New Tank With A Cory Albino

[mark1963]

hi everyonenew tropical fish person here!
have just recently set up an aquastart 320 tank over the psat 3 months.(8 gallon capacity)
went to local tropical fish shop and purchased the following fish;

6 x neons
2 x rummy nosed tetra
1 x blue siamese fighting fish
1 x albino cory.

all seem to have settled well in the tank as advised by the shop.however the cory semms to be 'very active'!!
is this usual? as the tank he/she came out of had obviously about 18 in there and they didnt seem to be darting about like madmen!!
any advice would be appreciated

 

[OldMan47]

If it is swimming about exploring the tank, everything is perfectly normal. If it is making mad runs to the surface every few seconds to breathe then maybe not. Cories are a little more sensitive to water condtions than some other fish so if they start acting strange, my first inclination is to check the water and make sure there is nothing amiss. That is a lot of fish for a mere 8 gallon tank, especially if they were all added at once. My first thought was water quality but if you have properly cycled the tank it may be OK.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the other thing to consider is that cories need to be kept in groups of 6+, on his own he may be feeling very insecure and stressed out. if the water is poor from such a large stocking of fish in a small tank then this would also make him stressed. darting around the tank can be a sign of this.

firstly we need to rule out poor water quality so can you tell us how you prepared the tank for fish, what your water stats are and what your regular maintenance/cleaning routine is?

 

[mark1963]

If it is swimming about exploring the tank, everything is perfectly normal. If it is making mad runs to the surface every few seconds to breathe then maybe not. Cories are a little more sensitive to water condtions than some other fish so if they start acting strange, my first inclination is to check the water and make sure there is nothing amiss. That is a lot of fish for a mere 8 gallon tank, especially if they were all added at once. My first thought was water quality but if you have properly cycled the tank it may be OK.

it is swimming about but goes to top and side of tanks.
when the light is turned off it seems to slow down a bit.the tank has been properly cycled from day one for 3 months. the neons were added first about a week ago.then the remainding fish were added including the cory.he shee semms to feed on the bottom of the tank then will dart about going up sides of tank and then to top.then goes straight back down agin.

the other thing to consider is that cories need to be kept in groups of 6+, on his own he may be feeling very insecure and stressed out. if the water is poor from such a large stocking of fish in a small tank then this would also make him stressed. darting around the tank can be a sign of this.

firstly we need to rule out poor water quality so can you tell us how you prepared the tank for fish, what your water stats are and what your regular maintenance/cleaning routine is?

the stock level was advised by the aquarist shop.the neons are small as are the other fish.we have adhered to the 1 inch rule of fish as instructed by the aqua shop.all levels have been tested/monitored

 

[pippoodle]

hi there hun
you need to post your test results for ammonia , nitrites , nitrates and ph and how long you have had your fish tank and wether it was properly cycled and if you are using a water conditioner or wether you are using just plain tap water in your tank then people will really be able to assist you .

Did you add all the fish at once ?

Taking the advice of LFS is not always a good thing as they are a business and some (not all ) only care about the money comming in not about the fish they sell - this can be through lack of knowledge/poor staff training .
The 1 inch rule applies to the size the full adult size of the fish not the size you buy at the time and also on wether you have suffecient and mature filtering in the tank .

Good luck post the info and then people should be able to help you more

Sarah xxx

 

[OldMan47]

Mark, if your current stocking is under an inch per gallon, you must have some small fish. That is OK because it gives you some time. Please check your water now that the fish have had a chance to settle in and let us know what you have for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Chances are that, from how I interpret your reply, your fish is just acting like a typical cory. The tank chemistry will help us confirm that for you. The generally accepted advice is to use cories in large groups only. That is more for us than for the fish. The fish interact with each other in ways that most people enjoy watching when they are in larger groups. In my own case I seldom keep less than 8 of a kind and even more if they are a small cory species. Back in my earlier, life many years ago, I kept lots of healthy cories in ones and twos. The fish did fine and lived long healthy lives, but now that I have seen what a cory can be like in a large group, I am no longer tempted to limit their numbers. They are absolutely fabulous and entertaining fish when kept in larger schools.

 

[Schmill]

He's probably racing around wondering where all his friends are - lol
I'd imagine he came out of tank of 20 or so other cory's if it's anything like the place I shop at, and now he's all on his own.

Of course all of the above could just be my 'human' feelings on it, but I was under the general impression that cory's should be kept in larger groups? When I first setup my 60L I got 2 albino Cory's, and then from advice on here went out and got another 2.
I must say that as a group of 4 they seem much more active and 'happy' than they did as just a pair.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i would suggest getting rid of the cory as 6+of them i dont think is fair in a tank that size as its to small in my opinion thyre are smaller corys ie pygmy corys that are more suitable.

but ur tank is way overstocked as it is

i would get rd of rummy nose tetras as well

 

[emzyp]

i also have a aquaone 320 with a albino cory in, and hes a 'little crazy' too,its normal!