question about cories

mudboy · Post by **mudboy** » 02 Feb 2004, 12:01

it seems i have no luck with cories.all the ones i've kept usually don't last too long.
i just got 3 albino juveniles (about 3/4 in or so) on friday and sunday morning they were dead.

1. Water parameters
a) Temerature range.
78 degrees
b) pH.
7.2-7.4
c) GH.
8
d) KH
3
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, leavels.
0,0,<20 respectively
f) Water change frequency
10% every other week
(Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings).

2. Tank set up
a) Size.
5 gal
b) Substrate.
med-fine gravel
c) Filtration.
tetra tech hob for 5-10 gal
d) Furnishings.
small rocks and live plants (sm. ozelot sword and crypt. wendtii)
e) Other tank mates.
male betta
f) How long has it been set-up?
3 months

3. Symptoms / Problem description
none...seemed fine. didn't see the betta even give them a second look

4. Action taken (if any)
none

5. Medications used (if any)
none

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 02 Feb 2004, 16:20

As there is no major obvious problems all you can do is be more cautious.

were the cory's new to the LFS?, next time leave them for a week or so before you buy them. Have you compared there water conditions to your own?, what pH and temperature do the LFS keep them in?. How do you introduce the fish into your aquarium when you get them home?. What other fish are present in your tank?

Post by **Coryman** » 02 Feb 2004, 16:21

The one question that comes to mind is; Did you check the water parameters of the water they came from the shop in and did you acclimatise them slowly to your water conditions. For fish are lost because they have not been acclimatised properly.

Ian

mudboy · Post by **mudboy** » 02 Feb 2004, 19:08

i put the bag in for about 10 minutes to equal out the temp, then add a little water (maybe a quarter to a half cup) every 15 minutes over at least an hour's time.i never dump the water into the tank,either.i'll either pour the fish into a net or scoop them out with my hand. i acclimate all my fish the same way and usually never have a problem. they were delivered to the store the day before, but they were all very active in the display tank and there were no dead ones in there either. maybe that's the problem,though. it just bums me out to lose fish like that and for no apparent reason.

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 02 Feb 2004, 19:29

Maybe they are in a very differnt pH in the shop? Ask next time. Maybe even try another LFS?

Jools

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 02 Feb 2004, 23:22

Any decent LFS takes the dead fish out first thing in the morning so you are unlikely to be given that sort of a clue.

I'm guessing between a weak batch and a difference in water quality between yours and the LFS tanks was just a bit too much for them.

I may do a poll on this but IMO an hour is a long time to acclimatise fish in a bag (although i dont think this was an issue in your case, it's just a lead to a poll). The best method i have found so far has been to use a small black bucket with the fish in and use an air line with a g-clamp to slowly fill the bucket up over the period of 40min to an hour.

mudboy · Post by **mudboy** » 02 Feb 2004, 23:51

well,anyway, i've never had a lot of luck with cories in general for some reason,which is a shame because they're some cool little fish.it seems like my limit on keeping one is about 3 or 4 months.every one i've ever had died.i've kept neons alive longer than that!

i've never had 3 go all at once like that though. i got a pictus cat the same day and he's doing great.he eats like a pig and never stays still.i'm in the process of setting up a 40 gallon and i'm getting him 2 or 3 buddies when it's ready for fish.he makes me tired just watching him...hehe

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 02 Feb 2004, 23:57

e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, leavels.
0,0,<20 respectively

did you just put nitrate and nitrite in the wrong order or does your tank contain 2mg/l of nitrite?

do you gravel clean when you do water changes?

At least change something in your methods, if it was me i would increase water changes to 20% once a week rather than 10% every two weeks.

mudboy · Post by **mudboy** » 03 Feb 2004, 02:27

oops, nitrate is <20 ppm.nitrite is 0. the reason i don't change the water weekly is because all that's in there is a betta, the little filter that's on it is on the overkill side and there are plenty of plants for the size of the tank.i test the water at least once a week and leave it until the nitrates get to >20 ppm.i vacuum the gravel every water change,and i don't over feed.plus there are plenty of snails in there that hitchhiked on the plants that do a good job of cleanup as well.the tank has been established for 3 months and both the plants and mr. betta are very healthy. that's why i can't understand why they just went belly up.i keep a close eye on all my tanks and generally have good success, but not with cories for some reason.i'm gonna keep on trying though.

Beersnob · Post by **Beersnob** » 03 Feb 2004, 03:20

mudboy wrote:oops, nitrate is <20 ppm.nitrite is 0. the reason i don't change the water weekly is because all that's in there is a betta, the little filter that's on it is on the overkill side and there are plenty of plants for the size of the tank.i test the water at least once a week and leave it until the nitrates get to >20 ppm.i vacuum the gravel every water change,and i don't over feed.plus there are plenty of snails in there that hitchhiked on the plants that do a good job of cleanup as well.the tank has been established for 3 months and both the plants and mr. betta are very healthy. that's why i can't understand why they just went belly up.i keep a close eye on all my tanks and generally have good success, but not with cories for some reason.i'm gonna keep on trying though.

I think you have the same problem I've had. The high nitrate level could be killing the fish. If I remember my cory-sudden death syndrome. They would appear ok happily swimming around. The next day lethargic not moving very much and then DEAD

Clean the tanks and/or get some nitrate removing filter material for your power filter.

The other idea I have is more due to what I've read. Some books state that various Cory species like a low pH of 6.8 to 7.2. I don't know, but maybe the change of pH could have overstressed the fish?