ill cory not sure what to do ?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

anewbie

Fish Herder
Fish of the Month 🌟
Joined
May 30, 2021
Messages
1,252
Reaction score
919
Location
usa
I have this 'ill' sterbai cory that I'm not sure how (or if) I should treat. I had a second one like it (actually 4 out of 25) that I tried to treat with various fungus medicines but none of them helped and eventually it died. This cory has been in this shape for at least 8 months. I moved it from the 120 to the 29 this morning where I could get a photo and make sure it isn't being harassed by the larger loaches (there are other sterbai in the 120 - i think 8 that are perfectly fine). I doubt it is a problem with water condition but the general conditions are ph 7 kh 3 gh 7 tds 120 nitrate 10-15 temp 77. I think it has a combination of issues with excess mucus and perhaps someone nibbling at his fins hence the move. Adding (@Byron @DoubleDutch) who seem to have more expert knowledge on cory than myself.

ill_cory.jpg
 
What are your readings for ammonia and nitrIte, using a liquid test kit?
 
Never seen something alike, but I'd say a bacterial issue is more plausible looking at the ragged / gone fins.
 
Possibly an external protozoan infection (a bad infection).

Excess mucous is normally caused by poor water quality or an external protozoan infection.

The fins might be getting bitten by someone. Who else is in the tank?
A bad external protozoan infection will cause fins to dissolve.

I would add salt.

--------------------
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.

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, 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.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
 
Possibly an external protozoan infection (a bad infection).

Excess mucous is normally caused by poor water quality or an external protozoan infection.

The fins might be getting bitten by someone. Who else is in the tank?
A bad external protozoan infection will cause fins to dissolve.

I would add salt.

--------------------
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.

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, 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.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
In the 120 there were clown loaches; yoyo loaches and a very grump very old male bn; also angle fishes. I moved him this morning to the 29 - he will only have to compete with hongsloi and l204 but there are 7 other sterbai in the tank that have no issues.
-
I can try salt - i'll wait a week since i just moved him and he has been like this for a while - primarily because if i treat him with salt i'll have to move him to a 5 gallon pail (which i have setup for qt purposes). How much salt would i use in 4 gallons of water - sounds like just under 1 tablespoon.
 
Possibly an external protozoan infection (a bad infection).

Excess mucous is normally caused by poor water quality or an external protozoan infection.

The fins might be getting bitten by someone. Who else is in the tank?
A bad external protozoan infection will cause fins to dissolve.

I would add salt.

--------------------
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.

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, 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.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Agree. Wanted to add that a protozoan infections often leads to a secundairy bacterial infection.

There have been several threads about Sterbai having a greyish layer. This looks more flaky !
 
I leave the protozon/disease aspect to those with more knowledge on these. I will just say that botine loaches should never be housed with Corydoras. Never. Clown loaches and Yo You should not be together either as both are quite territorial; things may appear to be OK, but that is not necessarily the case. What I can say with certainty is that this combination of fish species is going to cause stress, and that is the basis for most other issues involving disease/parasites/etc.
 
I leave the protozon/disease aspect to those with more knowledge on these. I will just say that botine loaches should never be housed with Corydoras. Never. Clown loaches and Yo You should not be together either as both are quite territorial; things may appear to be OK, but that is not necessarily the case. What I can say with certainty is that this combination of fish species is going to cause stress, and that is the basis for most other issues involving disease/parasites/etc.
Long term when the 450 is setup the cory will be separated from the loaches; but for now this is where things are - i moved this one fellow over to the 29 but i can't move them all.

As for yoyo and clown - i've checked with multiple sources and my understanding is these two species will happily school together. If you have sources that indicate otherwise i'd like to read them because i spent a lot of time researching this issue. I do know that at night as a group they all seem to glass surf together and they have been together for nearly 3 years now. I'm not saying you are mistaken but what you have said is contradictory to what I've read so i would like a bit more information regarding your position.
 
Long term when the 450 is setup the cory will be separated from the loaches; but for now this is where things are - i moved this one fellow over to the 29 but i can't move them all.

As for yoyo and clown - i've checked with multiple sources and my understanding is these two species will happily school together. If you have sources that indicate otherwise i'd like to read them because i spent a lot of time researching this issue. I do know that at night as a group they all seem to glass surf together and they have been together for nearly 3 years now. I'm not saying you are mistaken but what you have said is contradictory to what I've read so i would like a bit more information regarding your position.

Can you provide me with the links to the information please?

I am being fairly general here; loaches are very social and territorial fish, and combining two (or more, heaven forbid) species of loach usually is not advisable. That does not mean it won't work, or at any rate won't seem to be working, but rather to the fish it is completely un-natural and thus best avoided. There is no way any of us can tell if the situation we force the fish into is or is not causing stress, initially at any rate. Eventually the stress may (I say "may") become severe enough that we do see issues as a result, but for several months stress can be present causing the weakening of fish or other issues that are not generally observable. By studying the behaviours in the species' genetic makeup we can provide what is probably the better environment. That is why I take the position I do when it comes to species together.

As for loaches and Corydoras, Ian Fuller says no and that is good enough for me, as he knows the Corydoradinae fishes better than almost anyone. His reasons are feeding aggression, and territorial aggression--both on the part of the loaches obviously. I cannot be certain from photos or even descriptions, but my knowledge of fish genetics tells me that the cories will lose out on both counts, and I therefore will not advise anyone to attempt or experiment. It is just my basic instinct to understand as best as I can--recognizing my limitations--the requirements/inherent behaviours of a species and provide for those if I decide to keep that species. This is inevitably going to have better results, though here too nothing is ever guaranteed when we are dealing with living creatures.
 
As for loaches and Corydoras, Ian Fuller says no and that is good enough for me, as he knows the Corydoradinae fishes better than almost anyone. His reasons are feeding aggression, and territorial aggression--both on the part of the loaches obviously. I cannot be certain from photos or even descriptions, but my knowledge of fish genetics tells me that the cories will lose out on both counts, and I therefore will not advise anyone to attempt or experiment. It is just my basic instinct to understand as best as I can--recognizing my limitations--the requirements/inherent behaviours of a species and provide for those if I decide to keep that species. This is inevitably going to have better results, though here too nothing is ever guaranteed when we are dealing with living creatures.
I'm not disagreeing about sep. the loaches from the cory but that won't happen till next year when i setup the 450 for the loaches. I'll try to dig out some references for yoyo/clown. loaches.com has several thread where most people find they work fine together but a few have other experiences. These are folks who have kept them together for many years 8+ of various different schools. In the 450 i plan to keep 20 zebra 10 clown and some angelfishes with large body tetra - the yoyos will likely get moved to a third tank.
 
I'm not disagreeing about sep. the loaches from the cory but that won't happen till next year when i setup the 450 for the loaches. I'll try to dig out some references for yoyo/clown. loaches.com has several thread where most people find they work fine together but a few have other experiences. These are folks who have kept them together for many years 8+ of various different schools. In the 450 i plan to keep 20 zebra 10 clown and some angelfishes with large body tetra - the yoyos will likely get moved to a third tank.

Will wait for whatever, thanks. Just another issue though...angelfish and clown loaches are not advisable, primarily due to the activity level of the loaches (combined with their size) which can be very stressful to angelfish (and discus).
 
I did the salt treatment for 5 days and then returned him to the tank. It seemed the salt had a negative effect and caused significantly decay in his fins. Right now he's not returning to the front with the other sterbai but if he does later i'll post a picture. Most of his tail is now gone. Not sure what to try or if i should just leave him be for a few weeks and give him a chance to relax.
 
salt doesn't cause fins to dissolve.

post some more pictures of the fish

treat it with copper or malachite green. copper will kill shrimp and snails but malachite green is a carcinogen (causes cancer) so avoid getting the malachite green on you
 
Last edited:

Most reactions

trending

Members online

Back
Top