Quick warning from a beginner to beginners

[Koglin]

Hey Everyone,

New to the forum, and new-ish to the hobby. Had an odd issue I thought I would warn other beginners' about.

I recently set up a new 10 gallon planted tank, and after a few weeks of using some bio ceramic rings from a friend's tank, everything was going very well with my water parameters - so I decided it was time to add some fish.

I decided to get x6 pygmy corys (corydoras pygmaeus), but since they're shoaling fish and often venture to the mid lvls I decided to get some taller fake plants while I waited for my live plants to grow more.

This is where it went poorly, I had chosen a taller fake plant with thread-like leaves coming off of it (seen in the pic). At first it was great, sometimes food bits got stuck in the plant and my little corys would group up and sit around on the plant threads to scavenge it.

But tonight, I noticed one of them stuck upside down in the plant. I shook the limb a little bit, and another cory swam free of it, however 1 poor fella was tangled within the threads.

I gently pulled the plant free and turned it near the surface to try and spread the limbs apart more, and the cory couldn't wiggle its way free. Upon inspection with a magnifying glass, i discovered one of the threads was straight through his gill, and wrapped around him - locking him in place! I tried to gently pull him free, but alas, he is currently listing around on his side in quarantine. This may have been a freak accident, or possibly happens more often, I'm not sure.

Either way, I guess my warning with fake plants is this - take a few extra minutes and really consider how your fish could physically interact with them before buying, since tanks go periods without us checking them out, a trapped fish like my cory could've been stuck there helplessly for hours, causing irreversible internal damage. Personally, I have hope, but I do not believe the poor pygmy cory will make it.

Hope this helps someone.

 

[CrazyBettaLady]

I had that same kind of fake plant a while ago. It got tossed due to its constant shedding of fibers, but I had it in a tank with platys and later mollies.

I'd agree, the type of plants you get shouldn't depend on how cool you want them to look, but more "will this harm my fish or not?". Bettas, fancy goldfish, and other long-finned fish can get torn fins from sharp plastic plants. Popeye goldfish can cut their delicate eyes, even. Yet, in this instance a soft plant is dangerous to cory cats/potentially other suckerfish because of how they eat.

I'm sorry about your cory cat and that that was how you found out about choosing the right fake plant. I hope your little cory recovers!

 

[AilyNC]

Hope your fish is ok. Thanks for sharing - you kinda assume anything sold for ah Aquarium is suitable but definitely not the case for a all fish.

 

[Ch4rlie]

That's a shame that's happened to your poor cory.

Great warning for those considering getting fake plants, also have to look out for sharp or hard pieces of décor as well that could potentially rip ling finned species of livestock.

Have heard some keeper run pantyhose along sharp edges or branches of wood/décor to see if they would rip or tear the pantyhose, if it does, then they would simply not use that particular piece of décor, wood /plant for the fear it could rip fins of bettas for example.

But that's the first I've heard about very fine leaved fake plant/décor doing potential damage. Great to know and to look out for.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Wow, that's weird. I haven't used fake plants for a very long time, but I never remember anything like this happening. It makes sense with bettas and other unnaturally long-finned fish, but you'd think cories would be able to get free! Poor little guy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I keep a panty hose on one of my intake tubes of the filter. I often worry that a Cory will get caught in that as they graze on it. Perhaps I should go ahead and remove it.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I keep a panty hose on one of my intake tubes of the filter. I often worry that a Cory will get caught in that as they graze on it. Perhaps I should go ahead and remove it.

Sounds like replacing it with an intake sponge would give you peace of mind about it at least. Worth doing that just to eliminate that worry.

I'm sorry about your cory, OP Hope the little one makes it! You never know, but it's good to share the story and try to help others watch out for these things too.

 

[Koglin]

Hey Everyone,

Wanted to say thanks for the support!

I gained a lot of insight from these replies and reading into the provided experiences/tips about corys and fish safety in general, than most of the articles I've read in the last few weeks. Which was surprising (as most stuff I find is more general info. like water parameters general behaviors etc. Etc.).

So as someone still learning, thanks for the tips and advisement!

Unfortunately, my little pygmy cory passed away while in QT.

Thought I should note, that they are juvenile pygmy Cory's and at the moment are only about 1/2"-3/4" long (I believe his size is why he got all wrapped up and couldn't wriggle free). They had been doing great otherwise until this happened, and the others still seem happy/healthy and don't show any obvious signs of stress.

Good ideas about the swiss-army pantyhose too, I never realized it had as many uses in an aquarium as it does (I do have a coarse large-pore sponge on my intake though, I had the same concern as Deanasue when I got my pygmys and saw how tiny they were, just hadn't thought of pantyhose. I will say, so far at least, they graze on the sponge just fine.)

Will be redoing a couple things over the next week-ish to make their environment more safe (don't wanna change too much all at once), and feeling much more optimistic about moving forward with my tank now.

So thanks again folks!

 

[vanalisa]

Hey Everyone,

New to the forum, and new-ish to the hobby. Had an odd issue I thought I would warn other beginners' about.

I recently set up a new 10 gallon planted tank, and after a few weeks of using some bio ceramic rings from a friend's tank, everything was going very well with my water parameters - so I decided it was time to add some fish.

I decided to get x6 pygmy corys (corydoras pygmaeus), but since they're shoaling fish and often venture to the mid lvls I decided to get some taller fake plants while I waited for my live plants to grow more.

This is where it went poorly, I had chosen a taller fake plant with thread-like leaves coming off of it (seen in the pic). At first it was great, sometimes food bits got stuck in the plant and my little corys would group up and sit around on the plant threads to scavenge it.

But tonight, I noticed one of them stuck upside down in the plant. I shook the limb a little bit, and another cory swam free of it, however 1 poor fella was tangled within the threads.

I gently pulled the plant free and turned it near the surface to try and spread the limbs apart more, and the cory couldn't wiggle its way free. Upon inspection with a magnifying glass, i discovered one of the threads was straight through his gill, and wrapped around him - locking him in place! I tried to gently pull him free, but alas, he is currently listing around on his side in quarantine. This may have been a freak accident, or possibly happens more often, I'm not sure.

Either way, I guess my warning with fake plants is this - take a few extra minutes and really consider how your fish could physically interact with them before buying, since tanks go periods without us checking them out, a trapped fish like my cory could've been stuck there helplessly for hours, causing irreversible internal damage. Personally, I have hope, but I do not believe the poor pygmy cory will make it.

Hope this helps someone.

Welcome and thank you for your contribution!!

 

[Retired Viking]

Sorry about your cory, thank you for sharing this info with us.

 

[FishGuest5123]

So sorry about your Cory.

 

[vanalisa]

I apologize that I forgot to address your loss, I'm sorry about your Cory, too