What do I do next time?

[VioletThePurple]

Recently I lost my corydoras to some type of infection. Water parameters all checked out, I change water, clean filter, and siphon gravel regularly/when needed. I have one left, who has never showed symptoms this whole time. He didn't get sick. I want to learn from this experience. Recently I changed from gravel to sand so their barbels won't get hurt. I'm thinking I should get some medication for scaleless fish that's widely available in case this happens again but I'm not sure which one. I tried to contain the disease but that wasn't enough to save them. What can I do to ensure corydoras I get in the future will live long happy lives? (Besides everything I've already been doing.)

 

[outofwater]

Sorry for the loss and congrats on the sand change.
Not knowing what killed them makes it hard to recommend anything. As with humans, better not to put things in their bodies unless you know for sure what you're up against.

 

[VioletThePurple]

Sorry for the loss and congrats on the sand change.
Not knowing what killed them makes it hard to recommend anything. As with humans, better not to put things in their bodies unless you know for sure what you're up against.

What about general cure?

 

[Rocky998]

What about general cure?

A good general is large water changes and then gravel/sand vacuuming...
But don't give meds unless you absolutely know what the fish has

 

[outofwater]

Only thing I've ever used is melafix, and you'll find a 50/50 debate about whether it helps anything or any fish, or not.
If you're not sure about what caused the previous die out, maybe it'd be better to "disinfect" your current tank, before you add any more fish to it.

 

[VioletThePurple]

Only thing I've ever used is melafix, and you'll find a 50/50 debate about whether it helps anything or any fish, or not.
If you're not sure about what caused the previous die out, maybe it'd be better to "disinfect" your current tank, before you add any more fish to it.

Disinfect how? With cleaning or something else?

 

[outofwater]

We seem to be working backwards, I remember your other post about the cories, and you received plenty of good feedback there. Glad to see you moved ahead with the sand.
There was a point made about keeping your nitrates low because keeping them at anything over 5 to 10M contributes contributes a scenario where damaging bacteria can thrive, and if your fish are stressed or suffer any physical damage the bacteria will cause even more trouble.
If you can, you should put live plants, not sure if you have them and I know you had issues posting pictures, but plants help with so much: clean the water, give the fish a place to explore, hide and/or rest under and just become part of the mini ecosystem that you're building for your pet fish.
Temperature was also mentioned, as cories are not fond of water that's too warm, and warmer water can also help some bad bacteria thrive.
These are not fastidious or hard to work out details, and planning and getting them right will pay off in the long run.

 

[KiwiGal77]

What to do next time?

Refer to all of the excellent advice you've received around appropriate water parameters (pH, hardness & temp) for the types of fish you want to keep, cycling tanks properly, stocking levels, fish compatability, checking for ammonia nitrite & nitrate, water changes using dechlorinator, filter setup and cleaning, and suitable substrates.

Medication should only be used when you have a specific CONFIRMED illness that you need to treat. So I wouldn't even be thinking about it now, instead make all of the above your priority to learn about and correct and you'll be far more likely to have a good aquarium with happy, healthy fish

 

[VioletThePurple]

What to do next time?

Refer to all of the excellent advice you've received around appropriate water parameters (pH, hardness & temp) for the types of fish you want to keep, cycling tanks properly, stocking levels, fish compatibility, checking for ammonia nitrite & nitrate, water changes using dechlorinator, filter setup and cleaning, and suitable substrates.

Medication should only be used when you have a specific CONFIRMED illness that you need to treat. So, I wouldn't even be thinking about it now, instead make all of the above your priority to learn about and correct and you'll be far more likely to have a good aquarium with happy, healthy fish

I know, but I'm afraid there might be a parasite or something still living in the tank. I know stuff you've mentioned now, I'm just wondering if there's anything else to prevent early cory death.

 

[outofwater]

I know, but I'm afraid there might be a parasite or something still living in the tank. I know stuff you've mentioned now, I'm just wondering if there's anything else to prevent early cory death.

It's a fine balance and one can't go to extremes or you'll be in a perpetual state of worry and stress. Get your basic building blocks solidly in place, and the fish will be fine. Like every other living creature there'll be times when you do all you can and they'll still get sick, and yes eventually die some day, but if you know you've got the basics right, you'll enjoy the time and you'll have peace of mind that when a death happens, it's just life taking its course.
Get this tank to the condition it needs to be, then go and get friends for that tough survivor you have.

We all live surrounded by parasites, bacteria, etc, if we're healthy we don't get sick or recover quickly when we do. Same with the fish: make sure the tank is in the best shape possible, your fish will live and thrive.

 

[KiwiGal77]

I know, but I'm afraid there might be a parasite or something still living in the tank. I know stuff you've mentioned now, I'm just wondering if there's anything else to prevent early cory death.

More than likely it was the tank conditions that either directly caused the sicknesses, or significantly contributed to weakening the fish which made them susceptible to illnesses that a healthy fish would normally be able to fight off naturally.

So, don't worry about anything except those basics for now. Get them all 100%, then when you're ready for new fish you know you'll be giving them the best chance possible to thrive in your tank

 

[VioletThePurple]

More than likely, it was the tank conditions that either directly caused the sicknesses, or significantly contributed to weakening the fish which made them susceptible to illnesses that a healthy fish would normally be able to fight off naturally.

So, don't worry about anything except those basics for now. Get them all 100%, then when you're ready for new fish you know you'll be giving them the best chance possible to thrive in your tank

It was the tank conditions? Couldn't have been, I was doing daily partial water changes at first signs of sickness. Water parameters turned up fine too. Ph 7, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, and ammonia 0. Idk what you're on about.

 

[Beastije]

You really shouldnt argue, when you are clearly wrong. You had gravel, which accumulates large pockets of anaerobic bacteria, and the corydoras are oversensitive to targeted spikes of ammonia, which happen near the substrate, and they suffer for a long time before showing symptoms, once they do, in the manner you had, it is too late to fix it.
If you water parameters were "fine" across the whole tank, not the surface area where you took the sample from, the fish wouldnt be dying, now would it? Even if it were a disease, it only matured and spread because the tank conditions allowed it.

But sure, "couldn't have been" water condition, with this approach, you will face the same situation again, since you clearly dont want to listen to advice given...

 

[KiwiGal77]

It was the tank conditions? Couldn't have been, I was doing daily partial water changes at first signs of sickness. Water parameters turned up fine too. Ph 7, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, and ammonia 0. Idk what you're on about.

You say here ammonia was zero, but in your post about the cories you said you only had test strips (known for being innacturate) and they don't test for ammonia - so which is it? You also cleaned out the filter with tap water when you first noticed issues, so it's quite possible you ended up with spikes due to killing off some of the beneficial bacteria which made problems worse for the fish. You also said you went a week without testing water, so again you probably missed some ammonia, nitrite & nitrate spikes. Your gravel substrate wasn't good for cories and causing them stress which weakens their immunity. Prior to you noticing the major issues, you were only changing about 25% water every 2 weeks, which may not have been nearly enough but you wouldn't know as weren't testing daily and weren't testing ammonia at all. You had to separate your betta due to aggression, it possibly was also harrassing the cories but you just didn't see it. You also said in one of your earlier posts that you didn't have a siphon so never cleaned the gravel - a very real issue for bottom-dwelling fish like cories.

So yes - it is highly likely tank conditions were the major factor contributing to the issues you've had. And remembering that by the time you noticed the issues and started doing something about it, the fish had likely been slowly degrading for some time in those less-than-ideal tank conditions.

Getting defensive when people are offering advice and pointing out areas for improvement aren't going to help you - and it certainly won't help your current or future fish. We aren't here to attack you, we are here to help you, but it's your responsibility to be honest with us about your issues and situation and be open to hearing the advice to solve those isues. It's entirely up to you

 

[DoubleDutch]

It was the tank conditions? Couldn't have been, I was doing daily partial water changes at first signs of sickness. Water parameters turned up fine too. Ph 7, nitrite 0, nitrate 20, and ammonia 0. Idk what you're on about.

That's exact it.
"Daily partial water changes at fist signs of sickness" isn't what we all are talking about.

Good husbandery and balance prevents sickness and will not cure fish afterwards (finrot maybe).

Also meds don't prevent getting ill but only are usable as last resort when they do get ill.

Patience, clean water, enough space, good tankmates, good food, peacefull tankmates, etc etc... are the cheapest way to prevent fish getting sick.

Even when meds are use one should ask himself / herself how the fish got sick.
Meds don't remove most causes (only introduced parasites maybe).

Meds aren't the sollution and especially not as the are "general".