Worried About My New Cories. Help!

[lillykinloo]

Hi everyone! I purchased my first ever cories today (yay!) They are so very cute. Unfortuantely, I was only able to purchase 3 of them, because this is all they had. I bought 3 Julii Cories. To be honest, I think they are probably Trinileatus Cories, but I didn't bother arguing with shop owner about it because I'm not an expert and I like both the Juliis and the Trinileatus anyways. I want to get at least 2-3 more of them. They are very, very tiny...probably about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Right now, they are still in their bag, and I'm slowly adding my aquarium water to get them acclimated. Here's the problem:

When I put their bag in the tank, one of my Diamond Tetras started nipping at the cories in the bag like they thought the little cories were food. I'm worried now that if I release the cories into my tank, the Diamond Tetras might try to eat them. I only saw them take one nip, but I don't want the tetras to harm my new cories. Should I run out and buy a baby fish tank thing that hangs on the inside of the tank to keep the cories in? If so, will they be ok in the bag for about an hour (that's how long it would take for me to get to the fish store and back)? They've already been in the bag for about 1.5 hours.

I do have some hiding spaces in my tank (lots of plants and two pieces of wood). They could get under one of the pieces of wood, but I'm not sure that the tetras couldn't wedge their way in there if they wanted to eat them badly enough.

 

[lillykinloo]

Well, I got a bit concerned about the cories being in the bag for too long, so I went ahead and released them into the tank, hoping that they can take advantage of the hiding places in the tank. They are so small, I can't even keep track of them. My gravel is black, and it's hard to see them. My Pearl Gouramis don't seem to care about the little guys. But the tetras are interested...in a bad way I'm afraid. These Diamond Tetras act like they're starving all the time. Anyways, I released them into the tank, and the tetras didn't seem interested at first. Then, one of the little cories shot up to the surface, and all 5 tetras went after him. I didn't know what to do but yell, "no." So stupid...I have cats and dogs that understand no. I probably didn't do anything but scare the whiz out of my poor Pearl Gouramis. In any case, I turned the lights out to encourage everyone to calm down, and I was hoping this would give the poor little cories a chance to hide. Well, they must have done a good job, because now, I can't find any of them. I took a flashlight and tried to search for them on the bottom of the tank, but I don't see anything. I hope they didn't get eaten already. I feel terrible. Granted, my tank is heavily planted, and the mopani wood does have tiny little caves that they can get in to, and I would not be able to see them in here. I'm really, really hoping they've found good hiding places. I guess this is a learning experience... fish smaller than the Diamond Tetras are not allowed in my tank. I did some reasearch and thought the Diamond Tetras were peaceful community fish, but I really don't think I would recommend these Diamond Tetras as "peaceful community fish." They do well with the Pearls, because they can't eat them. But, they even nipped at the feeler of one of the Pearls once. They even nip at each other. They're beautiful fish, but too nippy.

Update-Ok, I did find two of the cories...one is hanging out on a the piece of bogwood. The other one has cradled itself down into a leaf. I'm still searching for the 3rd.

 

[LisaLQ]

How big are the tetras, and how big are the cories? I doubt a tetra could eat a baby cory (as in the size of baby you'd find in the LFS). Tetras are very nosey I've found, and sometimes nippy depending on the species - but not cory eaters. I may be wrong, but I think you can stop worrying if your tank is planted well - cories are pretty smart (despite acting like numpties for 23 hours and 59 minutes of the day lol).

Congratulations on your new cories by the way

 

[lillykinloo]

How big are the tetras, and how big are the cories? I doubt a tetra could eat a baby cory (as in the size of baby you'd find in the LFS). Tetras are very nosey I've found, and sometimes nippy depending on the species - but not cory eaters. I may be wrong, but I think you can stop worrying if your tank is planted well - cories are pretty smart (despite acting like numpties for 23 hours and 59 minutes of the day lol).

Congratulations on your new cories by the way

Hi LisaLQ! Thanks so much for your reply and for the congratulations! The largest Diamond Tetra is about 1.5 inches long. He has been a bit aggressive ever since I first placed him into my tank. He's a male, and he chases the other males all over the tank. But, he's never really injured any of the other fish. My new cories are super small-the largest is about 1/2 inch long. I do hope they are ok. The tetras seem to have calmed down a bit and aren't scavaging around the bottom of the tank anymore like starving sharks, so I'm hoping this is a good sign.

 

[lillykinloo]

Well, my smallest cory is not doing well at all. I spotted him in the tank today breathing but laying on his side. So, I took all three cories out of the tank (they are super fast-I had to tear my whole tank apart to catch the little guys) I purchased a baby fish holder and put the 3 cories in the baby fish holder. Honestly, I don't know if this is stressing them out more. I put a very small plant in the baby fish holder to try to provide some protection from the bright overhead light. And, when I looked more closely at the cories, the smallest one's tail fin is bit off and the medium one's tail fin is partially bit off. I put some Melafix in the water, but it's really not looking good for the small one. The largest of the 3 seems to be doing fine, but I didn't want to risk keeping him in the tank. Is there anything else I can do to try to keep the cories as healthy as possible? Thanks!

 

[Bozza]

I dont think the baby fish holder will be a very good long term soultion. I think it would be best to either get rid of the corys to ur LFS or re
house them

 

[lillykinloo]

I dont think the baby fish holder will be a very good long term soultion. I think it would be best to either get rid of the corys to ur LFS or re
house them

Thanks, Bozza! The smallest cory died today. The other two seem to be doing ok, but I am continuing to dose with the Melafix just in case. My husband and I are going to look at tanks tonight to see if we can get a fairly inexpensive set up to put the other two baby cories in. They're ok in the baby fish holder for now, but I agree...this isn't going to be a good solution long term. Thanks!