Problem With My Cory's

[Zikofski]

do i have a problem with my cory's?

my tank parameters are fine, and i am doing 25-30% water change weekly, but my cory's are never active at all hide away 24/7 almost i cant see if they are eating or not, i make sure i give a good spread on food, and every now and then i keep loosing a cory's only one for no reason i thought they are not eating but now i am not sure been going on all year seem to be loosing like 1 a month so far?

am i doing anything wrong?

my tank temp is 25.8oC

 

[greenmumma141]

what other fish do you have in the tank? do they have other places to hide? a good theory to go by is, the more hiding places you have, the more your fish will be seen and feel comfortable, and Ive found that to be especially true with cories.

 

[Zikofski]

hmm okay, i have two caves were my loaches and torpedoes hide if need be my whole back half the tank is hidden from view by plants so they generally hide there far with hiding places i think its okay and all good but i am no expert, i am planning on redoing my scape over the next couple of months adding a huge hidden cave covered with sand i would like to do no loss yet since last one has been 2 to 3 weeks so far, one thing i have noticed they come out more at night? are cory's nocturnal and feed at night or not?

 

[snazy]

No, corys are not exactly nocturnal, forgot the term, but species that get active at twilight/dusk. In my experience, mine are active mostly during the day and early morning. By the time late evening comes they settle around the sand and rest mostly. But they are not supposed to be nocturnal in general.
Regardless, I'd say there's a problem with your corys. Mine don't hide at all, even with less hiding spots and lots of light. Are there any predators? Corys not eating or coming for food is a concern too, not sure what possibly could be the reason but I'd start with oxygen levels and CO2 too high maybe, besides ammonia and nitrIte of course which I presume are 0s. Also are you adding anything to the tank that can affect them? What's the dechlorinator type?

 

[Zikofski]

hmm okay maybe i don't see them during dusk n twilight then im changing my scope in a few weeks time maybe that may change things, they only really active after a water change when they go bazzurk up n down the tank, i have only just started adding co2 and fert's last few days, so not sure if it is that, my nitrite and ammonia are 0's i use API stress coat during water changes other than that i don't know to be honest i shall continue to watch and check on them see how they are doing over the next few months hopefully i don't loose any more

 

[snazy]

I know it's strange but Api stress coat used to make my corys flash/scratch themselves mad. Maybe try a different dechlorinator although I doubt it the stress coat would kill them though. Are you dosing per the recommended or overdosing?

 

[techen]

If that's the case, is Prime more suited to corys?

 

[snazy]

If that's the case, is Prime more suited to corys?

Prime is supposed to be a better dechlorinator anyway. I haven't tried it but I just got a new bottle and will from the next water change.

 

[techen]

If that's the case, is Prime more suited to corys?

Prime is supposed to be a better dechlorinator anyway. I haven't tried it but I just got a new bottle and will from the next water change.

Keep me posted, I use cheap dechlorinator from tesco but I plan to buy a good 500ml of prime just so my corys can live happy lols.

 

[Zikofski]

i usually dose as per what it says on the bottles, on few occasions I have over dosed but no deaths when i do, do that when my Stress coat runs out i do plan on changing to Prime i kinda bulked up my stress coat so will last me a few months to a year haha it is strange like, hopefully they will survive from now on, since then i have almost tripled my flow i'm wondering if it was lack of flow and maybe pockets of high ammonia where building up within the plants that's where they live so, if i'm feeding the properly then i reckon it could be that?

 

[snazy]

They should really come out for food at the front of the tank if you drop it there. I've got a very skittish cory that I saved from a green barb tank, with his fins eaten and it still comes out for food at the front. Also, make sure they aren't starving themselves out of fear too. Bad flow at the bottom as you said could be another reason, lack of oxygen, bad bacteria accumulating, etc..

 

[Zikofski]

you say barbs, i do have torpedo barbs maybe there scared of them? but they don't attack them from what i have seen. by the sounds of it it could be a number of things i hope i just dont loose any more

 

[snazy]

Yeah. I was in the LFS and saw the cory below on the picture being nipped constantly by green barbs. Imagine this was in a small tank full of green barbs and the cory had nowhere to go. I asked to buy it, the owner gave it to me for free when I showed him what's happening. Never had barbs myself but their fame is hard not to miss and not sure about torpedo barbs. Here's a picture of the "damaged" cory just before I put it in one of my tanks. It's getting better day by day:

And here it is again with my betta comforting it

 

[Zikofski]

aaw geeze ye dose look battered non of my fish look like that thank god glad he is in a happy home now getting the best care he can get

 

[greenmumma141]

not sure if he's comforting him or using him for a stool hehe fish are odd creatures, what a great pic. That is very sad about the poor cory, I've yet to see cories in a proper tank setup in any of the LFS's I've been too. Its such a shame.