat before it gets worse. (If a parasite came out of that hole into the tank it might be about to lay eggs )

coriesinhawaii said:

Thanks for the reassurance. It’s definitely good that it doesn’t appear infected. But I can’t help but feel that a hole in a cory’s belly is an ominous sign It doesn’t seem like it would be a good thing that causes that. I just want to find out if it’s a parasite or something that I should treat before it gets worse. (If a parasite came out of that hole into the tank it might be about to lay eggs )

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Like I said just watch out for lack of energy , not eating , redness . Right now it’s not good to treat without knowing what the problem really is

@Colin_T and @DoubleDutch any ideas what this hole is?

some sort of parasite that chewed its way out of the fish.

That’s what I’m thinking too I think I’m gonna treat the whole tank since whatever was in there is in the main tank now but I don’t have much experience with parasites. I’m thinking of trying General Cure (mix of metronidazole and praziquantel). I’ve heard it’s okay to use with cories and loaches and does cover a lot of parasites though not all. I will probably soak their food in it too so it will have better systemic absorption. Levamisole is another option though there seems to be mixed info out there about its safety in cories.

coriesinhawaii said:

That’s what I’m thinking too I think I’m gonna treat the whole tank since whatever was in there is in the main tank now but I don’t have much experience with parasites. I’m thinking of trying General Cure (mix of metronidazole and praziquantel). I’ve heard it’s okay to use with cories and loaches and does cover a lot of parasites though not all. I will probably soak their food in it too so it will have better systemic absorption. Levamisole is another option though there seems to be mixed info out there about its safety in cories.

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Always pre soak food it’s just prevents bloat

You can try a deworming produce like Levamisole or Praziquantel. However, the sorts of parasites that do this are not normally worms and don't usually infect other fish in the tank. The parasites that cause this are often from terrestrial animals and the parasite larvae gets washed into a water way during rain/ storms. The parasite gets picked up by the fish and instead of knowing where to go, it gets lost in the fish and ends up wherever. Sometimes they stay put and other times they come out of the fish. Once they are out they don't normally go back in and simply die in the tank.

I would just monitor them all and see what happens. At this stage the biggest issue is the hole in the fish, which could get infected. Monitor the hole and if it starts to go red or the fish stops eating or acts unusual, then see about treating it with a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus and bacteria. You could also add a bit of salt but again I would monitor and see how it goes over the next week.

Thanks for your advice guys. I guess my biggest fear with just watching and waiting is what if there are more of these things inside some of the other fish in the tank? Not all of them are as big as my girl Remus so while she can handle losing some tissue some of my smaller fish might be taken out by it. I think I will try the General Cure since it is said to be well tolerated without harming the biological filter.