Fish Emergency Redness on temple of corydora

[madhan541]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 20G
How long has the tank been running? 5 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 - 79F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 6 Harlequin Raspbora, 6 Neon tetra ,4 Albino Corydora

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? every 1.5 - 2 weeks
How much of the water do you change? 25 - 30 %
What do you use to treat your water? tap water conditioner API
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vaccum using python

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? Petco and personal strips
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: Safe (seachem ammonia alert)_
Nitrite:0-20
Nitrate: 0-0.5
pH: 6.8

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Daily.
How much do you feed your fish? in the night for the corydoras before lights off
What brand of food do you feed your fish? 3 shrimp pellets
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 4 months
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?Today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? I see redness on the temple of the corydora and seems to not move with laboured breathing
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? no

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
Came to feed my fish tank and saw that one of the corydoras had a reddish temple and didnt move at all. Fish shows signs of breating but stays still.

The walls shows signs of aglae. I just clean the front wall and leave the other walls as is so that the fishes feel abit at home .have been following this since the time i bought the fish.

 

[Rocky998]

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 20G
How long has the tank been running? 5 months
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? 78 - 79F
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 6 Harlequin Raspbora, 6 Neon tetra ,4 Albino Corydora

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? every 1.5 - 2 weeks
How much of the water do you change? 25 - 30 %
What do you use to treat your water? tap water conditioner API
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vaccum using python

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes
What do you use to test the water? Petco and personal strips
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: Safe (seachem ammonia alert)_
Nitrite:0-20
Nitrate: 0-0.5
pH: 6.8

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? Daily.
How much do you feed your fish? in the night for the corydoras before lights off
What brand of food do you feed your fish? 3 shrimp pellets
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 4 months
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms?Today
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? I see redness on the temple of the corydora and seems to not move with laboured breathing
Have you started any treatment for the illness? No
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? no

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
Came to feed my fish tank and saw that one of the corydoras had a reddish temple and didnt move at all. Fish shows signs of breating but stays still.

The walls shows signs of aglae. I just clean the front wall and leave the other walls as is so that the fishes feel abit at home .have been following this since the time i bought the fish.

Hi and welcome to TFF! You did a good write up but I do see some issues with the tests you use... The strip test kits are not as accurate as the liquid test kits made by API. Definitely test with that and then tell us the results. This could be a very bad head injury from trying to go under a rock or maybe some jagged wood.

 

[madhan541]

Hi and welcome to TFF! You did a good write up but I do see some issues with the tests you use... The strip test kits are not as accurate as the liquid test kits made by API. Definitely test with that and then tell us the results. This could be a very bad head injury from trying to go under a rock or maybe some jagged wood.

Hi,
I just had a visit to petsmart and got it tested twice there to be sure. The water seems good (Nitrites were close to 20 but i don't think alarming.) the local petsmart person(she's very knowledgeable , got all my fishes from her) said that it might be a scratch or the case of a low ph burn(i've historically had 6.5-6.8) . She recommended proper Ph 7.0 to get the ph stabilized a bit and observation for the next few days. hope that's the best course of action.

 

[Rocky998]

Hi,
I just had a visit to petsmart and got it tested twice there to be sure. The water seems good (Nitrites were close to 20 but i don't think alarming.) the local petsmart person(she's very knowledgeable , got all my fishes from her) said that it might be a scratch or the case of a low ph burn(i've historically had 6.5-6.8) . She recommended proper Ph 7.0 to get the ph stabilized a bit and observation for the next few days. hope that's the best course of action.

You mean NitrAtes not NitrItes... Nitrites are highly toxic... A PH of 6.5 would not give them a "burn" as she said... Do not use that proper PH as it may put the fish into a PH shock. They would be just fine and I guarantee you that the petsmart near you doesnt use it in their tanks... Not that they take proper care of their tanks anyway... Big chain pet stores and sometimes local pet/fish stores know absolutely nothing about fish keeping... That is why there are places like these.

 

[madhan541]

You mean NitrAtes not NitrItes... Nitrites are highly toxic... A PH of 6.5 would not give them a "burn" as she said... Do not use that proper PH as it may put the fish into a PH shock. They would be just fine and I guarantee you that the petsmart near you doesnt use it in their tanks... Not that they take proper care of their tanks anyway... Big chain pet stores and sometimes local pet/fish stores know absolutely nothing about fish keeping... That is why there are places like these.

Yes. Nitrates. Nitrites were 0 in all 3 test cases. So you recommend to wait an see? Not sure what I can do to save the fish

 

[Byron]

I never guess on fish disease, so I will alert a couple of our members who are highly knowledgeable in this field, @Colin_T @DoubleDutch , either or both will likely have advice. I suspect this is internal as the second photo shows the eyes are being forced out, but wait for Colin and DoubleDutch before you start any "treatment," though a good-size water change could benefit provided the parameters (being GH, pH and temperature) of tank water and tap water are the same or nearly so.

A comment on the lady at the store...be cautious accepting anything she or other staff advise. Unfortunately, staff in these stores are not trained in fish, and while some may take the time to gain experience, many do not. There is no way a pH in the 6's could "burn" a cory, they live in such water (and some of them lower that this). Her second piece of advice, to use a chemical substance to keep a neutral pH, but just as bad and inaccurate. The pH is connected to other factors, primarily GH, KH, CO2, etc. Never but never attempt adjusting the pH on its own, it has to be done in relation to the GH and KH. Aside from the water chemistry problems this can cause (which ultimately harms the fish), the use of such chemicals is stressful on fish regardless of what if anything they achieve. Substances in the water get inside the fish and can cause real problems physiologically.

Welcome to TFF.

 

[Rocky998]

Definitely agree with above... I didnt see the eyes in the picture so I will have to take a second look... I did forget to tag Colin so whoops