Help! My peppered Cory has lost its barbels

[MusicMan44]

Ah right ok. Have the cories only just been added? Are you using a water conditioner?

I think that even without a water test kit, it could be safe to say that the water may not been safe enough seeing as the cories are struggling. Don't be worried about doing a larger water change than 25%, so long as you're using water conditioner to remove any chlorine, large water changes are fine and potentially very beneficial here.
Again, we don't know water parameters because of the lack of a test kit, however I personally would perform a large water change (75%) and see what reaction you get from the cory after this.
Another thing, peppered corydora like cooler water, so don't be worried about adding fresh, cooler tap water.

The Corys were added about a week ago, and I'm using AquaSafe. The other cories are fine and happily swimming and foraging around.

 

[MusicMan44]

Is there any way I can help him breathe? I'm not even sure if he is at the moment, also are there supposed to be holes next to his eyes?

 

[FishBearer9845]

@Colin_T @Byron @Ch4rlie Is this HITH

 

[MusicMan44]

Well I've just done the water change, but he's at the bottom and doesn't seem to breathing.......I think we lost him thank you everyone for your help, tomorrow I will get a test kit and see if anything is wrong with the water.

 

[AilyNC]

so sorry.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Well I've just done the water change, but he's at the bottom and doesn't seem to breathing.......I think we lost him thank you everyone for your help, tomorrow I will get a test kit and see if anything is wrong with the water.

Sorry to hear that, nice one for doing the water change though. The cory could have been quite ill already when you bought him so not much you could've done at this stage.

 

[FishBearer9845]

RIP

 

[Ch4rlie]

That’s not ich, it’s looks like hole in the head disease actually.

It’s basically a parasitic disease called Hexamitiasis.

Hexamitiasis parasite treatments should include the addition of metronidazole and large water changes of at least 75% is effective as it’s very important to have good water quality.

Would also say having any fish infected with this hexamiasia parasite should be quarantined as well.

Very sorry for your loss btw

 

[Colin_T]

The peppered Corydoras in post #32 has a bacterial infection on its head and face, most likely Columnaris. Monitor the other fish for similar symptoms and post pictures immediately if any look off colour.

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Wipe the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This will dilute any disease organisms in the water and help reduce the risk of other fish getting sick.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.

 

[MusicMan44]

That’s not ich, it’s looks like hole in the head disease actually.

It’s basically a parasitic disease called Hexamitiasis.

Hexamitiasis parasite treatments should include the addition of metronidazole and large water changes of at least 75% is effective as it’s very important to have good water quality.

Would also say having any fish infected with this hexamiasia parasite should be quarantined as well.

Very sorry for your loss btw

Is hole in the head contagious? Also I think the neon tetras have ich, not the cories, sorry for the misunderstanding!

 

[MusicMan44]

The peppered Corydoras in post #32 has a bacterial infection on its head and face, most likely Columnaris. Monitor the other fish for similar symptoms and post pictures immediately if any look off colour.

--------------
Wipe the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This will dilute any disease organisms in the water and help reduce the risk of other fish getting sick.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the lawn.

I will do all that, thank you. When you say "off colour", do you mean not swimming/behaving as normal? Also I'm not really sure what symptoms the Cory showed as I only noticed when the barbels weren't there and was looking closely.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Is hole in the head contagious? Also I think the neon tetras have ich, not the cories, sorry for the misunderstanding!

Hole in the head is not considered infectious I don’t think. Though it’s not proven as I think most fish do have low levels of Hexamitiasis in their bodies anyway. But normally it’s at a safe level but mainly due to poor water quality Hexamitiasis can become serious in fish.
This is my theory, not proven and from reading about this in the past there seems not to be a conclusive answer to that.

Seems that Colin T thinks it’s columnaris.

I am no expert in fish disease at all in any shape or form at all, so I would urge you to research into both and compare your fish to images on the internet and see what you think.

 

[Colin_T]

Is hole in the head contagious? Also I think the neon tetras have ich, not the cories, sorry for the misunderstanding!

Hole in the head disease is contagious, but it's also caused by a dirty environment. So keeping the tank clean (regular water changes, gravel cleaning, filter cleaning) goes a long way to preventing it occurring or spreading.

If you post pictures of the neons with white spot, we can check them for disease.

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... When you say "off colour", do you mean not swimming/behaving as normal? Also I'm not really sure what symptoms the Cory showed as I only noticed when the barbels weren't there and was looking closely.

Yes, off colour means not swimming normally, not looking normal, not eating properly, not associating with other fish, anything that is not normal behaviour.