Cory looking ill?
- Thread starter 31LJ95
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cory catfish sick cory
The October FOTM Contest Poll is open!
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆
I'm sorry he passed away
You did what you could to try to save him.Yes, it's a good idea to keep up the water changes for the sake of the other fish, what are the water test results like now?
Up to you if you want to keep your cories and get another three later on once you're sure the tank is stable again to bump their numbers back up, or if you'd rather give the current three to your brother. That's your decision
Did a water change today. Nitrates have right down. Will do another water change tommorow. Them probably do them every other day for a week. I will have a spare cycled ten gallon in a week or two at the most so I think I will put them in there and buy some more to make a good school. Thanks for all your Help
Wait, do you mean put the new ones in the ten gallon to quarantine them, or to keep the whole school in? A ten gallon is way too small for peppered cories, let alone six of them. The 20 gallon high is a tight fit for them all, but ten would be far too small.
How large is your brother's tank?
The thing is, a ten gallon is too small, and turtle tanks are famously filthy... turtles are incredibly messy, which usually means ammonia/nitrite/nitrate get sky high between water changes. It's usually okay for the turtle to handle, but not so much for fish, who really suffer and can die with water conditions like that. Try testing the water in the turtle tank and you'll see. Then look up what ammonia burns do to fish... it literally burns their gills and skin. Imagine a burn inside your throat
It's also very likely to stress the cories out to be living with a turtle, they're aware that a turtle could try to eat them. If the turtle gets hungry enough to try to eat one, they have a very sharp, long barb in their dorsal fin and spines in their pectoral fins as a defense against that very thing- they're likely to kill the turtle even when they die as well. A human almost died after trying to swallow a cory.
So please don't get more cories when there isn't somewhere suitable to put them. Leave the three in the 20gal or perhaps re-home them if you believe the pleco will hurt them, or just put the three in the 10 gallon, but don't put them in with the turtle, or get more cories to go in a smaller tank or in a turtle tank.
It's also very likely to stress the cories out to be living with a turtle, they're aware that a turtle could try to eat them. If the turtle gets hungry enough to try to eat one, they have a very sharp, long barb in their dorsal fin and spines in their pectoral fins as a defense against that very thing- they're likely to kill the turtle even when they die as well. A human almost died after trying to swallow a cory.
So please don't get more cories when there isn't somewhere suitable to put them. Leave the three in the 20gal or perhaps re-home them if you believe the pleco will hurt them, or just put the three in the 10 gallon, but don't put them in with the turtle, or get more cories to go in a smaller tank or in a turtle tank.
I’ll try rehome them then if that is the best option. He’s had the corys for a while now they’ve always seemed super healthy but I guess I will have to test the water to see. I will probaly ask my lfs to take them
The three you have should be okay with the pleco really though. Try feeding cucumber or courgette cut lengthwise, like this;
(photo swiped from google images)
if you boil the veg for 30 seconds or so, it'll soften it enough for the pleco and sometimes the cories to be able to eat it. Then when the pleco is occupied with that, drop in a few catfish pellets in a different spot of the tank for the cories. Better to feed them in the evening when both species are more active, and remember to remove the veggies and any uneaten food the next morning, so it doesn't rot in the tank and cause an ammonia spike.
Most plecos are usually pretty peaceful, and there are ways around feeding time so everyone gets a chance to eat well.
yes I put the algae wafers on one side and the pellets on the other. I would like to keep them I do really like peppers Corys. The Bristlenose has Stopped going for them now as much only when it’s algae wafers or bloodworms but I spread the bloodworms out now. So just keep the three or add some?
If you'd prefer to keep them, can handle feeding them and the pleco together, and your water parameters are stable enough (zero ammonia or nitrites, nitrates kept below 20ppm with frequent water changes) then they'd be happier in a group of six.
Okay thx for helping me put the fish first though. If you dont think keeping them is a good idea. I’m buying a good proper test kit and will start testing my water ever week to make sure all will good. I will just make sure everything is doing ok for 3/4 days then I will buy some more if that is what I need to do
It's great that you're willing to do whatever they need to keep them healthy, you're doing good
I recommend the API freshwater master test kit, it's what most people in the hobby find the best, but other liquid test kits could work too, I just haven't tried them personally to be able to recommend them. Any test kit that has liquid in bottles and test tubes is more accurate than the dip strip type of tests though. They're more expensive to buy initially, but along with being more accurate, you also get more tests from them too, so they work out as a better deal in the long run.I don't think you have to get rid of them, if you're keeping them in your 20 gallon, they'll be good
If they stay in the 20 gallon then I would add another three so they hang out as a group, feel more comfortable, and you'll see more behaviours from cories kept in a group of six than just the three. I just wouldn't add more if you decide to move them to the ten gallon, and wouldn't put any in the turtle tank.Similar threads
Most reactions
-
330 -
225 -
183 -
175 -
158 -
154 -
147 -
146 -
146 -
121 -
119 -
110 -
108 -
86 -
80