Cory laying on one side, not sure what to do.

[Fish4dawin]

Hey all, one of my pepper Corydoras has been lying on his side recently, and he doesn't move very much if at all. Just did a 55-60% change as I noticed the nitrite levels were a little high, and ammonia was a little high. All 4 other cory's are fine (I plan to get 4-5 more) and are very active, all the other fish are fine as well. I'm not too sure on what has happened with him, I did read another thread where someone had a cory where it was laying on its side, similar to mine. I have contemplated euthanising him, but he has managed to make it through almost two days now. He seems to be staying upright the majority of the time but then he will just flop on to his side. Any thoughts appreciated.

Many thanks,
Ev

 

[connorlindeman]

Hey all, one of my pepper Corydoras has been lying on his side recently, and he doesn't move very much if at all. Just did a 55-60% change as I noticed the nitrite levels were a little high, and ammonia was a little high. All 4 other cory's are fine (I plan to get 4-5 more) and are very active, all the other fish are fine as well. I'm not too sure on what has happened with him, I did read another thread where someone had a cory where it was laying on its side, similar to mine. I have contemplated euthanising him, but he has managed to make it through almost two days now. He seems to be staying upright the majority of the time but then he will just flop on to his side. Any thoughts appreciated.

Many thanks,
Ev

What are you feeding them?
Could you post a video and a picture of the fish?

 

[Fish4dawin]

They are currently being fed flake, "Catfish pellets" and Shrimp Wafers, I can try and post a picture soon. All the cory's have been completely fine with that food though, so I'm not sure what it is.

 

[Byron]

Food is not likely "the" issue, but it can certainly contribute. Corydoras have a very specific dietary requirement; no plant matter, and lower protein. They feed almost exclusively on insects/insect larvae, then crustaceans. Fluval Bug Bites is probably the #1 food for cories, and all upper fish for that matter (except herbivores obviously). Quality shrimp pellets are good. Forget flake food, make sure upper fish clean this up (feed sparingly), these are usually too high in protein. Shrimp wafers might be OK, but what brand because not all are the same in quality. And which "catfish pellets"? Again, it is the ingredients that matter.

Moving beyond that, if ammonia and nitrite are above zero, something is seriously wrong assuming the tests are accurate. How frequent are normal water changes, and how much water (volume)? What conditioner are you using? Are any other additives going in the tank water? How long has the tank been running? Do you have live plants?

I know, a lot of questions, but diagnosing fish ailments is anything but simple or easy. You need to isolate the problem by eliminating issues one by one.

The number in the group is also an issue, but again not likely to cause this, but increasing the group to close to 10-12 is recommended.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Hey Byron, I did actually have the Fluval Bug Bites, but ran out, will definitely pick some up. I do water changes once every week, sometimes once every 9-10 days, doing a 55-60% change, and I use the Tetra conditioner that makes tap water safe for fish. I've only ever added Tetra "PlantMin" which helps the live plants. I am currently looking for some floating plants, as that might be the problem so it could be stress? The tank has been running for 2 months after cycling. These are the catfish pellets that I have.

Yes I am planning on increasing group size to what you have suggested.

Many thanks,
Ev

 

[Byron]

OK, first off...stop feeding the catfish pellets. I looked the site up and they don't say exactly what is in them, but they do say enough to be inappropriate. "For catfish and other algae eaters" is scary, cories are not algae eaters and cannot properly digest plant matter. A protein of 50% is much too high for cories...the Bug Bites by comparison is 36% which is fine. And a "high oil content of 15%" I don't fathom, no idea what "oil" this is or why cories need it. Get the Bug Bites, and Omega One's Shrimp Pellets are a good secondary food. Fresh frozen daphnia is good, and fresh frozen shrimp as a treat. Fresh frozen means frozen as in the freezer, not "freeze dried" which is not good.

That deals with nutrition, and water changes are fine. Which brings us back to the ammonia and nitrite, this is not good. Can you re=test to see what these numbers are now? Make sure the test is accurate, if adding drops to a test tube for example.

 

[Fish4dawin]

OK, first off...stop feeding the catfish pellets. I looked the site up and they don't say exactly what is in them, but they do say enough to be inappropriate. "For catfish and other algae eaters" is scary, cories are not algae eaters and cannot properly digest plant matter. A protein of 50% is much too high for cories...the Bug Bites by comparison is 36% which is fine. And a "high oil content of 15%" I don't fathom, no idea what "oil" this is or why cories need it. Get the Bug Bites, and Omega One's Shrimp Pellets are a good secondary food. Fresh frozen daphnia is good, and fresh frozen shrimp as a treat. Fresh frozen means frozen as in the freezer, not "freeze dried" which is not good.

That deals with nutrition, and water changes are fine. Which brings us back to the ammonia and nitrite, this is not good. Can you re=test to see what these numbers are now? Make sure the test is accurate, if adding drops to a test tube for example.

Yeah I will stop feeding them that then, I only have the test strips not the test tube ones unfortunately. I have frozen bloodworm at the moment, should I feed them that?

 

[Byron]

Yeah I will stop feeding them that then, I only have the test strips not the test tube ones unfortunately. I have frozen bloodworm at the moment, should I feed them that?

Test strip is fine, can you retest to confirm those numbers. I am assuming ammonia and nitrite in the tap water on its own are zero (?), you should test it if not sure. These levels need to be tracked down.

Frozen bloodworms are basically OK but only once per week as a treat, never more often. They are not nutritious or wholesome, and personally I woould not feed them (I used too, once a week). Their protein level is certainly very low (good) but their fat content is not at all good. Bugs and shrimp and daphnia do not have much in the way of fat, one reason they are such good natural foods.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Yeah I rarely feed them bloodworm (once every 3-4 weeks) but I have never fed my fish brineshrimp or daphnia so wondering how they would feel with that. Will post test results and a pic of the cory soon.

Ev

 

[Byron]

Yeah I rarely feed them bloodworm (once every 3-4 weeks) but I have never fed my fish brineshrimp or daphnia so wondering how they would feel with that. Will post test results and a pic of the cory soon.

Ev

All of my cories, and the upper fish too, went into high gear when frozen daphnia entered the tank. Again, like bug bites, this is one of the most natural foods. I never bothered with frozen shrimp, used it back in the 1980's along with fresh brine shrimp but gave up along the way. Frozen foods are not always the most nutritious, the appeal is that fresh frozen is closest to live for the fish. But the high quality of many of the dried/prepared foods today is far superior.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yeah I rarely feed them bloodworm (once every 3-4 weeks) but I have never fed my fish brineshrimp or daphnia so wondering how they would feel with that. Will post test results and a pic of the cory soon.

Ev

I have 21 of the larger cories, plus a colony of 30 odd pygmy cories, and trust me, they all go wild for frozen daphia and other frozen insects. Avoid the cheap foods like King British - you get what you pay for, when it comes to foods, and good nutrition combined with clean water are the keys to good health.

Omega one foods are incredibly expensive to get here in the UK for some reason, so I don't feed that. As a basic staple I use Bug Bites, which all the fish love and never seem to get bored of. I also use the FishScience catfish pellets, since Ian Fuller helped to develop them. The tablets they come in are huge though, so I cut them into smaller chunks with a stanley blade since a whole tablet is too much even for a big group of cories.

I also feed live microworms which are easy to culture, and good for both fry and the adults.
I get mixed packs of frozen foods, after checking what types of food they are of course! My current ones have mosquito larvae, daphnia, cylops, moina, and mini bloodworm, all of which are great for cories, as long as the bloodworm is a rarer treat rather than daily.

If you happen to have a bucket outside that has collected rainwater BTW, you can net out your own live mosquito larvae Just check it first and make sure there are no dragon or damselfly nymphs in there before adding to your tank. If there are, you can still freeze them in ice cub trays to feed the fish at a later date, then no risk from dragon/damselfly nymphs.

Concerned about you getting readings for ammonia and nitrite - that shouldn't be happening if the tank is cycled and balanced, and is highly likely to be the cause of your cory's problem. That the others seem okay doesn't mean the water is okay, it just means that the one showing signs was weaker and the first to show signs and have it affect him more visibly first.
One common potential cause - how have you been cleaning your filter? Do you rinse the sponges under the tap?

 

[Fish4dawin]

I made the mistake a few months back of cleaning the filter under tap water, (I know, stupid) but yes I cleaned the filter yesterday with water from the tank. I should get some frozen daphnia, hopefully they will enjoy it.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Ok, update for you all, lost 2 corys and another is on deaths door, he’s doing the same as the other two, lying on his side and can barely swim. I remembered I got them from a good shop but there was a dead (or dying) cory on its side so I suspect I picked up whatever the dead one had when I got the 6 of them. Should I just euthanise him? He’s upright now but he frequently falls on his side. Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 15, pH 7.4 ish, they are salt and pepper corydoras (unsure on Latin name). Here are some pictures. The other 3 seem ok for now. Sorry the quality is a bit crap, it’s 6:40am lol.

 

[kiko]

throw a couple of green peas cooked/precooked like the frozen stuff (peel the skin off first)
when they lay upside down or on their side looking dead it's usually something they ate or swings in your water chemistry
specially freeze dried food can cause bloat if not soaked for a bit before feeding
green peas will clear out whatever they ate that can be causing this...

 

[Fish4dawin]

Ok thank you very much, I'm assuming it was the cory "pellets" I gave them, and I don't recall feeding them bloodworm since I have got them. I will feed them some peas.