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Small Cory in Quarantine. Help.

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Ozzie Boss

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Here is the picture of the sick Cory in the quarantine tank (excuse the mess it’s the leftover food he didn’t eat that I need to siphon out) Is there anything visually wrong with him? Like a fungus or parasite? I’m a novice when it comes to figuring out this type of stuff.

Some background about this fish is that I got him when I bought 5 Emearld Corys from a fish store. They gave me 2 smaller ones as they were the last ones they had. I put them in the 50 gallon and they were doing great being extremely active. I gave them a few days and they started eating except for the 2 smaller ones. I left it alone thinking they needed more time to establish but every time I added shrimp pellets it felt like they were purposely swimming away from the food and separating themselves from the others. This went on for 2 weeks until the smallest one died. I think it starved itself to death because I never saw it eat. Thinking that I netted the other small one (the one in the picture) and put it in a quarantine tank added a little bit of salt and a water conditioner to “relieve stress” I then added some food and after a while he ate a bit. My question is if the lack of eating cause the death of my smallest Cory and sicken this Cory? Or is it something different?

My water parameters:
Nitrate:0ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
PH: 7.5
GH:180ppm
KH:80ppm
 
Not sure if it helps but the 50 gallon is a planted tank with a sand substrate. The stocking of the tank was 7 white skirts and 6 emerald corys until the one pasted away.
 
Emerald cory is actually Brochis splendens, which is a different species that resembles a Corydoras. However, they are treated the same and behave in the same way.

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I need a clearer picture to be sure but the fish appears to have a bit of damage to the dorsal (top) fin, and possibly some lines on the side of the head and just behind the head.

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It's unlikely a fish would starve to death in 2 weeks. Baby fish (less than 1 month old) can starve in a couple of days but fish bought from a pet shop should be big enough to go for a couple of weeks without food.

If a fish is not eating it is either poor or incorrect water quality or a disease. Diseases that stop fish eating include internal bacterial and protozoan infections (identified by rapid bloating of the abdomen and stringy white poop).
Some fish get gill fungus or bacterial infections that stop them eating and they breathe heavily and usually die within a week of this.

If you have had the fish and it's still alive after a couple of weeks, then it's unlikely to be a disease.

It is possible the fish are wild caught in which case they won't be use to dry foods and you should try other types of food like frozen (but defrosted) bloodworms, brineshrimp, daphnia and prawn. If the water is good and the fish refuses these foods then try live brineshrimp or live blackworms (not Tubifex). If the fish ignores live food then it is sick.

If you get live blackworms from a pet shop, make sure they are all dark in colour and there are no cream, white or grey worms in the bag. The light coloured worms are dead and rotting and should not be fed to fish. You can keep blackworms in a cold water tank or pond with a thin layer of sand and an air operated sponge filter. They feed on organic matter (dead plants, etc) and can be scooped out when needed to feed fish. You do water changes on them each week like a normal fish tank.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Colin. These “Corys” came from a Petco as they were the only one to have that particair type (I had a lone one in a 10 and heard that they need to be the same type to school) and I wouldn’t be surprised if those Corys didn’t eat at the Petco location. And yes you are correct there is damage on the dorsial fin of the “Cory” I don’t think they are wild caught as the others ate shrimp pellets and after putting this one in the quarantine tank began to eat as well. I’m not sure why it refused to eat or school with the other Corys in the 50 gallon. Could it be that the Corys kicked it out of the school for being a “runt” but I honestly doubt it. I guess at this point I just have to up the water changes and fed it a bit heavier. Hopefully it survives and heals.
 
Corydoras and Brochis will all associate with each other regardless of size. I have kept adult and juvenile fish together and they all hung out together and there was no fighting.

As to why it didn't eat in the main tank, possibly water quality, stress from being put in a new tank (some fish deal with stress better than others, just like people), lack of hiding places for that particular fish, or some other factor.

Give it a couple of weeks in its own tank and feed it a variety of food. Do lots of water changes and then after it has regained some weight and condition, put it in with the others and see how it goes. :)
 
Emerald cory is actually Brochis splendens, which is a different species that resembles a Corydoras. However, they are treated the same and behave in the same way.

----------------------
I need a clearer picture to be sure but the fish appears to have a bit of damage to the dorsal (top) fin, and possibly some lines on the side of the head and just behind the head.

----------------------
It's unlikely a fish would starve to death in 2 weeks. Baby fish (less than 1 month old) can starve in a couple of days but fish bought from a pet shop should be big enough to go for a couple of weeks without food.

If a fish is not eating it is either poor or incorrect water quality or a disease. Diseases that stop fish eating include internal bacterial and protozoan infections (identified by rapid bloating of the abdomen and stringy white poop).
Some fish get gill fungus or bacterial infections that stop them eating and they breathe heavily and usually die within a week of this.

If you have had the fish and it's still alive after a couple of weeks, then it's unlikely to be a disease.

It is possible the fish are wild caught in which case they won't be use to dry foods and you should try other types of food like frozen (but defrosted) bloodworms, brineshrimp, daphnia and prawn. If the water is good and the fish refuses these foods then try live brineshrimp or live blackworms (not Tubifex). If the fish ignores live food then it is sick.

If you get live blackworms from a pet shop, make sure they are all dark in colour and there are no cream, white or grey worms in the bag. The light coloured worms are dead and rotting and should not be fed to fish. You can keep blackworms in a cold water tank or pond with a thin layer of sand and an air operated sponge filter. They feed on organic matter (dead plants, etc) and can be scooped out when needed to feed fish. You do water changes on them each week like a normal fish tank.
Not long ago it is changed in Corydoras Splendens (though I like Brochis cause of the differences to the "old" Corydoras and Brochis is often still used)
There is constantly movement between Brochis / Corydoras / Aspidoras and between the different lignes of Corydoras.


Some (wildcaught) Corys have problems to adapt to our waterparameters, with an overproduction of mucus as a result. Frequent waterchanges and using Melafix can do wonders (Good food is another like Colin said).

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