Cory Deaths

[2excitedkids]

We are one of the many who were sadly misinformed by lfs and cycling with fish...including albino (I think bronze)corys.They said that ph would also be ok...ours is about 7.5.
We have lost 2 of the cory's - I am sure due to water quality,despite 40% water changes on one occasion the ammm levels went to 0.4ppm . I wonder also about the ph though.Our interpet ph tester only tests in 0.5 intervals so difficult to know exact ph- as I say about 7.5
. Lots of these threads are very much more specific on ph for different species. We have only 2 left of our 4 corys.
When our tank is fully mature we would love to get some more. Our temp is 35 generally. We have 2 mollies and 4 platys and 2 pitbull plecs. It is a 60 cm x 30 cm x 30cm tank.

My questions are these. What test kit can we get to be more accurate with our ph.
Also is there any chance of our tank being big enough for happy corys .

 

[drewry]

well for one u should always do a fishless cycle wich as you say it wants your falt some lfs will give you the wrong info just to sell fish.
iv notesed you say ure temp is 35 have you made a spelling mistake because that is way to high, it should be in the range of 25oc
your ph should be in the range of 6-7 wich is ok for them if yours is higher some bog wood will lower ur ph
as soon as ure tank has fully cycled you will be able to ad some more corys to ure tank it will be best to add a couple at a time they are mutch happyer in groups of 6+

 

[2excitedkids]

well for one u should always do a fishless cycle wich as you say it wants your falt some lfs will give you the wrong info just to sell fish.
iv notesed you say ure temp is 35 have you made a spelling mistake because that is way to high, it should be in the range of 25oc
your ph should be in the range of 6-7 wich is ok for them if yours is higher some bog wood will lower ur ph
as soon as ure tank has fully cycled you will be able to ad some more corys to ure tank it will be best to add a couple at a time they are mutch happyer in groups of 6+

You are quite right..was an error,is 25 degrees

 

[drewry]

i though it might of been lol

 

[jollysue]

My ph is 7.5 and up. My test kit goes to 7.8, and sometimes it tests at 7.8 in the tank. So I don't know for sure what it tops at. I don't fiddle with it more than water changes and StressCoat. I have drift wood but that is only effective temporarily. I have used peat on occasion when I thought the fish were used to a lower ph when I got them. But I don't renew it. I let them acclimate to my water conditions. For the most part they do, as 300+ usg of Cory tanks will testify.

"The proof," as they say, "is in the pudding."

 

[Cory_Dad]

We are one of the many who were sadly misinformed by lfs and cycling with fish...including albino (I think bronze)corys.They said that ph would also be ok...ours is about 7.5.
We have lost 2 of the cory's - I am sure due to water quality,despite 40% water changes on one occasion the ammm levels went to 0.4ppm . I wonder also about the ph though.Our interpet ph tester only tests in 0.5 intervals so difficult to know exact ph- as I say about 7.5
. Lots of these threads are very much more specific on ph for different species. We have only 2 left of our 4 corys.
When our tank is fully mature we would love to get some more. Our temp is 35 generally. We have 2 mollies and 4 platys and 2 pitbull plecs. It is a 60 cm x 30 cm x 30cm tank.

My questions are these. What test kit can we get to be more accurate with our ph.
Also is there any chance of our tank being big enough for happy corys .

According to the tank calculator, that would be 14 US Gallon tank. The rule of thumb I use is up to 2.5" size of fish, 1" of fish per gallon. Above 2.5" fish it's less. So you were close to the limit. Of course, you can add more if you have an oversize filter and/or you do frequent water changes.

My PH is usually around 7.2 - 7.6 so your 7.5 sounds reasonable. My tester goes in 0.4 intervals. The ammonia IS a bit high. Can you put in an ammonia pack into your filter?

When you do a water change, do you add chlorine remover?

Although Drewry is dead on about doing a fishless cycle on a brand new tank. You can (sort of) get away with it if you use water from an existing tank instead of new tap water. But it's a 'ya pays yur money and takes yur chances' type thing.

It's always heartbreaking when you lose any fish (I just went through this myself).

Good luck.

 

[OldMan47]

Sorry to have to disagree but there is no way you want to mput things in the filter to chemically remove ammonia. A water change will remove it very nicely and you won't end up with new problems from whatever else you do in the process. I have seen the ammo chips that do remove some ammonia but where does that leave you. The ammonia source is still present and you have prevented the bacteria from developing. Change water to keep it safe at less than 0.25 ppm of ammonia and less than 0.25 ppm of nitrites. This should keep your fish safe and will let your bacterial colony develop naturally.

 

[2excitedkids]

Sorry to have to disagree but there is no way you want to mput things in the filter to chemically remove ammonia. A water change will remove it very nicely and you won't end up with new problems from whatever else you do in the process. I have seen the ammo chips that do remove some ammonia but where does that leave you. The ammonia source is still present and you have prevented the bacteria from developing. Change water to keep it safe at less than 0.25 ppm of ammonia and less than 0.25 ppm of nitrites. This should keep your fish safe and will let your bacterial colony develop naturally.

Things sem to be on the up as our ammonia has been 0 ((well more yellow than green on the API colour chart) for the last 2 days and the nitrites 0.05. We have been doing very regular water changes and the ammonia has never been more than 0.5 when tested.....hope we are on the homeward run now!!

 

[Cory_Dad]

Sorry to have to disagree but there is no way you want to mput things in the filter to chemically remove ammonia. A water change will remove it very nicely and you won't end up with new problems from whatever else you do in the process. I have seen the ammo chips that do remove some ammonia but where does that leave you. The ammonia source is still present and you have prevented the bacteria from developing. Change water to keep it safe at less than 0.25 ppm of ammonia and less than 0.25 ppm of nitrites. This should keep your fish safe and will let your bacterial colony develop naturally.

Hmm. I hear what you're saying and I do agree that a water change will lower the ammonia but the ammo chips will do that as well (as you pointed out). I don't see what using ammo chips has to do with the bacteria developing unless the filter you are using doesn't have multiple stages. The Rena, Fluval and Aqua Clears I've seen all have them. I don't keep charcoal in my filters and instead have additional bio material in it's place. If there is a spike in the ammonia I replace the additional bio material with ammo chips until the ammonia drops. Usually this happens to me with my hospital and fry tanks because of over crowding and in the hospital tank there's usually no bacteria anyway because of the meds. I still do the water changes but the ammo chips are there as a back up.

I'm also very wary of doing large water changes after my bad experience with the last one. I'm still trying to figure what went wrong and to recover from it.

Oh, and don't be sorry to disagree with me

Cheers.

 

[jollysue]

I agree that ammo chips and other ammonia covering/reducing methods are just a bandage. They are not for everyday use, imo so far. The nitrifying (actually there is another name for the bacteria that feed on the ammonia I think) bacteria feed on ammonia, so eliminating the ammonia decreases the amount of good bacteria and messes with the nitrogen cycle. Reducing the ammonia readings does nothing for the nitrites. Ammo Chips are a cover up.

I agree that more small water changes is the best way to handle a spike or minicycle. Also media added to the filter from a well cycled tank and additives like BioSpira can help. Daily or more small water changes in an overstocked tank do more for the tank health than ammo chips, imo. Especially with sick or young fish. Fry require excellent water conditions. Better than tests show actually, I think.

 

[Cory_Dad]

I agree that ammo chips and other ammonia covering/reducing methods are just a bandage. They are not for everyday use, imo so far. The nitrifying (actually there is another name for the bacteria that feed on the ammonia I think) bacteria feed on ammonia, so eliminating the ammonia decreases the amount of good bacteria and messes with the nitrogen cycle. Reducing the ammonia readings does nothing for the nitrites. Ammo Chips are a cover up.

I agree that more small water changes is the best way to handle a spike or minicycle. Also media added to the filter from a well cycled tank and additives like BioSpira can help. Daily or more small water changes in an overstocked tank do more for the tank health than ammo chips, imo. Especially with sick or young fish. Fry require excellent water conditions. Better than tests show actually, I think.

Ahh,ok, I get it. Never looked at it that way before. I've only ever used them when for whatever reason (usually my neglect) I get a Ammonia spike in my fry tank. Or for my hospital tank where the bacteria is being destroyed anyway by the meds. After it's lowered in the fry tank I take it out. I guess it's just a knee jerk reaction as I do water changes as well. Shotgun approach, if you will.

Maybe that's not such a good thing though...

Thanks for all you your clarifications, it's always good to learn something new.

 

[jollysue]

I have read what actually happens when ammonia removing/reducing additives are used. I can't really be trusted to repeat what I have read though

I will see what I can find. It was an issue regaurding acclimatising shipped fish and the ways to do that and what is actually happening in the bag as it warms up and the chemical changes that take place when the bag is opened.