corys do not like their new home

[FishFin23]

Three days ago, I moved 2 corys to a new 30 gallon. One is a peppered cory and one is albino that I think is also peppered (his dorsal fin is not as rounded as the bronzes ) but I can't be sure. Before moving them, they stayed in a 20 gallon with various other fish where they were the only corys for about a year (had 3 others, but they died). Since moving them, the albino hides most of the time only coming out for food. He seems constantly nervous. The other cory got stuck on the filter the first day, but even he is much more active than the albino now (but still can't keep up with the bronze corys). Could the lighting be too strong for the albino? Would spending a year with only one other cory make them afraid of other corys? Would finding out for sure what species the albino is and adding more of that species help him?

Water parameters
Temp=74 degrees, ph=7.0, soft water, KH=?, Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0, 25% water change every week.

Tank set up
30 gallon w/ small gravel substrate, Penguin 170 filter w/ carbon and Seachemâ??s Purigen, furnishings include rocks, plastic plants, tree roots (not real ones, but the plastic ones made for aquariums at PetSmart), tankmates: 3 bronze corys, set up for almost 3 weeks

Action Taken/Medication Used
The only â??actionâ?

[zenyfish]

3 days is not a lot of time. Give them a week or two to get use to their new tank, and keep the lighting off for a few days.

[Deb]

Hi, Fishfin23. Well, after reading your posting a few times I think I know what might be bothering your Peppered and Albino cories. It may even have solved itself by now.

You said your 30 gallon set up was about 3 weeks old. When you put the Bronze cories in, they were going from an ok situation (the pet store tank), to a much improved situation (your specially set up 30 gallon luxury tank).
Essentially, they were cycling a new tank.

But when you added the Peppered and Albino to the 30, they were going from a familiar, comfortable situation, to a very new one. The change might not have been welcome from their standpoint. Maybe they didn't feel crowded in the 20 gallon. They were used to it, and they liked it.

However, things may still be well. Your 30 gallon was set up fine, and the Bronze ones were doing great. I think it might have been better to let the Bronze cories have a longer quarantine time in that tank by themselves, but opinions vary on that subject. It's hard to wait!

In any case, now that the Peppered and Albino cories (which may both be C. paleatus, from what you said) are in, they will have to adjust. You had some advice to keep the lights low, and that should help.

If the pH between the two tanks was different, and you didn't take long enough to acclimate them to that, that could be bothering them, too. I take 1/2 hour for each .2 of pH difference, and I always test the pH of pet store water in the bag.

In light of all this, I don't think you should add those new C. panda yet! Not even next week, if that is still your plan. You are doing the right thing by not taking any drastic action, at this time.

This is kind of a long post, but something like this happened to me a few years ago with - you guessed it! - 5 Corydoras panda. I lost them. I think your Peppered and Albino paleatus are much hardier than pandas.

I'm hoping everything works out for you.

deb

[Marc van Arc]

Of course Corys are happy with company of their own kind.
That will never be the problem. Give it some more time, don't worry and pls don't change it back again.

[FishFin23]

Thanks for the advice guys. I kept the lights off for 2 days in which the albino became a lot more active, but the peppered is just about at his end I think. When I did the first post, I thought he would be the one to make it, but now he won't eat and is presently lying on his side . He also breathes very heavily everytime he tries to move. Don't really know what else to do for him.

In light of all this, I don't think you should add those new C. panda yet!

I hadn't planned to move the pandas out of quarantine for a while. I only got them about 3 weeks ago - I quarantine for at least a month if I can, and it usually turns out being more. I hope the same thing doesn't happen to them when I do move them though...

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and advice on this.

[FishFin23]

The peppered cory died tonight. The albino, however, has settled in quite nicely with the bronze corys. I'm worried the same will happen to the pandas, although they are pretty much in the same situation as the bronze corys (being moved from quarantine to the 30 gallon instead of from somewhere familiar and comfortable) who have done really well. But then again I have read/heard that pandas are more sensitive. I guess we'll see whenever I move them....?

[Deb]

Hi. Well, it's been a few days, and meanwhile we got covered in snow and ice here.
I was sorry to hear your peppered cory died.
I hope your Albino is still doing well, living with the Bronze cories.
Thinking about what you said about the pandas, I think they'll be okay when you decide to move them to the 30, don't you?
After all, the water in the 30 is bound to be the same as the water in the pandas' quarantine tank. You set them both up, and you have been caring for them the same way. If the difference in pH between the two tanks is within .2, I don't see what the problem would be with moving them.
Maybe someone else has some thoughts.
Hope everything's ok.

deb