Panda Cory

[mireme]

Hi
Im new to this hobby and i wonder is someone could help.

I bought 2 panda cory's but one died. Ive been reading that they thrive better in pairs or groups. Should i add another couple or so?

thanks

 

[emma12321]

Hi
Im new to this hobby and i wonder is someone could help.

I bought 2 panda cory's but one died. Ive been reading that they thrive better in pairs or groups. Should i add another couple or so?

thanks

hi no idea how big your tank is but if you have room add more. Corys do better in groups so the more the merrier.

Emma

 

[mireme]

My tank is big enough. I will get some next week. Thanks

 

[JenCliBee]

My tank is big enough. I will get some next week. Thanks

think it would make more sense 2 find out why the 1 u had died first before buying more been lonley in itself wouldnt have killed it so would eliminate other pssible factors first before u have more dead fish on your hands

what your water stats ??? ie ammonia ..nitrite..nitrate..PH

what size tank have you got?? and how long has it been setup???

filtartion system

cleaning routine

answer these and ppl will be able 2 give u more of an idea why your current panda dies and help deciding if its a good idea u getting more yet



jen

 

[mireme]

My tank is big enough. I will get some next week. Thanks

think it would make more sense 2 find out why the 1 u had died first before buying more been lonley in itself wouldnt have killed it so would eliminate other pssible factors first before u have more dead fish on your hands

what your water stats ??? ie ammonia ..nitrite..nitrate..PH

what size tank have you got?? and how long has it been setup???

filtartion system

cleaning routine

answer these and ppl will be able 2 give u more of an idea why your current panda dies and help deciding if its a good idea u getting more yet



jen

My water was fine
I think the fish was old anyway because it was full size compared to my other one.
The tank had only been set up for about 5 weeks, so it was getting established.

Everything is fine, just had teething problems i think.

My black molly had a baby a couple of weeks ago and it is thriving well.

 

[JenCliBee]

My tank is big enough. I will get some next week. Thanks

think it would make more sense 2 find out why the 1 u had died first before buying more been lonley in itself wouldnt have killed it so would eliminate other pssible factors first before u have more dead fish on your hands

what your water stats ??? ie ammonia ..nitrite..nitrate..PH

what size tank have you got?? and how long has it been setup???

filtartion system

cleaning routine

answer these and ppl will be able 2 give u more of an idea why your current panda dies and help deciding if its a good idea u getting more yet



jen

My water was fine
I think the fish was old anyway because it was full size compared to my other one.
The tank had only been set up for about 5 weeks, so it was getting established.

Everything is fine, just had teething problems i think.

My black molly had a baby a couple of weeks ago and it is thriving well.

basically uve not answered any of the questions

your tank getting established doesnt mean your water stats are fine ......how did or how are u cycling ur tank? by saying your tank is establishing im saying your tank isnt cycled meaning u have levels of ammonia and nitrite which is probably the reason your panda died ...... unless u give answers to the questions asked then all any 1 can suggest is dont add more fish becasue your tank isnt ready


jen

 

[mireme]

I take out 10 to 15% of water out weekly
I test the water weekly too and my nitrates etc are fine, thats why i didnt answer your question about the nitrates because its all fine

The other cory is doing fine and is a happy chappy or chappess.

I had 3 fish die within the first week or so and that were the two gouramis and the cory. Other than that, the others are fine.

Thanks anyway

 

[kj23502]

Why is this in the African Cichlid section ???

Kj

 

[Inchworm]

African Cichlid section! Well it's here now, so let's see what we can do to help.

Hi mireme

I took a few minutes to look at your earlier posts and think you are having a problem that many other new fishkeepers have, that is, bad advice from the lfs (local fish store.) I suspect that your fish are dying because your tank hasn't been cycled completely, and that's going to be the first thing you must do before you can succeed with corys or any other fish. There's a little science involved, and I'm not the best one to help you with it, but let me give you a quick explanation so we will at least know that we're talking about the same thing.

For a tank to become "Established," it must have a colony of what we call Beneficial Bacteria growing in it. Most of them will be in the filter. When your fish eat and produce (harmful) ammonia in their waste products, some of the beneficial bacteria will consume it and produce NitrItes. These are also harmful to the fish, but other beneficial bacteria will grow and consume it. When they do, they will produce NitrAtes which, in small quantities, will not harm your fish. Excess nitrates will be removed when you do your weekly tank cleaning and water change. Ammonia and NitrItes (even just a little) will kill your fish.

There are two ways to cycle a tank. The first is called a Fishless Cycle and this is done (before adding fish) by adding ammonia to the water to get it started. The second is called Cycling with Fish, and this is likely to be what is happening in your tank right now. Unless you (or your lfs) do water tests and the results show up as 0 ammonia, 0 nitrItes, and some reading on NitrAtes, the tank is not "Established, aka Cycled." This is what the earlier posters were trying to find out. Never trust an lfs that simply tells you your tank is OK without actually giving you the numbers.

I hope my explanation is of some use to you. The members who post in the New to the Hobby section can give you more specific help if you need it. If not, please let me know and we can try to help you with specific advice about corys in this section.

 

[mireme]

Hi inchworm

I do water tests every week with the posh water testers and all the results are correct. I have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. Everything is fine now and my fish are thriving.

It was right at the very begining that they died and thats probably when the tank wasnt right.

Thanks very much for your advice.

 

[pippoodle]

mireme - corys are quite sensitive fishies and like a nice mature stable tank - my advice would be to get 3 more pandas in 4 weeks time when the tank has been set up a lot longer and you know for definate there is a good amount of beneficial bacteria in it
yes your water tests show up ok but you might still be getting a spike mid week due to the tank being very new

no one is saying you have done anything wrong you were following bad advice given you by lfs

but i would definately wait the 4 weeks before getting anymore corys - he will be fine on his own until then

also make sure he is getting enough food a lot of people forget that corys dont just eat left overs they need proper food for themselves and as they are slow eaters there food should be left for an hour then removed - if possible - if you find your other fish are eating the food feed them then turn the light off and drop your cory food in that way the fish will hopefully finish off theirs and settle down and leave mr cory in peace to eat his

good luck with the corys they are great little fish

Sarah xx

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mireme

I'm happy to know that you have brought your tank through the cycling process and all is now well.

All corys love to be kept in a group and a school of 3 or more is best. Depending on the room you have, more is always better. They are playful and like to interact with each other, so they make a tank very interesting.

C. pandas are among the more delicate and fragile of the corys. It's not one that I would have recommended for a beginner, just because of that. They also tend to be more timid than some of the others. You might want to consider replacing the one that died with a few C. aeneus (bronze Cory) or C. aeneus (albino Cory.) They are quite a bit more sturdy than the pandas.

 

[mireme]

Thats great advice. Thank you. I will go out and get another couple today. All my fish seem very happy. They all have their little personalities. Sad person I know lol