Corydoras eye cloudy!

[Kyshiara]

Hello! I looked in my tank and saw that my male corydoras eye was cloudy. What should I do?
I can try and get better pics, they are camera shy!

60l tank, 2years, 7 danios, 1 guppy, 2 panda cories, 1 sparkling gourami, 1 croaking gourami, 1 bristlenose pleco.

0 amm.
0 nitrite
25mg nitrate
20 ° GH
6.8 pH
6 KH

 

[Byron]

I will not guess as to the specific issue, but there are a few things of concern here that will weaken the fish, making it more susceptible to other issues.

First is the gravel. Cories must have sand. The problems with gravel are significant. They cannot filter feed as they expect, the large gravel grains cause more bacterial problems which are critical because cories spend so much time on the substrate, and the gravel is rougher than sand. There is a good chance the issue here is bacterial, but there are other possibles that other members with more experience of these can assist.

Cories must be in groups. This is something they expect, and will suffer stress without several of them. Stress is responsible for 90% of all aquarium fish disease, so this is important. However, before acquiring more cories, the gravel problem must be fixed.

Nitrate is high. Anything over 20 is not recommended, and as low (close to zero) should be the aim. Assuming there is no nitrate in your water, this should be easy to achieve with regular substantial water changes, not overfeeding, cleaning the filter and substrate at water changes. If nitrates are present in the tap water, that is another issue.

 

[Kyshiara]

Hello!

The gravel has been like that for the entire time, and I have had them for 2 years like that as well, and never experienced problems.
On the gravel packet it says it is suitable for them as well.
I will take that on board though.

There were four if them, unfortunately two died in a short space of time, so there are only two left.

Whenever I get more fish, some of mine die, so I wasn't thinking of getting anymore for a bit.

 

[Byron]

I will respond to each point, as it is important and crucial for the fish's well-being.

The gravel has been like that for the entire time, and I have had them for 2 years like that as well, and never experienced problems.

You may not have seen problems, but I can guarantee the problems were/are there. This is something we all learned as we continued in the hobby. Fish swimming, eating and even spawning is no guarantee that they are healthy or doing well. We cannot talk to them to find out, but we can research what a species requires naturally and by providing that we can be as assured as we can be that they are indeed OK.

On the gravel packet it says it is suitable for them as well.

Manufacturers can make any claim they like, good or bad, correct or not. This is completely misleading and false. There is absolutely no habitat of any cory species in South America that does not have sand, or a mix of dirt/mulm and leaf litter. This is a fact. Cories eat by taking a mouthful of the substrate, filtering out any food bits, and expelling the substrate out via the gills. This is only possible with sand or dirt, not with gravel. The fish are programmed to eat by this method, and we must ensure they can if we want healthy cories.

There were four if them, unfortunately two died in a short space of time, so there are only two left.

Fish do die, and it is not at all easy for most of us to diagnose many of the reasons. But there is no doubt at all that what I mentioned previously does affect the fish unseen until it is too late.

 

[Kyshiara]

Thank you for raising these points. I am thinking of getting another tank, and if I do, I will put sand down and move them in there. Thank you for your information!

Do you know if this is a disease?

 

[Byron]

Thank you for raising these points. I am thinking of getting another tank, and if I do, I will put sand down and move them in there. Thank you for your information!

Do you know if this is a disease?

Assuming "disease" means bacterial, internal protozoan, and such, yes it can be, or it can be a reaction to something in the water. Could also be due to scraping it on something--and here again I am afraid the gravel is relevant. I am not implying any of these is the case, but resolving the issues mentioned previously will certainly go a long way in avoiding problems like this.

 

[Kyshiara]

Right, I need help identifying the problem now. He still has a cloudy eye, and he is very thin. What should I do? And what is affecting him?

 

[Byron]

@GaryE @DoubleDutch @TwoTankAmin

 

[DoubleDutch]

@GaryE @DoubleDutch @TwoTankAmin

Think you said it all Byron

 

[Kyshiara]

Except the gravel, what can I do? And what actually is it?

 

[outofwater]

Barring recommendations by the more experienced voices I'd take him out to a plain (quarantine) tank and keep him there for a few days. Observe his eating and check for progress, there's nothing that clearly points to anything in particular at this point so I'd strongly recommend against any medication (real or otherwise) and simply "treat" this by keeping water super clean and keeping him separated to ensure you can focus just on him.

The nitrate reading in your main tank IS high, it and all inhabitants would benefit from a large water change to bring that to acceptable range.

 

[Kyshiara]

Ok, thank you for the advice, I have moved him in to a quarantine tank. I have done two water changes recently, so the nitrate will probably be down. What else should I do?

 

[Kyshiara]

I put some garlic brine shrimp in front of him, fingers crossed he will eat it!
Should I treat him at all? I gave him a 15 min low concentration salt bath just before he went into quarantine. Should I do more of them?
He is also breathing quite fast.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I put some garlic brine shrimp in front of him, fingers crossed he will eat it!
Should I treat him at all? I gave him a 15 min low concentration salt bath just before he went into quarantine. Should I do more of them?

Treat him with clean water. Large daily water changes, monitor him closely, check whether he's actually eating or not.

Many cories react badly to salt. Resist the urge to throw medications at fish when you don't know the actual problem. You're far more likely to harm than help when you do that. Clean fresh water actually is the best medicine. Make sure there's plant/decor in the hospital tank so he doesn't feel too exposed and can hide.

ETA: Try to get some clear photos of him if you can without stressing him out more. The photo in the OP is blurry all over, impossible to see what might be afflicting him.

 

[Kyshiara]

Thank you for all the information!

I will not give him any more salt, thank you!


I will get some photos in a minute!

I added a bit on the the message you quoted, he is breathing quite fast, is that to do with water quality?

Edit: What temp. should it be?