Cory Death

[marvandgoldie]

On friday when I came home from work I noticed that one of my corys had died!!

On looking at the cory I noticed that he had lost his barbles and around his mouth it looked red and sore!!

I have been to my local fish shop and we have managed to eliminate that its not the gravel causing this problem (some of the other corys have this) but it could be an infection!! I have since done a massive gravel clean and water change and have treatment to try and clear this!! (fingers crossed)

I was wondering if anyone else has experineced this and any comments/advice would be great!!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi marvandgoldie

Your corys have are in an advanced state of a bacterial infection. This is sometimes called finrot, and it can be serious and often fatal to them.

What happened is that some stress factor is at work in your tank that caused your cory's immune system to be weakened. When this happens, bacteria that that are normally in the tank can infect them. This can be caused by such things as low oxygen in the water, overcrowding, aggressive tankmates, fluctuating temperature, uneaten food left on the bottom, elevated nitrite or nitrate levels, or inadequate or infrequent water changes and/or bottom cleanings.

I would suggest using Waterlife's Myxazin or Interpet's Anti-Fungus and Finrot Medicine. If your tank's temperature is higher than 24 degrees C., it would help slow the growth of the harmful bacteria if you lower it to that level. Another helpful thing is to increase the oxygen level by adding an airstone.

I hope you noticed the problem in time to save your other corys. Please let me know how things work out for them.

 

[marvandgoldie]

Hi Inchworm

Within my tank I have 2 air curtains and I try and keep my tank temperature between 24 - 25 degrees C.

I try an stir my gravel about once a month and also clean the gravel about once a month when I'm doing my water change. I do a 30% water change every month and my nitrite and nitrate levels are fine also as I check these every month also.

I then had a look at myself and I think I'm guilty of over feeding the fish so the uneaten fish food on the bottom could be the cause!! ) So I have now given myself a smack and have stopped this!!

I am using a treatment called eSHa 2000 which treats fungus, finroot and bacteria. This will be my third and last day of treatment so fingers crossed this works but if not then I will give the treatment Inchworm has recommened to use. (THANKS INCHWORM)

 

[marvandgoldie]

Two of the Corys are looking alot better and more lively now but how long do you recommended I leave it to see if the infection clears up? Also if it doesn't clear up should I use the same treatment or try a different one?

 

[Inchworm]

I try an stir my gravel about once a month and also clean the gravel about once a month when I'm doing my water change. I do a 30% water change every month and my nitrite and nitrate levels are fine also as I check these every month also.

Hi marvandgoldie

I think we are looking at the cause of the infection right here. Since corys live on the bottom, where all the waste ends up, your tank needs to be cleaned much more often than once a month. The trapped waste products of all the tank's occupants, plus any uneaten food, work their way down and harmful bacteria breeds there. It's best to vacuum it out at least once a week.

Weekly water changes will also keep the tank healthy by reducing the number of free floating bacteria. This will not harm your beneficial bacteria in any way because they are not free floating, but attached to the filter media and other surfaces. Unfortunately, there are no water tests to measure harmful bacteria levels, but you know they are there.

How are your fish doing? I hope they are all healing well.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I lost one of my cories this morning. Was totally unexpected. Looks like he/she starved to death, which doesn't make alot of sense since all the rest are rounded and eating well. But the stomach was hollow and he looked, well, empty. He was small when I got him a few weeks ago as were all the rest but they've been active and eating well. The tanks been cleaned twice this week alone due to one of my betta girls having an infection and treatment. I'm going to do another small change in a mo to add another dose of med for my girl but a different med this time (only melafix). Makes me think the anti-internal put stress on the poor thing.
Sorry for your loss MG. It sounds like you just need to do more water/gravel cleans. Gravel is notorious for holding onto waste and icky bits. My cories have a sand substrate and I sift through it every week when I clean. Best of luck with the others.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Miss Dib Dabs

I'm sorry to hear about your little cory.

It's quite likely that the infection that made your bettas sick got to him too. Perhaps he was just a bit weaker than the other corys.

I hope all your fish recover soon.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Thanks. It's only one of the girls that hasn't been well. Well I say unwell. In truth she's fine...her normal self, apart from the yuck mark on her beautiful face. Thankfully it's slowly going now with treatment but it's been a long process.
All the other cories are doing well and the younger ones tend to annoy the adults with just how active they are at times. They spend more time with my peach spot plec currently. He seems to quite enjoy their company and swishes the sand about in the mornings like a loon before settling down for the day.
The youngsters really were very small when I got them but even so, this was a big suprise. I'd seen no signs of illness or problems at all with any of them before finding him on his last fins. Poor thing. Even in death his colour was good and strong. Like I said before he just looked like he literally starved to death. I guess it'll remain a mystery forever now. *sigh*
Hugs,
P.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Miss Dib Dabs

When a full grown cory spawns it's often in very large numbers. Of this batch, some of the eggs won't hatch, some fry die off when they are tiny, but still others don't make it past a juvenile stage. This is just nature making sure that only the strong survive to carry on the genes and ensure the continuation of a healthy species.

It's sad, but when you buy young fish, there is always the risk of losing some in unexpected ways. Chances are that while you did everything you could to help him grow up strong and well, he didn't thrive because something inside him didn't develop properly. As a result, he was weaker than the others and more apt to become ill when exposed to the harmful bacteria.

With bacterial infections, things can happen quickly or slowly. It all depends on the overall strength of the fish and the particular strain of bacteria in the tank.

Best of luck raising your other ones. It sounds like they are normally playful youngsters.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Thank you Inchworm. I think you're perfectly right. Still sad tho. I normally buy them larger but they were all they had. And me and my impatience prevailed. And yes they are a playful bunch. It's quite amusing to watch the adults look at them like grumpy old men.
Hugs,
P.