Panda Cory

[AnFianna]

Losing a minnow in the early hours of this morning to what seems like a digestive swim baldder problem (and maybe a little to do with old age) - now it's come to feeding time this evening we've found one of our new Panda's to be dead

The other Panda doesn't look to great - compared to the two bronze and peppers we got at the same time - it does look rather worse for wear, nothing visual, just isn't very active.

I understand that Panda's are quite sensitive fish, and when we first got them into the tank, they were the ones hiding away whilst the other four Cory's were out and about having fun. They have been active - but not in the same way as the others.

Is it just down to the fact that being a sensitive fish it didn't quite like the stress of being caught sold, driven, aclimitised to the tank?

There is nothing obvious to point at anything, and the rest of the fish all seem ok. Water parameters have not changed, nothing has been added to the tank and nothing out of the normal has been done.

The only thing I have noticed about the one left, is that the fins seem just a little spikey - just been comparing it to the other Cory's in the tank.

Really really don't like losing fish like this, spent 4 years with happy healthy fish and no illness - and now 2 on the same day

Can anyone enlighten me, I think the lfs will get a call in the morning about it, I know they are locally bred, as cute as they are, maybe they weren't the best of the Cory's to start with?

One very distraught Fishkeeper

Tim

 

[Inchworm]

Hi AnFianna

Pandas are a little more delicate than a lot of the other corys and if it was a new fish that you just added, I would say it's just the stress of the move and possibly the different water. But, since you lost another fish recently, and since your other panda looks wrong, I think you might want to treat it.

First, can you give me some more information please.

How long has your tank been established?
What is the water temperature?
Do you know the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?
How often do you do water changes and gravel cleanings, how much do you take out and when was the last time you did it?

 

[AnFianna]

Tank has been established 4 years, has White Clouds in there that bred

Temp is 24.C
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 35, have had a prune of plants - water changes are regular and are treated. Normally every week, sometimes too, but since the new Cory's it'll be every week - we last changed the other day when we noticed the minnow, not by much - but thought it would be worth a little change - time before was the day we bought the fish - just to bring the water and results to near enough the same conditions as the new fish.

The other fish are fine - the White Cloud that died - was old, and it does seem to be a digestive / swimbladder problem

However this Panda just died - nothing abnormal about it at all, just died.

The other Panda isn't looking to great - and to be honest they were never like as active as the other Cory's we have who seem very healthy lively and happy in the tank

Just very unsure about what to do with the Panda that's left, doesn't look too great.

Many thanks for your help

Tim

 

[CathyG]

Hi, Tim, just a thought. If all your other water parameters are favourable, try uppig the temperature to 26

And keep up the water changes to keep the Nitrate level down.

 

[clutterydrawer]

why do you suggest upping the temp? a lot of people disagree with me on this but I find that panda corys thrive more at a lower temperature. maybe i just have odd ones though.

 

[CathyG]

why do you suggest upping the temp? a lot of people disagree with me on this but I find that panda corys thrive more at a lower temperature. maybe i just have odd ones though.

Hi clutterydrawer! A temp of 24 is low for most tropical tanks. Most Cory's in my experience, prefer a temp of 26. Maybe you have an odd one, maybe I do B)

I understand that Cory's are happier in temperatures lower than most of their tank mates, but I still consider 24 on the low side...just my opinion though...

 

[clutterydrawer]

ah, fair enough. I'm just paranoid cos I once lost my pandas to a heater failure (it got stuck and didn't thermostat off...!)

 

[AnFianna]

Well the Panda has been moved - I had to as he was just a sitting duck in there with a hive of activity, all other fish are fine, seem happy, water has checked ok, nitrate is slightly lower down the scale.

I've upped the temperature slightly in the isolation tank (Got water from main tank and some java moss in there) it's not looking very happy, especially in comparison to the other fish in the tank. I really think that they were just not happy with being bought and moved about - too sensitive maybe? Or maybe just weak in general - from the day we got them we've been worried, but then when they seem to join in the fun we thought all was ok and the white cloud with the swim bladder problem was just a one off.

Looking at the Panda now, it just looks lifeless, it's till alive though. I've added half a drip of minaroll in just to see if it picks up, if it survives I may take it back to the lfs ?!? *sighs*

How do you guys cope? never had anything like this before.

Many thanks to you all

Tim

 

[Inchworm]

Hi AnFianna

Please leave your temperature right where it is, at least until your fish are well again.

Whenever a cory gets sick and/or dies, the first thing to suspect is a bacterial infection of some sort. Living on the bottom might have something to do with this because improper or inadequate tank sanitation is often the cause of an outbreak. It can be contagious and can spread quickly once it get started, or be limited to only a few fish.

The bacteria that cause these problems are always present in a tank, but when a fish has undergone any stressful situation it is more prone to become infected than when it is strong and healthy. Stresses can include rapid increases in water temperature, low oxygen content in the water, uneaten food in the tank, infrequent water changes, high nitrite levels, overcrowded conditions, aggressive tankmates. Just the changes due to transport and introduction to a new tank can result in a compromising of their immune systems which will often result in a bacterial infection taking hold.

The symptoms are often confused with a fungus infection because you might see finrot or white fuzzy stuff on the fish. It is bacterial in origin, but often the medication will treat both conditions.

If you lived in the US, I would suggest using an antibiotic to treat it. Since you do not, perhaps you can get Tetra Medica Tonic for bacterial infections, Waterlife’s Myxazin or Interpet’s AntiFungus and Finrot.

The reason for low water temperature during treatment is to slow the growth of the bacteria. It also helps to be certain there is good air circulation since high oxygen content in the water will also inhibit their growth.

Needless to say, keep up the frequent water changes too.

Good luck and I hope you save the little panda.

 

[Da_Oz]

If you could, I would take back the Panda and trade it for one of the other cories on your list.

 

[AnFianna]

it didn't survive the night

All the other fish seem bright, lively and happy, water is ok - really do need to stock some meds after this I think, I don't want to be caught out again. With never having problems before, it had never crossed my mind.

Will give the lfs a ring later on and see what they say, I don't think they'll trade dead fish

Providing everyone else in the tank stays happy and healthy we'll be happy with that. I don't think we want to put any more fish through the stress of being bought. We'll wait for when we set up the new tank, but before that comes we have about a million ideas and plans to go through first, we want to avoid anything like this from happening.

Many squillions of thanks to all of you for your help and support both in chat and on the forums

Cheers

Tim