110 Gallon South American Biotope

[Ruskull]

Hey EA, can you please explain the difference between Leopardus Corries & Trilineatus (Three Lined) Corries?
 
I have 7 of what I believe to be the latter but they were sold to me as Julii Corries.  As I understand it, Juliis have spots where the Three Lined have a reticulated pattern where the random shapes interlock.  Is it the shape of the snout that determines the difference between Trilineatus & Leopardus?    

 

[Ruskull]

Oh man, I just read up to the part where your Bloodfins didn't last the night.  So sorry to see that happen to your new tank.  It has to be the fish themselves having an existing problem or a big swing in the pH, those are the only things I can think of.  Don't give up though...............

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Link to trilineatus profile:
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=508
Notice the smaller size (2 inches) and the shorter snout...
 
 
Link to leopardus profile:
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=240
Notice the larger size (3 inches) and the longer snout...
 
 
The key, as its been explained to me, ignore the markings and just focus on the body shape first.  The difference between the two is striking.  Once, that has been identified, the next level is to look at markings and where the cories are from...   The leopards have quite a good deal of variation in their markings, but the shape of the body is pretty much the same...  

 

[PlumbersMerchant]

Dude, Sorry to hear about your tank. Im proper guted for you. Hope it goes better next time round

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Thank you for the condolences...
 
We've been trying to figure it out... Nothing seems to make sense with this.  The fish were at the surface (the ones that made it through to morning) and gasping, like they do with ammonia or nitrite spikes... HOWEVER, the ammonia and nitrite were both solid zeros!  
 
 
The only thing that we are coming up with is that the fish may have had too much circulation for them to deal with all night, and they actually may have died from exhaustion...  But, the current in the tank doesn't really seem that strong.  These are supposed to be active fish, and should be able to handle a bit of current (or find a spot in the tank with LESS current).  The theory being that these are stock from a fish farm, and have been kept in such tight quarters for so long that they may not have been able to deal with the 10X turnover we have on the tank currently.  We've considered either removing the powerhead, changing the direction of the powerhead to create less of a swirling effect in the tank, and more of a "random" effect - possibly creating a dead spot or two (which we were originally trying to avoid), or just running the powerhead when the lights are on... the fluorescent fixture has a separate outlet we can plug into and it would shut off when the timer goes off.
 
 
We are also going to try to get some information on this batch of fish from our distributor to find out more information regarding mortality rates, etc. 
 
 
One other option we are considering is that they may have been dealing with some sort of disease, gill flukes or something (although we didn't notice any flicking) that may have hampered their ability to draw oxygen from the water, and could contributed to the "exhaustion" hypothesis.
 
 
The issue with the "exhaustion" hypothesis is that the dead fish just fell to the bottom of the tank, rather than piling up in a corner.  Finally, the fish didn't really appear to be struggling after we first released them, and they seemed able to easily be able to just sit on the bottom when we first put them into the tank (upon immediate introduction).   
 
We are really grasping at straws... We don't think it was pH shock or anything like that, but at the same time... we've really got very little else to go by.

 

[greenmumma141]

Such a horrible, frustrating thing. I can imagine how frustrating it is for you, not really knowing.  
 
What if your cories are taking them out at night to keep the tank for themselves hehehehe

 

[Ruskull]

Thanks for the info EA, I'm fairly certain all mine are Trilineatus.....

 

[jack1]

Sorry to read about your fish - hope things get better for you - it's a brilliant looking tank

 

[eaglesaquarium]

More drama!
 
The Hydor 400W heater we got is on the fritz!  The temp on Friday jumped up to 82F (its winter here, so there's no reason for anything BUT the heater to be responsible).  Immediate course of action was to unplug the heater.  We had a spare 50W (not nearly enough!) heater for the moment, so we plopped that in and let it run.  Over the 3 day weekend, the temp dropped to 64F.  Needless to say, that's cause for concern.  The cories are all still fine, but we are looking for another solution, obviously.
 
 
First, I've plugged in the other heater again and am watching it carefully.  The temp has risen to 66+F, in about two hours time, so that's a good sign (trying to raise the temp slowly, rather than quickly).  The cories were hiding out in the rock work - must be retaining a bit of heat in the rocks.  I've opened the shade on the window in the corner to draw some solar heat to the tank after I leave this afternoon.  That should give a bit of heat to the tank, without the heater, or at least slow the drop overnight.
 
A friend of mine has a 200W heater that we are going to put in the tank while we send this one back.  So, that will be 250W on the tank, plus the solar radiation - that should help keep the temp up a bit more, and hopefully we will have this thing sorted a bit better by the time the weekend rolls around again!
 
 
We are returning the Hydor heater and hope to get a replacement quickly. 
 
 
Obviously, we aren't going to be getting any new fish until this new crisis is properly dealt with.  So, new updates to this will be slow in coming.  We are still trying to work out what exactly went wrong with the bloodfins.  Why they ALL died and so quickly is beyond me...  It might have been the batch of fish, but at the same time, all of them?!  

 Still upsetting.

 

[This Old Spouse]

This has been a very interesting read! So sorry about the loss of your tetras. That is awfully odd. I hope your issues get straightened out soon and you can get lots more fish in there. 

 

[mishmash]

You can buy a temperature controller (such as the ATC300) on Ebay for little money.  It guards against rogue heaters deciding to keep heating above the set temperature.  Of course, if the heater claps out all together it can't compensate for that, but at least it stops you cooking your tank inhabitants Might be worth a thought.  

 

[greenmumma141]

jeeze! I can only imagine how frustrated all of this must be! Keep persevering, it will be worth it!!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It is frustrating, but at the same time, its a learning experience...  I'm learning patience again.  
 
 
The 200W heater is in the tank and it seems to be holding 78F (which is where the temp was this morning with the bigger heater - vertical instead of horizontal like I prefer).  The 200W heater is also vertical, because its easier to adjust that way.  I'll be dropping the thermostat on that heater down to 75F, and we'll see what happens overnight with it.  Hopefully it will sit at 75F.  We are contemplating just going with two 200W heaters, rather than a single 400W.  That should give us more flexibility for the future.
 
 
Still working on what to do regarding the bloodfins.  I'm thinking of getting half a dozen from the local LFS as a test...  I've had great success with that LFS and fish, so I feel fairly confident in them...  But I still need to figure out what went wrong with the last batch before proceeding with more from that source.

 

[greenmumma141]

It would be interesting to see what happens with the bloodfins from your LFS. Again, i just don't see how it could be your tank when your cories are doing great. And your acclimation process seems extremely adequate, even overly adequate... I would try some from the LFS, if anything, atleast to confirm the fact that it's not your tank and give you some peace of mind. 

 

[This Old Spouse]

As is suggested on here everywhere, it's always a good idea to quarantine any new fish for at least a couple of weeks so if there is something wrong and it's transmittable you won't contaminate your main tank.