Cory digesting problem?

[Vlacek]

Two weeks ago I bought one corydoras venezuelanus (there was only one left in LFS). This weekend I was feeding it with frozen blood worms as I often do with my panda corries. Shortly after feeding c.venezuelanus started to be very active and was swimming all around the tank almost like crazy and only stopping for a moment while heavily breathing which it has never done before. It was like this whole afternoon and then I noticed that whole blood worms were coming out of his anus! Totally undigested. The fish didn't seem that it had eaten too much but hard to say as it always looks quite full (high probably female). I thought that it will not survive until morning but it was fine the next day and behaves as before since then.

Has anyone experienced such thing or is my fish not ok? I'm a bit afraid to feed with blood worms again but I guess I'll not find out until I try. I can't stop feeding with blood worms because of other fish in the tank.

Regards,
Martin

[medaka]

HI Vlacek

The only thing that I have come across that loosely bares any similarity to what you describe.
Was an occurance many years ago when I was in a fish store and the owner showed me what he thought was funny.

He pointed out to me a golden barb and said "yesterday I fed live tubifex to the catfish and in this tank and this morning I found that golden barbs must not be able to digest these worms as they are now hanging out of its anus"!
When I looked I had to inform him that the redish coloured worms sadly were not undigested tubifex worms but they were in fact a type of intestinal parasitic worm.

[Vlacek]

Hi medaka,

parasitic worms were the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it but these were clearly blood worms looking exactly the same like before they have been eaten. Shrimps started eating them and some were eaten by cory again. I'm feeding live tubifex too and there is no issue with it. I must say that this cory is very good at hunting tubifex in sand. It can dig so deep that it's in the sand up to ventral fins. Quite funny

I'll feed frozen blood worms sometimes over the weekend or next week again and will see if that was some coincidence or if this particular fish is simply not able/not willing to digest this kind of food which every other fish in my tanks loves.

[Korsaaven]

the name of the parasitic worm that can be seen hanging out of fish anus is called Camallanus sp. Check pics of fish infected with Camallanus and compare it with what you see in your cory.

[Vlacek]

Thanks for this interesting info! Googled out some awful pics. Luckily not my case 100% sure. Mine were simply blood worms.