Someone's Been Eating My Cory

[PlecMama]

One of my poor little cory cats has had a few bites taken out of his tail and fin

I've taken him out and given him a brief soak in some antibiotics (just in case) don't know if it willl do any good but I felt that I had to do something, I put him back after he'd had a little swim in the medicated water. I really expect him to be gone by tomorrow, but since he's still swimming and eating, I am not going to speed him on his way just yet.

I can't imagine who would have done it though, this is a generally peaceful tank, the most excitement is when the two big plecs decide they want to be in each others spaces then they dance about a bit and settle it without violence.

Everyone has been in together for at least a month without any casualties, except the hatchets and they don't come down from the top and the cories don't come up from the bottom, I doubt they even know each other is in there.

I know the snails will eat a fish but they never bloomin caught a cory and held it down! I can see perhaps one bite while it was resting if a snail siddled up to it, but not the damage I am seeing, someone has chased him and bitten him.

I have corys, danios, a molly, hatchets, platties, plecs, loaches, apple snails, gouramis and a little bala shark - who is my guilty party?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi SuzieQPlecMama

I don't think any of your fish would take bites out of both tail and fins at one go. Even my nasty pearl gourami doesn't actually chomp on them. It sounds more like a case of fin rot to me.

This is a bacterial infection that corys (and other fish) get when their immune systems are weakened due to stress of some sort. This leaves them open to infection by bacteria in the tank that would be relatively harmless otherwise.

Some of the things that can cause stress are aggressive tankmates, overcrowding, fluctuating temperatures, especially rapid increases, low oxygen content in the water, elevated nitrite or nitrate levels, uneaten food on the bottom, and infrequent or inadequate water changes. It could be that the plecos might be producing an exceptional amount of waste products too.

Since you are in the UK, I would suggest treating your cory with either Waterlife's Myxazin or Interpet's Anti Finrot and Fungus Medicine. Give your tank a good cleaning to be on the safe side too. If you can move your cory to a quarantine tank, so much the better, but be sure to watch your other corys and fish too.

It helps slow the growth of the bacteria and heal the cory if you keep the temperature no higher than 24 degrees C. and be sure that there is plenty of surface water movement to add oxygen.

I hope your little cory recovers soon. Please let me know how it goes.

 

[PlecMama]

Gosh I'd like to think I would have noticed someone looking sick before he got that bad, I am very watchful of my fish. I hope it's not fin rot.
He died last night anyway - everyone else is doing fine.

Thank you for your answer though, what a shame, pretty little thing he was.


Incidentally....my two new additions are also pearl gouramis....I'll keep a close beady eye on them.

 

[Inchworm]

Gosh I'd like to think I would have noticed someone looking sick before he got that bad, I am very watchful of my fish. I hope it's not fin rot.

Hi SuzieQPlecMama,

I'm sorry your little cory didn't pull through.

Don't feel bad that you didn't spot his condition sooner. Bacterial infections can sometimes move fast and cause a variety of symptems. Sometimes only one fish will be effected, but it could also sweep through a tank. I always explain the possible causes so that if there is a problem with the tank, the member will be able to head off more trouble in the future.

 

[emma12321]

Hi,

I would have said the loaches were the culprits, i had a yoyo loach that went on a cory killing mission and killed 5 overnight but that was in a 29 gallon tank, the loach was a psycho it killed the other 2 yoyos too.

I am amazed your applesnails are alive with loaches in the tank.

Emma

 

[PlecMama]

My apple snails are about 5 times the size of the loaches, lol, I have little loaches or big snails

 

[Barracuda518]

Be careful with the loaches and even the bigger snails. They will probably end up picking at the snail's breathing tubes and they wont be able to breath. They could also constantly pick that them, eventually stressing them to death. Keep an eye on them.

 

[PlecMama]

Thank you, we will, we are very fond of our snails, we try to keep our tank as peaceful as possible. The loaches are not even remotely interested in the snails though, since we have a small shoal of loaches (or whatever loaches come in) they mostly just play with each other. The snails are usually all busy having sex on the waterline