Odd Cory Behavior. Should I Be Worried?

[Linway]

Silly question, but have you added any other fish to the tank ?

Not for a few weeks.
 

read the thread/poll about sand, gravel or bare bottom.
there is info from tcamos at the end of it about sulpher poisoning, it may be something like that seen as you mention blac sand.

I read through the post but couldn't find anything about what you said.
 

Out of interest what dechlorinator do you use?  I switched some time ago to Seachem Prime, it is more expensive, smells like ?, but is economical so you only need a small amount.

I can't remember the brand as I threw the bottle away, but it was called TapSafe or something along those lines.
 
 
I went to the store that I purchased the corries from and had them test the water and they said everything was fine with it. I explained everything that had happened including the removal of ornament due to black sand and he said that when sand is impacted the way it was you can get an immediate ammonia bloom, with the corries constantly sticking their faces in the sand they have likely burnt their gills on the ammonia which is causing them to confused the amount of oxygen in the water and making them believe their isn't enough which is why they are going to the surface. Also he said that where I have a mature tank the ammonia will have been processed out before I tested it (there was like 8 hours between cleaning the tank and then testing it) which is why I tested at 0ppm. He said if this is the case then there is nothing really to put in the tank to help so as long as they are feeding they will heal in their own time.
 
This sound like a reasonable explanation to you guys?

 

[greenmumma141]

I would say so, yes. I would also add that sometimes I can tell I've got ammonia in my water by the way my cories are acting, and my test kit will still read zero. They're sensitive fish, so they'll pick up on any change in the water. I would keep an eye on them, and again, when in doubt, do a wc. That might get them dancing again anyway
 
And also, it sounds like that fishstore employee actually knows what he's talking about!!!

 

[Linway]

The fish store is just run by 2 brothers and they are the only ones that work there. The thing I love about the fish store they are customer reputation driven compared to chain stores which are just profit based driven so when I've asked about things like fish food, etc they don't try to push things on me and tell me to feed them 6 times a day. They just say what the basic food for keeping them alive are and then show me options for treats and things like that but always say when things aren't actually needed etc.
 
I'm heading to get some more dechlorinator today so I can do another water change, as I forgot to pick up some yesterday.
 
Thanks for the advice guys

 

[IonaMcCluskey]

my mistake, sorry, i should have said hydrogen sulfide instead of sulpher.
i also made the mistake of trying to read all the scientific stuff in the link that was posted and it completely burst my brain, think that's where my mix up with sulpher came in.
glad to here your wee guys are on the mend tho

 

[Linway]

Hey guys, another little update.
I went to my LFS store today to buy some plants for the tank and when I got back before I put the plants in the corys are a little livelier again . They are still occasionally doing the jumping and sitting for a while but they are moving around a lot more than they have done the past few days so I think the LFS store guy was right in that they have burnt their gills during the ammonia spike but are on the mend
 
A couple of other things just to show you guys for all the help you gave in settling my nerves this last few days. We got some plants as I said along with a background and the tank just looks awesome now (in my opinion anyway ).
Another couple of pluses:
1. When I put the new plants in the tank I then noticed we had a little stowaway snail from the LFS. I called the LFS just to ensure it wont affect my tank and was informed not at all, he will simply just nibble on some algae.
2. Since putting the plants in my red cherry shrimps have become a lot more lively. Prior to the plants they simply lived under the fake wood ornament and we saw maybe 1 a week. Now they are all out and exploring all the plants
 
Pic of the now planted and backgrounded tank to say thanks!

Obviously this thread will die off now but I'll keep you updated as and when I noticed changes in the corys.
 
Thanks again for all the help guys
As always it is much appreciated!

 

[greenmumma141]

oooo ahhhh, looks great!!!!!

 

[Linway]

Hey all,
 
So 2 of the corys are fine now. However the other 2 appear to have developed fin rot.
As we established before, they were all stressed due to the ammonia spike but now the 2 that are fine are the larger and stronger of the cory group and it's the smaller 2 that are affected by this stress induced fin rot.
 
I spoke to my LFS on the phone a moment ago and he said that it's a simple treatment of turning the heat on the tank up to 28-29 degrees to boost their immune system (he said 29oC is where it should be at as long as it doesn't go to 30oC that it wont cause stress in the other fish) and that I could us one of two treatments. One was called metatrix or something like that and I can't remember the name of the other one.
 
Does this sound about right to you guys?
 
I'm quite worried about them so I wanna double check everything to ensure they heal properly.
 
It appears I have caught the rot very early in that when I've googled it most people didn't notice it until their tail/fins were almost completely gone where as with both of the corys their tail is only a little rotted and their dorsal fin (I think that's the right name, fins at the top) is a little affected.
 
No other fish at all are affected, not even the other 2 corys so I assume this has to be stress related due to the ammonia spike last week.
 
Thanks for any advice in advance guys

 

[greenmumma141]

Melafix maybe?  Hmm, I have had a couple go-abouts with fin rot and it can be pretty nasty. I don't think melafix is going to do anything but aid in the regrowth of the fins, it certainly won't kill the bacteria that's causing the fin rot. Keep a close eye on all of our fish, it can spread really fast.
 
If it doesn't start clearing up with the suggestions of your LFS, I would use a much stronger medication.

 

[Linway]

Melafix maybe?  Hmm, I have had a couple go-abouts with fin rot and it can be pretty nasty. I don't think melafix is going to do anything but aid in the regrowth of the fins, it certainly won't kill the bacteria that's causing the fin rot. Keep a close eye on all of our fish, it can spread really fast.
 
If it doesn't start clearing up with the suggestions of your LFS, I would use a much stronger medication.

Melafix was the product, but when I got to the store he said exactly what you said about how it helps with fin rot but doesn't kill the bacteria. Instead he suggested a different product called "eSHa 2000" which is what I'm using now. 
 
Thanks

 

[greenmumma141]

Good luck!!!!

 

[Linway]

What bacteria causes this exactly? And how does it end up in ones tank?

 

[Shaddex]

Esha2000 is what I use for all my cory tanks.  Works well and doesnt kill off the filter bacs

 

[greenmumma141]

Fin rot is extremely tricky, bc it can be a side effect of so many other problems, or you could have just fin rot going on.
 
I'm not sure the exact specifics of it, sorry.
 
When buying/using meds, be extremely wary of any with the ingredient "victoria 5". It will kill the good bacteria in your filter, then fin rot will be the least of your problems.

 

[AquaPit]

I have One Adolfoi, One Panda and Three Sterbai Corydoras.

Everytime I do a water change, one of the Sterbai always do that jumping action! So far so good though.
When i read about Ammonia Spike and Fin rotting in your post, I Am now worried!

But I wish your Corys the best of health!