Happiness Has Turned To Sadness...

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, my not quite cycled tank had its first casualty tonight.

I have been closely monitoring my ammonia levels since the fish have been added. I added the mature media and things seemed to be going perfectly. Ammonia and nitrite had been zero non-stop. On Monday night, I saw the ammonia start to climb a bit to 0.25ppm. I did a 50% water change, but my tap water also has ammonia. I had hoped that a good cleanup of the tank (had some dead plant material around the tank) would help things. It did. I got a zero ammonia reading this morning and now the ammonia has risen back up to a little over 0, but not as high as 0.25ppm. The nitrite remains at 0, and the pH is at 6.4-6.6. I think the bigger issue is that my pH seems to be flucuating a bit on me. In the morning it seems a bit high, then by evening it goes back down. I think I might need to increase the kH of my water (slowly of course) to keep the pH from yo-yoing.


I'm not surprised by this death to be honest. Since I added the 4 new corys, one of them (this one) has seemed a bit "off" compared to the rest of them. It never really joined the group and has always been by itself. The others would hide in the cave during the day and work the back area of my tank periodically. They also would go around as a group for the most part. Sometimes as two and three, and other times as a big group of 5. I noticed this morning that this one had lost a bit of coloring. At first I figured it was because of the slight increase in ammonia. But at the same time, the others all still had great coloring - there was no change in them. So, I ultimately think he (I think it was a male - smaller size and narrower than the others) was just a bit weakened when I got him. I had heard that pandas could be a bit sensitive, so I am not shocked to lose one, but that doesn't make it any easier. I could have not added more to the group and let the two I had be as they were, but I think that they really prefer the larger group. Heck, I found cory eggs in my anacharis plant this morning! So, they do seem to be happy for the most part. I don't think that fish that are suffering from ammonia poisoning would spawn. Perhaps I just triggered egg laying, since the water change might have been a little cooler than the tank water when I added it.

 

[Tizer]

Pandas are probably the weakest, most shy of the all the cory species, while all others cope well in groups of 6 i've always felt Pandas should be kept in no less than a dozen. Sorry for your loss, but its good to understand that breeding does not always equal good water parameters or happy fish, its just nature working to survive.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

This morning my readings are:

NH3: 0ppm
NO2: 0ppm
pH: 6.6

It would seem that my water still holding steady nicely. Strangely though, I have "lost" one of my rasboras this morning. I have no idea where it could be. I haven't found a body or anything. The water is better now than when I went to bed.


The pandas seem far more active today than they have been previously at this point in the day. (Also, this is the first I've heard about pandas requiring more than 6. I know that cories in general prefer to be larger groups, but I hadn't heard that pandas specifically need larger groups than other cories. I will probably add to their number eventually, but with this mini-spike, i think that I will wait. I wish I had known this previously, but nothing would have changed besides my understanding. I rescued the first two pandas, and have added to their number in an effort to make them "happier".

 

[Tizer]

Its just my general take on the pandas and a few fellow fish keepers do agree, while others say 6 is enough. I would also say the same for pygmys, they are so small and fragile anything less than a dozen, in my eyes is too few. So if you have a big tank, more is better .

I find the trouble with Corys is that they are addictive little fish to own, i absolutely love them and i've got a bit of a selection going on in my tank, but if i started over, i think i would just pick one species and get a couple of dozen of them rather than a mixed bunch.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I agree with all the statements above. I planned to up the panda number to 10-12 eventually. I just wish they weren't so darned expensive. I like the pandas, but at $7 a piece... they are expensive. Hopefully, the last 5 all make it for a few months and I can bump the number up in the fall.


I don't plan to have two species of corys. I plan to stick to the pandas for a lifespan. Maybe when they start to drop off due to age in about 5-7 years, I'll look into a new species. Or maybe I'll like the pandas so much I'll just keep them.


I feel bad having lost a cory and now having actually "lost" another fish. But, I don't think it is due to the water parameters. Both of the fish lost are from the newest additions to the tank. I wonder if they are just weaker specimens. Although, the rasbora showed no signs that I noticed of being weak. The cory, unfortunately, did from the first time I got him into the tank. He never shoaled with the others, etc. Hopefully the rest continue to "thrive".

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Just an update for today:

pH: 6.8
NH3: 0ppm
NO2: 0ppm





I'm not sure what is going on here. Like I said, the one panda seemed a lot different from the others. It never colored up the same as the others. The others have a tannish look to their body and have always been sticking together. Meanwhile, the one that died was always a loner and paler than the others. So, I am chalking up to just a weak fish (I think). On the other hand, I didn't notice anything strange about any of the rasboras. Now one has disappeared. I can't figure it out. The rasbora that is missing is also one of the new ones. So, I've lost two of the fish I just got from the not-so local FS in about 5 days. I bought 10 fish, and have seem to have lost 20%. That's not very good. The good news is that there is now a little less bioload on the filter and the ammonia now has dropped back to zero. (I believe I was overfeeding a bit before, and I have corrected that. Yesterday I fasted the tank, and today I gave them all just a little bit. Tomorrow, a tinier bit of flake for the rasboras, and then the sinking pellets for the cories. As a side note, I don't think that I've seen the rescued zebras eat once in the 8 days they have been in my tank. )

 

[Inchworm]

These days the C. pandas you find in the lfs are usually tank raised and as hardy as any of the other corys. Some years ago, when I started keeping/breeding them, they were wild caught and had difficulty getting used to home aquaria. There is no special need to keep them in any larger numbers than other corys but, as with all corys, "the more the merrier."

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Any thoughts on what might have happened based on what I have posted?


Am I correct in believing that the one I lost might have just been a weaker specimen?

 

[Inchworm]

Am I correct in believing that the one I lost might have just been a weaker specimen?

I would think so. I've often told members to take their time picking out their corys so they get the best possible fish. Don't let a sales person hurry you or make the final selection for you. If you ask them to put them in a specimen container after netting them, you can get a good look and even try to pick fish of the combination of genders you want.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The girl at the LFS allowed me to look at them before she bagged them... to be honest I wasn't sure what to look for. This one was slightly smaller than the others, so I figured it was a male, which was something I was looking for. So, I was happy to get "him". Maybe "he" was just smaller/weaker. I couldn't tell.


I'm not able to tell the difference in the genders easily with my fish. First, I can never see them from above. Second, they are still spending the majority of their time in the back of the tank, where the view is fairly broken, and don't get a clear shot at them. I'm slightly regretting the way I set up the tank now, but truthfully, I think that it is fun for the fish to play in and around all the different components.

Honestly, I think the remaining five are all female, as they all seem identical. Parenthetically, do females lay eggs, even if there are no males around, if a water change is carried out with cooler water? Or must there be males present for the eggs to be laid?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi eaglesaquarium

Yes, the females could lay eggs that would be, of course, infertile. Did I post a picture of a male and female panda on your thread? When mature there is enough difference that you could see if fairly easily. If they are still young, it will be harder to tell.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yeah, I've seen a picture like that, but the truth is that my fish don't line up like that! I think they are all female, if I had to say. Two of them are over a year and a half old, maybe even two years old. The others seem to match them pretty well. So, they are probably all female. I might get some males eventually.

 

[Harlequins]

I dont know what to suggest really,the cory & harlequin might have been weaker fish,and with the 0.25ppm ammonia you had reading,if they were fragile to start with then this would basically have finished them off.

Has inchworm said Pandas are more hardier than people say,i had 6 pandas initially 12 months ago then recently added 3 more,they all appear fine and doing well

Have you had a good hunt around for the missing harlequin,if it has died and if the others haven't eaten it,then it may have become trapped under somewhere and may polute the water when it starts breaking down...

Whats your ph straight out of the tap?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Straight from the tap, pH is 7.0



I haven't had a good poke about for the harlequin yet. I wanted to let them relax a bit, they've had a bit of stress recently with the water changes and my continual poking about trying to find all the plant die-off. (My anacharis has been melting for a while now.) I have a bit more build-up again, so I might need to do a bit of a water change just to pull out the dead leaves soon. I will have a look about then.)



My pH has been fluctuating a bit recently. It shot up to 7.4 at one time, for no apparent reason. Then it shot back down to 6.6 again. It's been pretty steady at 6.6 (+/- 0.2) since then. I am considering some crushed coral in an effort to slowly raise the kH to buffer the pH a bit more. I don't want to harden the water too much though, as all my current fish prefer softer water.

 

[Harlequins]

I'm forever poking around around usually hunting down my panda babes they see me coming and think 'oh no her she comes again' Especially on w/c days i tend to lift the bogwoods up to clean under,they tend to stay at one end,wait for me to clean it,then move across,except for the cheeky tri's always investigating the syphon hose

Has i said before my anacharis done my head in,ended up pulling it all out!!,i'm happy with the crypts,java fern & anubias.at least they're not floating around or rotting...

With your ph being 7 out of the tap,then i would think either the stones/bogwood may be lowering your ph,has everytime you do a w/c you will have ph fluctuations,which isn't good for the fish.

Maybe test your rocks,by soaking them in water,then testing the ph?
Trouble is,once you start using crushed corals etc,you will need to keep on top of it to stop it fluctuating too much.