Cory - Swim Bladder?

[blazelet]

Tank size: Typical Tank is 30 Gallon, Hospital Tank is 1 Gallon
pH: 7.5
ammonia: <.02
nitrite: Not Sure
nitrate: Not Sure
kH: Not sure what this is
gH: Ditto
tank temp: 72 Degrees

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Cory is swimming around eratically in the tank, he will struggle to get to the top, then once he gets there he will struggle to get back to the bottom. When I put him in a lower water volume tank, he seems to do better. But he is always swimming around, not content to just scour the bottom like he used to. We also noticed his belly appears very red.

Recently we had another bottom feeder (not sure of species) die unexpectedly after a short 5 day vacation (had a friend come and feed them).

We have set up a 1 gallon hospital tank to isolate him, and I have stopped feeding him regular food and have put him on GelTek Medicate Fish Eat drops, as the pet store guy suggested. It says it's for Bacterial Infections, Ulcers and Sores, Pop-Eye and Dropsy and Gill Diseases. I don't know if Cory is eating them or not. I did try to feed peas, but it didn't eat.

Volume and Frequency of water changes:
In the larger tank we don't change incredibly often, maybe 20% every 3 weeks. The hospital tank was just changed today.

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
I am using a pH adjuster fairly regularly (every other day), trying to get to 7.0 but for some reason my water seems stubborn. I also have used the Chlorine reducer and slime coat when I put in new water, and I have been adding a little salt to the new water. I have ammonia adjuster but haven't needed to use it. I also have been giving Gel Tek Medicated Fish Eat to my sick Cory but I don't know if it's eating it.

Tank inhabitants:
Other than the Cory is a Plecy, Mollie, and 3 more fish I am not certain of - one is a bottom feeder that stays hidden in a log, the other 2 are grey and very docile.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
No

Exposure to chemicals:
Not sure what this means

I can try and get some photos up if that would be helpful.

 

[Cory_Dad]

The first potential problem is the salt; Corys don't particularly like salt.

Also the water should be change more often especially if you are just doing 20% changes. When you do change it, do you also vacuum the gravel to get the crap out? What kind of filter do you have and how often do you clean it?

You really do need to get the water properly tested because high ammonia, nitrite or nitrate can and will kill fish. The test kits aren't all that expensive. The test strips aren't as reliable as the liquid test kits.

When you add water you need to pre treat the water to take out the chlorine before adding it, just to be safe.

The problem now well be bacterial but it may have been caused by poor water quality. You need to fix that asap.

The 'Exposure to chemicals:' means has the tank been exposed to big spray, paint fumes, etc.

Good luck and cheers.

 

[blazelet]

I do always treat the water before I refill the tank to remove chlorine. And I'll be better about changing my water out more frequently. I didn't realize it had to be done so often. I do always vacuum the gravel when I clean it, and about every 6 months we empty the whole tank and scrub it down. We are using a filter which we change every couple weeks. It's a Whisper, I believe.

In this case, does it sound like swim bladder? What could the red belly be a function of?

 

[blazelet]

Ok I got a more expansive test kit and this is what I found :

Regular Tank
Tank size: 30 Gallon
pH: 8.0
ammonia: <.02
nitrite: .5
nitrate: 160
kH: 180
gH: 180
tank temp: 72 Degrees

Hospital Tank
Tank size: 1 Gallon
pH: 7.5
ammonia: <.02
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
kH: 180
gH: 180
tank temp: 72 Degrees

Obviously I have a nitrate problem as well as a pH and hardness problem. To fix I already have a pH correcting formula, I am applying it once every 24 hours until I get it where it needs to be. The Nitrate problem - my main tank has been cleaned recently (2 days ago I replaced 50% of the water and vacuumed) but the Nitrate is still high - we are going to get Nitra-Zorb and see how that does. The water hardness we are getting s softener pillow.

 

[WILDER]

Don't bother with ph adjuster more trouble than there worth.
You have a very high nitrate reading in one tank, when did you last touch your filter sponges.

Yes the cory does have swim bladder and also it has septicemia if the belly red.
Septicemia very hard to cure once it has progressed.

 

[WILDER]

Whats your tap ph.
There ways to lower ph and higher ph without using ph adjusters.
http/www.drhelm.com/aquarium/chemistry.html

 

[blazelet]

If it is septicemia, we are going to start it on Maracyn-two which is supposed to help with that. The red color isn't very pronounced in the Cory, and the swim bladder issues seemed to start just a couple days ago.

For the Nitrate levels we got some Nitrate reducing granuals. Other than keeping the tank clean, is there anything that needs to be done to reduce nitrate?

Our tap pH is 7.5, thanks for the link, I'll read it now.

I feel bad I hate seeing our fish do so badly. We'll work on getting them back up to health.

Also, per the pet story guy I put in a dose of maracyn-TC earlier today. Should I wait until tomorrow before using the maracyn-two (they say not to use with other antibiotics) or is it important enough to go ahead and use now?

 

[WILDER]

All you do is squeeze on of your filter sponges in old tank water if its really mucked up, only one sponge not all of them.
I would use both maracyn one and two for septicemia.
[URL="http/www.blurtit.com/q800791.html"]http/www.blurtit.com/q800791.html[/URL]

If the maracyn tc is tetracycline thats all I would use.

 

[blazelet]

The maracyn tc is tetracycline but it doesn't say anything about septicimia on the label. The maracyn-two says it's specifically for septicimia - but you'd still stick with the TC?

Thanks for all the info, by the way.

 

[WILDER]

Tetracycline does treat septicemia find you some info.
Medicated foods the best if the fish is still eating, but can't use both meds at the same time as you will overdose.

Look under septicemia.
http/www.fish-disease.net/diseases.htm

 

[blazelet]

Quick update, I have been using the Maracyn TC twice a day in the hospital tank. At first the Cory was struggling, swimming fairly erratically. Now he is acting more normal, trying to feed off of the bottom and staying upright. I do notice there are periods where he still swims a little oddly (shoots to the top then nose dives straight into the bottom) but for the most part he looks better ... from what I've read Septicimia, once it manifests the red belly, is a fairly quick killer. But this is day 5 and he seems to be doing as well if not better. We'll keep him on the Maracyn for the suggested 10 days.

Also, the hospital tank water is starting to take on a yellow tinge due to the Maracyn. I have been taking water samples and they all (with exception of the pH, which I can never seem to get below 7.5) are ok. But should I change the water more frequently than weekly ina hospital tank? I don't know if that would help him or stress him out.

Thanks

 

[WILDER]

Only need to do water changes if you have a ammonia and nitrate reading.
Good luck.

 

[Cory_Dad]

My hospital tank is 2.5 gal and right now I have 3 adults and 7 juveniles in it. When treating with Melafix or Pimafix I do a 10% change in the morning then again late in the evening.

I'm now on the last day of an Erythromicyn treatment so I did a <10% the second day, a 25% the 3'rd day, nothing today and then a 25% tomorrow morning. The water change has more to do with siphoning the crap off the glass bottom than changing the water.

What you have to worry about is Ammonia buildup. As a backup I put in a knee-hi stocking with a handful of Ammo chips to soak it up.

Filtration doesn't help much because the anti-bacteria medicine has probably killed your filter bacteria as well.

Any experts out there please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cheers.

 

[WILDER]

I think maracyn knocks your filter abit but not wipe the beneifical bacterial out completely.

 

[blazelet]

Thanks for the info everyone. I followed the advice on here and am glad to say sharky is better! He's swimming normally, the red has gone away, and last night we put him back in the big tank after a couple weeks of isolation. He seemed really happy in the big tank, I don't know if fish get happy but he swam around it a dozen times, zipping in and out of all the hiding places.

Our levels in the big tank have been good since I've been doing weekly vacuumings, water changes, and filter changes. All the fish seem happier and healthier for it.

Thanks, everyone, for your help! Great web site.

Ryan