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Hello, I just read the sticky about Cory health related questions and I'll include as much info as I have.

The temp is 76*
pH - normal (sorry... not sure of the range, I did a test last night and it was in the normal range)
gh - ?
kh - ?

I clean the aquarium every 2 weeks, changing about 1/4 of the water. Last cleaning done about 8 days ago.

Tank size 20 gallons. Community is 9 months old. Filtration is 1 Whisper power filter and 1 Biowheel.

Furnishings are 3 plastic plants, 1 nylon/cloth plant, 1 cave type dwelling, 1 plastic reef, 1 air stone, gravel, rocks.

Tank mates 6 Tetra's, 2 albino Coryâ??s (3 total albinos), and 2 peppered Cory's.

Symptoms - 1 of my Albino Cory's has red/orange lines around his middle section (it looks like someone bent him in half), the top fin is jagged and about 3/4 of it is gone; the bottom section of the tail fin is jagged and is about 1/4 gone. Last night my Cory swam around very hyper (more so than usual) and was breathing pretty heavy.

Action taken - put in 4 tablets of medicine for a bacterial infection (as that is what appears to be the issue). I'm not sure of the type/name of medicine (it's at home). I started treatment last night. This treatment is a 5 day treatment with 2 tables per every 10 gallons, then 2 tablets per 10 gallons every 24 hours.

I haven't added anything new to the tank, same tank mates, same brand of filters, no new food...

This morning the Albino was still alive. This afternoon I am going to buy a divider for the tank to keep the albino by himself.

I am very new to this hobby and any feedback/suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi and welcome to the forum,

The problem here is probably a phyisical one with bacterial secondary infection. There are a couple of questions I need to ask, first what type of gravel are you using, do the grains look like small pebbles or are they more irregular shaped like chippings? the other question is what species ot tetra do you have?

The worn away lower caudal lobe (tail) is a sign thatall is not well with the gravel and the ragged Dorsal fin indicates that something is probably nipping at it. These two things could be a contributing factor in the body marks, which are probably associated with stress.

Firstly I would increase the water changes to 1/13 every week, I don't think that the condition is any way contagious, but if the other Corys suffer the same stress they could also show the same symptoms.

Ian

Coryman wrote:Hi and welcome to the forum,

The problem here is probably a phyisical one with bacterial secondary infection. There are a couple of questions I need to ask, first what type of gravel are you using, do the grains look like small pebbles or are they more irregular shaped like chippings? the other question is what species ot tetra do you have?

The worn away lower caudal lobe (tail) is a sign thatall is not well with the gravel and the ragged Dorsal fin indicates that something is probably nipping at it. These two things could be a contributing factor in the body marks, which are probably associated with stress.

Firstly I would increase the water changes to 1/13 every week, I don't think that the condition is any way contagious, but if the other Corys suffer the same stress they could also show the same symptoms.

Ian

Hi, and thank you!

The gravel is both; small pebbles and small irregular shaped chippings. Now that I think about it, when the Cory's are resting they like to stay in the little cave dwelling and spend a lot of time swimming by the medium aquarium stones that are very smooth.

The tetras I have are pink skirts. When I was inspecting my Cory's last night I noticed that one of the other Albino's has some irregular wearing away of his caudal lobe in the same area (bottom of the fin).

So do you think this could be wear and tear, and that perhaps I should add some sand? When I watch my fish, the tetra's don't interact with the Cory's too much but last night, one of the peppered Cory's kept swimming and rubbing up against the injured Albino.

I know this isn't a lot of information, but at this point would you recommend putting a divider into the tank?

I am not keen on any form of chippings some are crushed flint which is abrasive and does cause fin and more seriously barbel wear. The ideal substrate for Corys is smooth grained sand. Do you stir the gravel at all before making water changes? this should be done to release any gasses that are forming from rotting uneaten food and the like. If you use a probe and lightly agitate the gravel you will see if and bubbles rise, if so this could be the main cause of the problems you have.

I would not bother with the divider.

Ian

Yes, I do stir the gravel before doing water changes. Thank you.