Help! New Panda Cories Flashing on substrate

[Yohance1130]

3 days ago I purchased 4 new panda Corydoras from my Lfs to add to my aquarium I did not quarantine them since the heater in my quarantine tank stopped working and there was only 1 harlequin rasbora due to some recently dying I will be getting more soon inside of my 20 gallon aquarium and I also did not mind treating the main tank if needed in case of emergency.

All 4 of the Cories when I got them had ragged fins and slight cuts in their fins and also they were flashing on the substrate often. I have completed two 50% water changes one yesterday and the day I got them.

Currently (today) their fins are showing signs of new growth and are healing nicely the Cories are still moving around like normal healthy Corries but with the occasional flash.

(today) the frequency of the flashing has still not decreased and is still the same frequency from the day I got them

Also 1 of the Harlequin Rasboras in the aquarium started flashing as will on the first day I got the Cories but since then has stopped and I have never seen him flash again after I completed the two water changes

What should I do?

The tank is fully cycled and has been cycled for 4 months now

I will provide the test results of my parameters later since I am a little bit busy at the moment.

 

[Byron]

I can all but guarantee the flashing is ich. Ich first attacks fish in the gills where we cannot see "spots" and flashing is the usual symptom. The fish may fight this off on their own, depending upon how strong the infestation is, but given the species I would increase the temperature of the tank water to 30C/86F over the next day, and keep it at that temperature for two weeks. This will not harm the pandas for this short a period, and it will kill ich. The rasboras will be fine with the heat too, as indeed almost all tropical fish.

Do a major water change now (70-75%|) with a good vacuum of the substrate, and use this to partially r5aise the water temperature. It can go up a couple of degrees. Turn the heater up to achieve the remaining higher temperature.

Do not use any so-called ich treatment medication; most do more harm than good, adding more stress which is the cause of ich.

 

[Yohance1130]

I can all but guarantee the flashing is ich. Ich first attacks fish in the gills where we cannot see "spots" and flashing is the usual symptom. The fish may fight this off on their own, depending upon how strong the infestation is, but given the species I would increase the temperature of the tank water to 30C/86F over the next day, and keep it at that temperature for two weeks. This will not harm the pandas for this short a period, and it will kill ich. The rasboras will be fine with the heat too, as indeed almost all tropical fish.

Do a major water change now (70-75%|) with a good vacuum of the substrate, and use this to partially r5aise the water temperature. It can go up a couple of degrees. Turn the heater up to achieve the remaining higher temperature.

Do not use any so-called ich treatment medication; most do more harm than good, adding more stress which is the cause of ich.

During the 2 weeks...

How much and how often should I feed them?

How often should I do water changes during this period and how much % of water should I take out?



Also what should I do if after the 2 weeks they continue to flash on the substrate?


or if they stop flashing after the 2 weeks what should I do?


Thanks, Byron

 

[Byron]

Don't overfeed. I think most aquarists at least initially tend to feed much more than the fish ever need, and more food in means more waste out, making water quality more difficult to keep good. You could even feed alternate days; my fish have two days a week when they are not fed, one of these being the water change day.

Water changes will never hurt fish, provided the parameters (GH, pH and temperature) of the tap water and tank water are basically the same. But when I have dealt with ich, I only do the weekly change, once when I first notice something and raise the temp, then a week later, and then a week after that when the temperature can be returned to normal. Assuming the parameters to be the same, a change of 50-70% is good. Vacuum the substrate well at each W/C.

If flashing continues after two weeks, it is likely no longer ich (though there are sometimes very stubborn cases), and other options may have to be explored. But I would take this to be ich, it is very common--I think every new fish I acquire brings ich in with it, and in 99% of the time the fish deal with it without my intervention, provided they are given a stress-free environment.

 

[Yohance1130]

Thanks, Byron

does the heat essentially speed up the life cycle and also kill the ich at the same time within the 2 weeks?


I'm just trying to understand exactly how this method works and what makes it effective against elliminating ich?

 

[Byron]

Thanks, Byron

does the heat essentially speed up the life cycle and also kill the ich at the same time within the 2 weeks?


I'm just trying to understand exactly how this method works and what makes it effective against elliminating ich?

Yes, the warmer the water the more rapid the parasite reproduces, up to a point anyway; in colder water it is much slower. The life cycle is explained in a post about ich on this forum [https://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-ich.7092/ ]. But a temperature of 30C/86F does kill the parasite.

However, occasionally there is a more "stubborn" case. And sometimes not all of the parasites may be killed for whatever reason; I am in the group of hobbyists who believes that ich is likely present in many of our tanks, but if the fish are not under stress they can easily manage with this. The parasite obviously must be present to bring on the disease, but it is stress alone that causes the outbreak because stress weakens the fish and especially the immune system (just like in humans!) and they then become susceptible.

 

[Yohance1130]

Yes, the warmer the water the more rapid the parasite reproduces, up to a point anyway; in colder water it is much slower. The life cycle is explained in a post about ich on this forum [https://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-ich.7092/ ]. But a temperature of 30C/86F does kill the parasite.

However, occasionally there is a more "stubborn" case. And sometimes not all of the parasites may be killed for whatever reason; I am in the group of hobbyists who believes that ich is likely present in many of our tanks, but if the fish are not under stress they can easily manage with this. The parasite obviously must be present to bring on the disease, but it is stress alone that causes the outbreak because stress weakens the fish and especially the immune system (just like in humans!) and they then become susceptible.

Update:

It has been 5 days now since I last did a water change and Also the tank has been set to 86 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 days as will.


The corries fins have now fully healed and they have been still swimming and socializing with each other.

The flashing has gotten worse, they are now flashing more often then before and Also more aggressively. I also noticed one of the cories having trouble to gulp air from the Surface of the water.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Setting an aquarium heater to 30 doesn’t mean the water will automatically reach this temperature,but if you are reading from a thermometer then it must be 30.
My heater is set at 24,but the tank thermometer is reading 22.Thats the only reason I mention this.
I had to turn my heater up to 32 for the water to reach 30,when there was a bad outbreak of ich in my tank.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Check ammonia and nitrites please !

 

[Yohance1130]

Setting an aquarium heater to 30 doesn’t mean the water will automatically reach this temperature,but if you are reading from a thermometer then it must be 30.
My heater is set at 24,but the tank thermometer is reading 22.Thats the only reason I mention this.
I had to turn my heater up to 32 for the water to reach 30,when there was a bad outbreak of ich in my tank.

There is a thermometer in the tank and it is reading 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[Fishfinder1973]

There is a thermometer in the tank and it is reading 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Well that rules that out.I hope my comment didn’t come across as condescending,as it wasn’t meant to be.
I’m new to fish keeping and it’s just something I noticed with my heater and worth mentioning

 

[Yohance1130]

Check ammonia and nitrites please !

Just tested the aquarium for both

They are both reading 0ppm

 

[Yohance1130]

Well that rules that out.I hope my comment didn’t come across as condescending,as it wasn’t meant to be.
I’m new to fish keeping and it’s just something I noticed with my heater and worth mentioning

Oh no it’s all good it did not come across that way towards me.

sorry if my comment Made it look like it did my apologies

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Oh no it’s all good it did not come across that way towards me.

sorry if my comment Made it look like it did my apologies

 

[Fishfinder1973]

It’s the world we live in