I Was Told Corys Cant Get Ich?

[MrsM]

my little happy trio seem to be bashing them selves off the gravel and deco...saw them all doing it today..... i was going to get them another buddy but i think ill just wait for now....

i checked water params ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 30(ish)
also used one of those crappy dip sticks to have a vague idea of ph, gh and kh...all still ok..
theyre all feeding well...

ive had a look at the fish...they dont seem to have any spots on them,the 2 peppered look ok, but the bigger(fake julli) seems to have his dorsal fin down a bit (now and again)
he also darts around the tank if anyone goes near(more than usual),
could be a coincidence but was it to do with the hefty gravel churn and WC i did? or what could it be, it seems they have all flashed now, its not all the time but if i stop to look in the tank, one of them will flash against something. could it be a parasite or stress from the waterchange?, it was big WC...

 

[MrsM]

found this....this is what ive seen mine do...
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=poCHKv7-hnM&feature=relmfu

 

[snazy]

Scratching or flashing on objects could be anything, from ammonia and nitrIte, to irritant in the water, to certain type of dechlorinators(mine did that with api stress coat), to parasites of some sort.
Are you using liquid tests for ammonia and nitrIte, because the sticks are not accurate and washing off the filter sponges too much too early after cycling can give slight ammonia/nitrIte rise. It may not be as much as 0.25ppm but enough to annoy them. The too big water change is also a possibility. As for parasites, it's possible too but it's hard to say what type as any of them would cause flashing.

 

[MrsM]

Scratching or flashing on objects could be anything, from ammonia and nitrIte, to irritant in the water, to certain type of dechlorinators(mine did that with api stress coat), to parasites of some sort.
Are you using liquid tests for ammonia and nitrIte, because the sticks are not accurate and washing off the filter sponges too much too early after cycling can give slight ammonia/nitrIte rise. It may not be as much as 0.25ppm but enough to annoy them. The too big water change is also a possibility. As for parasites, it's possible too but it's hard to say what type as any of them would cause flashing.

i use liquid for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings, i had the dip stick things from a while ago and thought id check ph etc using one of them too..
i do use api stress coat...could it be that, what other dechlorinator do you reccomend?
they are not showing any other signs of illness apart from the random flashing, are there any parasite meds that will be ok to use "just in case" or is it a big no no to treat a "possibly" ill tank?

oh and i had not cleaned my filter internally as of yet..(tank cycled for about a month)ive only wiped off excess gunk from the outside

 

[snazy]

Mine were doing that exactly from stress coat dechlorinator and I mentioned it several times on the forum, especially if I put a bit too much of it. I switched to a dechlorinator without any additives against "stress" as it was stressing the corys Only they did it from all fish in the tank. Api tap safe, the normal one, is what I use now, but my tap water is treated only with chlorine. If you can get Prime, it's what everyone recommends around here. I ordered a bottle for myself to try it out.
If it's parasites or illness, they won't just stop for a few days then start flashing after a big water change one day. Also, they should calm down by tomorrow if it's not ilness but just an irritant and maybe stick to 50% water change max at a time. Try changing the dechlorinator.

Corys are very sensitive to medication so "just in case" is not the best idea. There's stuff out there that they can tolerate but I can't recommend anything as it's a pure guess to treat based on the lack of symptoms now.

 

[MrsM]

ok ill see how they get on tomorrow, ive been sat watchig then off and on for an hour, and no sign of flashing... think it may have been the stress coat then....theyve done it after a waterchange twice now that i think about it......i didnt think it would have been the dechlorinator, ill check what goes into the water round here and look into a different brand. thanks
so do you think its safe to add another shoal mate tomorrow? i really want to get the fake julli a mate....

 

[snazy]

See how they get on tomorrow, if no flashing, then I wouldn't worry and I'd blame the dechlorinator as I know what the Api stress coat used to do to my corys. If there's no laboured breathing, staying in a corner hiding for hours, lethargy, lost balance, visual signs on the outside fo some sort,etc...which are signs of sickness, then it is very likely the water change and too much anti stress coat

 

[MrsM]

They all seem to be going about their normal buisness, swimming, rummaging...piggy backing caught the 2 peppers guving each other a piggy back! cute little beasts...lights out for the night now...and guess what!!! I just got a hexagon tank with filter heater light and pump....£20 bargain for a quarentine/hospital tank....im chuffed! Going to give it a good clean tomorrow and get it cycled, wont risk infecting my main tank now! Eeeeeeeeek.

 

[snazy]

Good idea. It can also house some cory fry in the future

 

[MrsM]

Cory fry!!! I aint that experienced....i would not know where to start....how old/big are corys when they start breeding? My 2 peppered are about an inch and half....they look totally different shapes too, ones fatter and shorter than the other....hopefully all mine are the same sex!! Nooooo baby cories...yet! haha

 

[snazy]

Cory fry!!! I aint that experienced....i would not know where to start....how old/big are corys when they start breeding? My 2 peppered are about an inch and half....they look totally different shapes too, ones fatter and shorter than the other....hopefully all mine are the same sex!! Nooooo baby cories...yet! haha

A fatter and longer would be a female, shorter and slimmer a male The females have round bellies. They would need to be probably at least 6 months old but generally older than that. Yours look old enough . And the false julii looks like at least a year old one to me(they live long lives).

 

[MrsM]

Ohhhhhhh dear! Im too young to be a granny haha....p.s..no flashing that ive noticed so far today. Looks like we getting another tank buddy hopefully i can find a fake julli...if not... ive got 4 lfs around me so looks like we'll be busy today

 

[snazy]

Good luck shopping then

 

[MrsM]

well, we went to 3 in the first one, he had hardly any fish ....the second one only had albino ...and the 3rd had no corys at all, its only a small shop but very well looked after, asked a few questions...i acted dumb...he tried to sell me a bottle of bacteria that would have my new hexagonal tank cycled in four days!! wow!!!! i said...."but thanks ill leave the bottled bacteria and use some filter media from my already fully cycled tank", then i went onto baffle the poor man at my extensive nitrogen cycle knowledge(learnt here!! )i think he felt silly after id lectured him on bottled bacteria being no good for cycling a tank, possibly helps but in no way will it fully cycle my tank in 4 days!any who i came home with the kids, later followed by the hubby and 2 rummy nose tetras...i know nothing about them!! well untill i googled them, so please tell me that they will get on with the corys? i know i need more corys..im thinking of rehoming the julli and upping the shoal of peppereds, ive asked the lfs to get me some for next weekend i just think a school of corys (at least 4) and a school of rummy noses (at least 4) is almost half my tank stocked with fish i havent picked bloomin hubby!! all i want is some colourful fish...ie guppies!!!!!

p.s what section do the rummynoses come under? i cant find them anywhere....i know they prefer soft to neutral water but mine are locally bred(hard water) and they are very sensetive to water chemistry...quite a challenge for me!!!!