Help...

[holidayinn]

I cycled my tank approx a week ago and stocked it with a BN catfish (small) 4 corys, 6 platys and 2F 1M honey gourami..

I've only just come home and could only see one of my albino corys, so i started looking for the others and spotted 2 in some plants just sitting there, which is pretty unusual as normally they are very active

i then spotted my BN catfish dead among these plants, i last saw the fish the day before yesterday and it looked healthy sucking on cucumber at the front of my tank. when taking the fish out of the tank now it had lost its black coat and turned a white/pink colour..im not sure where the last cory is but its prob tucked in these plants as well

i fed the corys and catfish on tetraprima and tetraplecomin..but altho they hover over these i'm not sure they eat them as normally the other fish try to eat everything

the other mid/top dwelling fish in the tanks seem fine, no probs...ammonia is 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate isregistering but not that much

my questions are:

is there anything i can do to save the remaining corys? 2 look sick, 1 looks active, 1 cant find at present
why/how do u think this may have happened?
what to do to prevent this happening again?

imo, i bought the fish of reputable fish dealers, corys from one BN catfish another...with the other fish being fine i don' think its the water or the tank..is it possible these fish could not find food although i fed them with flakes, and food for mid-water and bottom dwellin fish (products above)? the BN was always sucking on cucumber as well

 

[rowdyburns21]

Albino cories like to go in an established tank, ideally 3-6 months after first introduction of fish.
As for the BN was their anything on the body? marks or lumps

 

[holidayinn]

Albino cories like to go in an established tank, ideally 3-6 months after first introduction of fish.
As for the BN was their anything on the body? marks or lumps

no real marks, no lumps, lookd as tho most of its black skin had 'peeled' off and more of a white/transparent colour

 

[bubblesburst80]

afraid i'm not really much help here, i just wanted to say i'm sorry for your loss and i hope you dont lose any other fish

xXx

 

[holidayinn]

afraid i'm not really much help here, i just wanted to say i'm sorry for your loss and i hope you dont lose any other fish

xXx

thanks, 2 corys have since passed, but the other two look reasonably healthy and were eating when i fed the other fish just a short while ago..hopefully theyl pull thru

 

[dane261]

really you have stocked your tank a bit to quickly bn tend to do better in a more mature tank as the same fr the corys
one of the things you run the risk and the only way in my eyes you going to get a mature tank is to have it stocked


cheers dane

 

[holidayinn]

so if i stick to whats in the tank for a cupl of months, then hopefully won't have any problems when i introduce any new fish (exc compatibility) as the tank would be deemed mature?

 

[WILDER]

The white patch did the pink go around the edges or in the centre.

 

[holidayinn]

The white patch did the pink go around the edges or in the centre.

there wasnt much pink, but if any it was down the centre, the white patch was all over, the tail was missing, just the bulk of the body was present with patches of black skin

this problem only seems to effect the bottom dwellers, i checked the remaining two corys this morning and they seem active, wil have to check again when i get home...any possible reasons? i can only think of maybe something wrong with the gravel or the water at that level..

 

[WILDER]

The black skin was the fish black.
As black patches can mean ammonia burns that are healing, to other things.
Can you post water stats please.
Sounded bacterial to me.
Any fish flicking or rubbing.

 

[holidayinn]

The black skin was the fish black.
As black patches can mean ammonia burns that are healing, to other things.
Can you post water stats please.
Sounded bacterial to me.
Any fish flicking or rubbing.

thanks for ur help so far wilder, it is much appreciated...none of the remaining fish seem to be flicking or rubbing...but il check again when i get home 2nyt

1 other cory died last night so now i only have one left who displays healthy, normal active behaviour

water stats - ammonia 0, nitrite 0 ,nitrate registering...i have another 10 fish in the tank, all mid-top dwellers that are absolutely fine


'The black skin was the fish black.
As black patches can mean ammonia burns that are healing, to other things.'
---it seemed as though most of the BN's black skin had 'come off' and only a little was left rather than it be healing healing ammonia burns...

on saturday eve, BN healthy suckin on cucumber...on monday BN is in corner of tank, lost most of its black coat (thats what it looked like neway)

also the cory's for a week were absolutely fine, then all of a sudden 3 died...

i have searched the forums and found this to be a problem encountered b4, with BN's and Corys dying soon after purchase...altho no real solution has been found

I'm thinking of leaving the remaining cory and fish as they are for at least another month...i do want to keep a catfish in the tank so maybe 2months down the line try introducing another BN? what would you suggesy i do?...i know the remaining cory will be lonely until i get sum mo, but i dont think it would be wise to add mo bottom dwellers yet, also i can use the cory to guage how the tank is...if it survives another month i should be able to add more? or do u think it has just built a resistance to whatever the problem is? god i hope its alive when i get home

many thanks

 

[WILDER]

I would go in with a bacterial med.
Myxazin and pimafix.
Increase aeration as meds reduce 02 in the water.
Remove black carbon.
With no signs of flicking and rubbing the symtoms point to bacterial, as you can get bacteria that rots the skin away.

 

[holidayinn]

thanks for your reply...

I see your point on bacteria

i'll replace the carbon with some other type of media? what would you suggest? as currently my external filter has foam, carbon and biomax, which came in the pack

it was only the catfish that seemed like skin had rotted away, the corys decreased in activity and no visual physical side-effects before they died...again the other fish are fine

i am hesitant to use medicines in a new tank setup as every fish presently in the tank seems to be ok..however if u think the fish in the tank won't suffer any side-effects from using this medicine and it will help in my problem with bottom dwelling fish, then i may go for it..

i shall do some research on the meds u have suggested...and get back to you soon..

thanks again wilder, i know there's nothing i can do about whats happened, but i dont want the same to hapn again when i introduce bottom dwelling fish

 

[WILDER]

If no other fish are affected, you could just do some daily water changes.
http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/myxazin.htm

 

[holidayinn]

hi

a week on and one of my female honey gourami and male platy has passed away

so now i am left with 1 cory (going strong), 5 platys and 1m 1 f honey gourami, who all seem fine...they're all very active and eating...no sign of rubbing or flicking

the female honey gourami had no marks or anything like that on it, jus woke up to find it dead

the platy was showing very slow movement and dragging itself on the gravel before it passed

again water levels are ammonia 0, nittrite 0 and nitrate registering, i do water changes to get rid of this

i havent't used the meds yet, but have removed the carbon so i can possibly use them...i think wilder is right, that its a bacterial problem, but was just wondering if anyones got any suggestions or can explain the mystery, why they keep dying..