Dead Cory

[rdd1952]

I lost a cory today and he has a red sore on his side. This is the second one I have lost to the same type disease. The other was around the end of January and I thought I had somehow injured him doing a water change since the sore was on his back and his dorsal fin was gone. I though I hit him with the vacuum. The one last night has the same type injury except on his side and I know for sure that I didn't do this.

Below is a photo but unfortunately, it isn't real clear. Basically, it looks like an open sore but isn't bleeding. Is it some type external bacterial infection?

When I saw him semi floating this morning and took him out, I saw the sore. I put him in a 5 gallon bucket (about half full) with plenty of aeration and a heater. I also added a dose of Melafix since that was all I had. He was still alive and laying on the bottom when I got home and even as late as about 8:00. Unfortunately, I looked in about 9:00 and he was on his side dead.

A couple questions:
1) Can anyone tell me what this is? I feel certain that his tank mates didn't do it - tetras, amano shimp and ghost shrimp.
2) Should I now treat that entire tank with an antibiotic and if so, which one and how long?

As for water parameters, they are where they should be: ammonia, nitrite and phosphates = 0, nitrate about 10, pH about 6.8. This is also the tank that I am fighting some kind of brown algae problem but I don't think it is the diatoms since leaving the lights on longer made it worse. Thanks in advance for your help.

Edit: I found a website that has photos that look very much like what this fish had. The site (www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#External) shows it under the Esternal Bacterial Infections and the 2nd, 4th and 5th pics from the left seem to be the most like what the corys had. That is a little scary since those all reference fish tuberculosis which accirding to recearch can be contracted by sticking our hands in the water.

 

[WILDER]

I bought 3 panda cory and the next day one died with a red sore it's a bacteria infection, you will need to medicate with anti internal bacteria med.

 

[rdd1952]

I bought 3 panda cory and the next day one died with a red sore it's a bacteria infection, you will need to medicate with anti internal bacteria med.

I bought Maracyn 2 today and plan to start treating the tank tonight. I don't think any other fish are showing any signs of the same thing but I want to be safe and try to kill anything before it gets going good. I think Maracyn 2 is good for both internal and external bacteria.

 

[WILDER]

Yes that's fine it's a good med should do the job, good luck.

 

[WILDER]

If other fish haven't got the sores, maybe just add some melafix.

 

[WILDER]

Epistylis (Red sore disease)



A. Branched stalked ciliated protozoan (Heteropolaria sp.).



B. Found primarily in wild populations of scaled fish.



C. Clinically, one observes ulcers or cotton-like growth on the skin, scales and spine resulting in a red lesion. In catfish the lesion involves the spines and bones which underlie the skin of the head and pectoral girdle. This protozoan parasite has also been observed on eggs.



D. This ciliated protozoan is primarily a free living protozoan that lives on aquatic plants and is believed to be an opportunist. Outbreaks have occurred in catfish and salmon that have been maintained in water high in organic content.

 

[rdd1952]

I'll probalby use the M2. The corys stay hid so much, it's hard to get a good look at them. I don't think wither is supposed to have any effect on the bacteria colony like some meds do. I guess the only lose in bacteria is what is present on the carbon I will have to remove from the filter.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Glad you used my site i find it very useful too; anyways, it does look alot like fish TB. As far as i know you will be totally safe as long as you don't have any cuts on your hands or any other part of you that may come in contact with the water /fish.

I would also advise using the Maracyn and keep up with regular water changes; fish Tb can be very hard to treat and i have heard some people resorting to just putting down any affected fish to stop it spreading although hopefully if you've caught it early on enough yopu will not have to resort to this.

 

[rdd1952]

I hope that's not what it is. As I said, this is the second cory I have lost that looked like that. The first one was on top of his back and his dorsal fin was missing so I thought I had somehow hit him with the vacuum. It's really odd that I had not noticed any visible sign of disease or fungus on either fish. I just happened to look in and see the sore. Both were dead within 12 hours of when I noticed them.
I added the Maracyn 2 when I got home but will only be able to treat for 4 days instead of 5 as it suggests. We are going out of town on Friday so I will miss the 5th day of treatment unless I can get someone to come over and drop them in. I don't know that the 5th day will matter that much since I'm actually just trying to get rid of what might be there rather than actually treating a sick fish.

 

[frankycee]

Funny (well, not really...), but same thing happened to 2 of my 3 panda corys. They were small, and i lost one to red sores monday, and today one died from what seemed to be fin rot or some type of fungus.

The other panda, bigger than the 2 that died, still looks healthy.

I put in some melafix to hopefully stop fungus propagation.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi rdd1952

I'm sorry to learn that you are having problems with your tank and losing corys.

Please don't panic and start looking for strange diseases in your tank. It died from an ordinary bacterial infection. These bacteria were in your tank all along but won't make the fish sick until they have been weakened from poor water conditions or some other stress.

I would suggest doing some big water changes and giving all your fish a good looking over. If none of the others show symptoms, don't treat them with anything stronger than MelaFix.

Since there are many kinds of potentially harmful bacteria and there is no way to tell which one made your cory sick, I would suggest treating with both Maracyn and Maracyn 2. If you begin treatment, it is important to continue for the full period that the directions recommend, or even longer. If you don't, you risk leaving some of the bacteria alive and there is a good possibility they will mutate into strains that are resistant to the medicine. This is not good because then it will be ineffective in the future, if you should need to use it.

The most important thing right now is to correct the condition that led to his becoming ill in the first place.