I Was Told Corys Cant Get Ich?

[MrsM]

i recently added a peppered cory to my tank(on tuesday)...last night i caught him rubbing himself on the gravel and the deco...he was swimming toward the gravel then bashed himself off of it, he did this a few times...

tank is fully cycled, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 30..

other tank mates 1 x julli cory

tank size 75ltr

i was told corys cant get ich, so if he doesnt have ich,,,why is he doing that..not seen him do it since but ive only just put the tank lights on, so he may do it again....

 

[LucyB]

They can get ich!

 

[snazy]

No they don't get ich but they can get similar diseases like Tetrahymena parasite(also common for guppies and is actually called guppy disease) which resembles ich(small white spots too can appear on affected fish fins) but kills much faster. It's quite possible some people unknowingly taking tetrahymena for ich but spots are smaller and not all fish will develop symptoms before they die.
Flashing and scratching against decorations could be either water quality issue/or irritant in the water or also different parasitic infections of some kind like flukes, velvet, etc...
Do a nice water change just in case it's something in the water.

 

[MrsM]

did a 40% WC yesterday....should i do another, he hasnt done it at all(that ive noticed) today

 

[snazy]

How often is it? If it's just a couple of times, it does happen without them being sick or anything. Could be something stuck to them, like a poop or hair they want rid of.
If he hasn't done it at all today, then I wouldn't worry. Just observe, if it's something, they'll scrach themselves all the time, not a couple of times.

 

[LucyB]

Well I thought they could get ich!? Apparently i'm wrong then hhaha

 

[MrsM]

ok thanks, ive watched him and he isnt doing it now, he went a bit mental last night doing it, it happened about 5-6 times and now.....nothing....silly fish

 

[snazy]

It does happen for them to scratch themselves, doing it several times in a row, or a few times within an hour but as long as that stops it's completely normal. I've seen mine doing it and I've yet to treat them for anything for over a year(hopefully it stays this way )

 

[MrsM]

He still hasnt done it again, so he got another buddy! Shoal is now 1 julli(or looks similar) and 2 peppered cory

 

[snazy]

He still hasnt done it again, so he got another buddy! Shoal is now 1 julli(or looks similar) and 2 peppered cory

Great news

 

[MrsM]

heres the happy trio

 

[snazy]

They look happy alright
On a side note sharp gravel can damage their barbels over time and they should be generally kept on sand or very smooth round gravel. If kept on sand, they filter the sand for food by taking it through their mouth and expelling through the gills and bury half their head inside the sand while doing so, very cute.
Now if you find a friend or two for the first cory you got, it would be even better. It's probably not Juli, but Corydoras trilineatus. Julii is very rare to find in a shop and a lot label them as Juli when they are trilineatus. Yours looks like trilineatus to me(julii have spots on the head, not joined lines)

Edit: I've kept my corys on gravel without problems but that was only for 3-4 months(I can't remember)Others say their barbels will wear off or even get damaged and infected on sharper gravel although that can be contributed to dirty tank where the gravel is never vacuumed too. I can't tell about that but if it does happen, they can't breed/spawn as they need the barbels and they'll have difficulty eating.

 

[MrsM]

ahhh so i may need new substrate then ill look into that as some of the gravel bit look sharp in my tank ill deffo be getting the "julli" corys shoal up to 3 and hoping to get another pepper too, so 6 corys altogether

thanks!

 

[snazy]

Here is a link with the difference between julii and tri-lined corys(trilineatus) explained:

http/www.scotcat.com/factsheets/c_trilineatus.htm

 

[MrsM]

yeah he is probably that trilineatus species... ill get him a buddy asap.....hopefully the same species.