Corydora Elgans going crazy!

[Nao_D]

Hello, I've had my fish for about 3 weeks now. Did everything the store and youtube told me to. 3 Corydoras Elegant (Elgans) catfish and 1 platinum angel in a 37 gallon high. Store says water quality is good, temp is 79/80F ish. Everyone is fine except this one Corydoras. He's been going crazy since yesterday. Flying around the tank smacking into the glass scaring the other fish. My other corydora's are now hiding in a decoration because he's flipping out like a crazy person and he appears to be "breathing" fast way faster than the other Corydoras's move their mouths. It does not look like he's attacked anyone but my angel fish is certainly getting tired of it. On a side note I often see the catfish "attack" the top of the water flying up from the bottom of the tank is that a natural behavior? There's 2 big corners with fake/real plants to hide in and 2 decorations with hiding space so I don't think this is just stress as its just him/her.
(Cycled using Seachem stability, prime used for water safety, 2 water changes a week round 50-60% weekly total)

 

[DoubleDutch]

Doesn't look ill. Could be pre-spwaning behaviour though it doesn't look full of eggs. Could you place a pic of the other ones ?

 

[Nao_D]

Doesn't look ill. Could be pre-spwaning behaviour though it doesn't look full of eggs. Could you place a pic of the other ones ?

Here are the two with normal behaviors. Other one is still going crazy, he just now knocked himself out cold it seems, had to wake him back up as he smacked into glass and decided to get attached to the very low suction filter... He's still alive. Been up most of the night just watching them. Not sure what to do? Angle fish is unphased at this point, but the other corydora's seem quite stressed out by this behavior. I put a 10% dose of prime in the tank a few hours back to see if there might be an issue there, but it's done nothing for him, besides last water change was round 50 hours ago?

 

[DoubleDutch]

Mmmm it loiks likes in distress. Going up to the surface is natural but mostly in case of stress / excitement.
Was the tank properly cycled ? Why Prime ?

 

[Nao_D]

Yes the tank was cycled, with plants in, used media and stability LFS said my waters good quality. Also, prime "Detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate" which would hopefully reduce his stress a bit. It's safe for up to 5x dose anyways so anything at this point to stop him from bashing into the walls would help.

 

[DoubleDutch]

I'd shut the light down for some time.
The fish doesn't look sick.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

For what it is worth, I would never ever believe what the LFS says about water chemistry.

Unfortunately very few LFS workers actually know how to test water, they usually use strips and not liquid tests (which tends to be less accurate) and often the worker in the LFS is not too good at interpreting those results correctly

You should get your own liquid test kit...for your own peace of mind and for the health of the fish.

Another potential issue is the white substrate. I note that the other Cories are in the shadows....fish generally don't like bright substrate under equally bright light. It can induce stress levels...similar to a human in bright light getting a migraine when they cannot escape that brightness. If you can introduce caves and other hiding areas away from the glare, that will help.

Cories are group fish and 3 is really not enough of them to feel safe and secure within the aquarium. If you can increase by 3, then that would calm things down by making them feel safer and more secure.

Lighting should not be on for more than 8 hours a day, ideally slightly dimmed or have some floating plants to throw shade - again this increases the feeling of security for the Cories.

 

[Essjay]

Are the cories all the same species? The photos show mainly spotted cories but the last photo looks more like a bronze cory rather than a spotted one. Not only do they need a group of at least 6 (more is better) but it is better to keep a group of all the same species.


Ignore this if they are all the same and it's just the photo..........

 

[DoubleDutch]

Are the cories all the same species? The photos show mainly spotted cories but the last photo looks more like a bronze cory rather than a spotted one. Not only do they need a group of at least 6 (more is better) but it is better to keep a group of all the same species.


Ignore this if they are all the same and it's just the photo..........

That looked more as a C.napoensis (often sold as elegans) but think these are all C.elegams indeed.

 

[GaryE]

Looks like elegans to me.
The surface charges are to breathe. Corys take oxygen from the atmosphere.

The youtube sites you picked were not the best, as a group of 3 elegans is not something a serious site would suggest. They are social fish and like larger groups. 6 plus at least.
But that wouldn't cause the behaviour. Watch and see. Some Corys are very hyper. It also could be disease, injury, or raw fear. Nothing shows in the photos.
I consider the white gravel idea to be a myth, largely debunked by video of Corys in nature, where the sand is often white, but often has dark pebbles scattered on it. I expect the Cory camouflage is to resemble a pebble. Bare and harsh white would probably not be good, as streams are shaded. They fear birds, even if few of us have fishing birds in the house.

Se how the fish settles, or survives, over the next week, and keep us posted, please. We'd like to help, but there isn't a lot to go on.

 

[Nao_D]

Looks like elegans to me.
The surface charges are to breathe. Corys take oxygen from the atmosphere.

The youtube sites you picked were not the best, as a group of 3 elegans is not something a serious site would suggest. They are social fish and like larger groups. 6 plus at least.
But that wouldn't cause the behaviour. Watch and see. Some Corys are very hyper. It also could be disease, injury, or raw fear. Nothing shows in the photos.
I consider the white gravel idea to be a myth, largely debunked by video of Corys in nature, where the sand is often white, but often has dark pebbles scattered on it. I expect the Cory camouflage is to resemble a pebble. Bare and harsh white would probably not be good, as streams are shaded. They fear birds, even if few of us have fishing birds in the house.

Se how the fish settles, or survives, over the next week, and keep us posted, please. We'd like to help, but there isn't a lot to go on.

Thanks for all the replies, folks. He is dead unfortunately, alive this morning and by the evening when I came home he was gone. Everyone else is still healthy and behaving normally so I'm really not sure what went on here. I looked him over and there didn't appear to be anything wrong physically he looks the same as when I got him. I'll take your guy's advice and try and reduce stress in the tank and get the group up to 6. It was the employee not the owner that recommended 3 in the 37 gallons unfortunately, but they've been doing API master test kit water tests so there's not much else I could investigate.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Thanks for all the replies, folks. He is dead unfortunately, alive this morning and by the evening when I came home he was gone. Everyone else is still healthy and behaving normally so I'm really not sure what went on here. I looked him over and there didn't appear to be anything wrong physically he looks the same as when I got him. I'll take your guy's advice and try and reduce stress in the tank and get the group up to 6. It was the employee not the owner that recommended 3 in the 37 gallons unfortunately, but they've been doing API master test kit water tests so there's not much else I could investigate.

Awwww no. So sorry to hear that.
Maybe its a good idea to deworm the others

 

[Deleted member 149562]

When the LFS does the water test again...until you get your own testing kit...make sure you get them to write down the results in numbers, cos saying it is "normal" means absolutely nothing, especially when coming from a shop employee who's task is to earn commission from selling unnecessary stuff to fishkeepers like yourself.

Get the numbers and post them in full here, there are so many variables in water chemistry and any number of them can cause issues with fish...from the wrong hardness level, wrong pH, ammonia...everything makes a difference no matter how much it might seem to be minor....it quite literally can kill fish if anything is wrong. LFS often say that fish will tolerate or adapt to the water they are in...that is not entirely true. A fish should thrive...not tolerate or adapt. Forcing fish to live in unsuitable water chemistry can and does shorten their life and make them more prone to illness and disease.

 

[GaryE]

It sounds like it was neurological. An injury perhaps.

The armour on a Cory hides most poblems that would be easier to guess at in other fish.