Cory Cat red

DancingBetta

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My Cory cat is missing a barbel, the area is red, and his stomach is red.
7BF5EB5C-AB18-400A-9A9B-575AEA908DA2.jpeg
 
omg.. that looks serious...
how old is the tank
ammonia
nitrite
 
Can you post more info please?
What substrate/s are in the tank and how do you keep them clean? Have you used any products in the tank such as root tabs, algae treatment etc?
 
Poor kid! I just went on Dr Google (I also have cory cats and would be worried, too). Could it be red blotch disease? Can be caused by poor water quality or sharp surfaces leading to secondary infection. I'm sure more experienced folks will know. Good luck!
 
Poor kid! I just went on Dr Google (I also have cory cats and would be worried, too). Could it be red blotch disease? Can be caused by poor water quality or sharp surfaces leading to secondary infection. I'm sure more experienced folks will know. Good luck!
yes, could be that if there are sharp rocks
another user told me something about how brand new sand causes some stuff like that?
 
yes, could be that if there are sharp rocks
another user told me something about how brand new sand causes some stuff like that?
Or maybe lower grade sand than what's on the package? Hate to sound pessimistic, but according to my fish shop, aquariums and supplies are like the new toilet paper now, very high demand. After all, silica sand is the mother of glass - hope it wasn't sketchy labeling and/or that the little cory is treatable. I've never had sand for the cory cats, but hear it's best. I've always used the rounded river pebbles and have a happy little mob of them, at least for the last 5 years or so.
 
My first thought was red blotch disease. I lost a Cory to it. I would put the Cory in a quarantine tank with fresh, clean water. Antibiotics are usually necessary for this so I would recommend Seachem Kanaplex. I would treat at 1/2 dose for cories. Do not use salt. Check your substrate.
 
Sorry I took so long. I left the test kit... somewhere. I’ll look for it. It’s CaribSea Supernaturals sand. 40 gallon tank. About a year old. I used a few root tabs when I first started the tank, but that’s it. I’ll dig out my old 20 gallon and set it up. If this is red blotch disease, is it contagious?
 
Sorry I took so long. I left the test kit... somewhere. I’ll look for it. It’s CaribSea Supernaturals sand. 40 gallon tank. About a year old. I used a few root tabs when I first started the tank, but that’s it. I’ll dig out my old 20 gallon and set it up. If this is red blotch disease, is it contagious?
No, it’s like fin rot. It is caused by stress and dirty substrate or anaerobic conditions so another could be affected by the environment. Do a large water change and vacuum your substrate well in main tank. Antibiotics are helpful in early stages. It’s kind of like an infected blister.
 
Quick question, how big does the quarantine tank have to be? I can’t actually use the 20 gallon at the moment. I have an old fish bowl, is that too small? And do I need substrate in there?
 
Quick question, how big does the quarantine tank have to be? I can’t actually use the 20 gallon at the moment. I have an old fish bowl, is that too small? And do I need substrate in there?
10g is big enough
dont need substrate i think
 
It's caused by poor water quality.
Test the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the tank water.

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Do the following...
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

If there's no improvement after a few days with daily water changes and salt, or it gets worse during that time, you will need a broad spectrum medication that treats fungus, protozoan and bacterial infections.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
 

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