Please Help Fish Dying!

[Fishy333]

Please Help!
I got two new cory catfish 1 week ago (I am planning to get more) and one of them sat at the bottom of the tank all the time. Then he started going crazy and being all over the tank, and now he is swimming upside down, dying. The other seems okay.
I feed them half a pellet every night and in the mornings its usually still there. My other fish are eating at it, which leads me to believe they eat ALL of it. I don't feed them flakes because they are so fat . So the Cory Catfish don't even get leftovers! The tank is kinda cold and I don't have a thermo or a heater, maybe that has to do with it? I have 4 glofish (want more) and 1 guppy.

 

[kporteo]

Is your tank cycled?
How big is your tank?
What are your water parameters?
What other fish are in the tank?

The more info you can give, the more chance of someone being able to help!

K

 

[Fishy333]

Is your tank cycled?
How big is your tank?
What are your water parameters?
What other fish are in the tank?

The more info you can give, the more chance of someone being able to help!

K

My tank is cycled
10 gallons
water parameters?
4 glofish and 1 guppy

 

[the biffster]

your stats

ammonia

nitrite

nitrate

pH

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi, sorry to hear you are experiencing problems. in order to get to the bottom of it we need to know a few things.

How long have you had the tank?

Can you give us the water test results?

Ammonia level?
Nitrite level?
Ph level?
Water tempreture?

Once we have this information we can make an informed judgment

 

[Fishy333]

Hi, sorry to hear you are experiencing problems. in order to get to the bottom of it we need to know a few things.

How long have you had the tank?

Can you give us the water test results?

Ammonia level?
Nitrite level?
Ph level?
Water tempreture?

Once we have this information we can make an informed judgment

ive had the tank since june

im sure i can get a water teat, but do have any suggestion on how to feed them without the other fish eatiing it, cuz i think the other one didnt eat anything

 

[Aqua Tom]

I dont think it is the fish not eating that is the problem. What kind of filter do you have?

 

[Fishy333]

aqueon quiet flow 10

 

[the biffster]

it might look like the other fish
didn't get anything to eat but fish
are always picking at something
how often do you do water changes

 

[Mo1959]

I see nobody else has mentioned it so I will. The fish you have are tropical and you don't have a heater. Unless you have a very warm house, I would imagine your water may be too cold for them. Can you at least get a thermometer to check and I'm afraid you will need to invest in a heater if it is any less than around 22 degrees.

 

[mattlee]

try feeding them after lights out

 

[karin]

Okay so you have had the tank since June without many fish deaths? It is likely that the tank is cycled. I agree with the above that you need a heater so you can keep the temperature stable and that means less stress for the fish. Remember that a 10 gallon is very very small and you are likely near full stock so take that slowly.

Now corys, often times you don't see them eating. They like to sift the sand and pick at the gravel for tiny scraps. I agree with the above, I usually drop in algae wafers after the lights go out. Cory's can eat in peace then. They are chunky fish. The other thing is from time to time they will swim really fast and head to the top for a gulp of air. Then they settle down again. But if yours is upside down it is probably over for the fish. Some times the stress from moving overwhelms their system. Sometimes they are just weak individuals and would have died on anyone.

So, now, see if you can get yourself an API master test kit to test your water from time to time. For people on this forum to help you, they will always want to know your water stats... numbers for ammonia, nitrite, Ph and sometimes nitrates. So often the problems are related to water quality and not fish themselves. That is why we always ask that question.

Good luck. Sorry about the fish.

 

[Fishy333]

it might look like the other fish
didn't get anything to eat but fish
are always picking at something
how often do you do water changes

every week

Okay so you have had the tank since June without many fish deaths? It is likely that the tank is cycled. I agree with the above that you need a heater so you can keep the temperature stable and that means less stress for the fish. Remember that a 10 gallon is very very small and you are likely near full stock so take that slowly.

Now corys, often times you don't see them eating. They like to sift the sand and pick at the gravel for tiny scraps. I agree with the above, I usually drop in algae wafers after the lights go out. Cory's can eat in peace then. They are chunky fish. The other thing is from time to time they will swim really fast and head to the top for a gulp of air. Then they settle down again. But if yours is upside down it is probably over for the fish. Some times the stress from moving overwhelms their system. Sometimes they are just weak individuals and would have died on anyone.

So, now, see if you can get yourself an API master test kit to test your water from time to time. For people on this forum to help you, they will always want to know your water stats... numbers for ammonia, nitrite, Ph and sometimes nitrates. So often the problems are related to water quality and not fish themselves. That is why we always ask that question.

Good luck. Sorry about the fish.

thank you so much! actually none of my fish have died since june. lolz this is the first

 

[OldMan47]

I am going to disagree with Mo1959. Your cories are really called subtropical, not tropical. If you had a tank running at tropical temperatures, I would be suggesting that you try dropping temperatures to get to a decent temperature for your cories. As it turns out you have a decent temperature for those fish. What that leaves us is water chemistry. Almost any cory does best with low mineral content in their water. In my home, with my tap water, that means that a cory does best with 4 parts RO and 1 part tap water in a tank. I have very few other fish that demand those parameters, so my cories must often make do with less than ideal conditions. In practice, my cories in the soft water tank end up seeing abut 3 parts RO to 1 part tap water. It is not ideal for the cories but is close enough and allows me to place some other fish in the tank with them. I end up with thriving corydoras in my adjusted chemistry tank and other fish, such as wild type swordtails in that same tank.

 

[Fishy333]

I am going to disagree with Mo1959. Your cories are really called subtropical, not tropical. If you had a tank running at tropical temperatures, I would be suggesting that you try dropping temperatures to get to a decent temperature for your cories. As it turns out you have a decent temperature for those fish. What that leaves us is water chemistry. Almost any cory does best with low mineral content in their water. In my home, with my tap water, that means that a cory does best with 4 parts RO and 1 part tap water in a tank. I have very few other fish that demand those parameters, so my cories must often make do with less than ideal conditions. In practice, my cories in the soft water tank end up seeing abut 3 parts RO to 1 part tap water. It is not ideal for the cories but is close enough and allows me to place some other fish in the tank with them. I end up with thriving corydoras in my adjusted chemistry tank and other fish, such as wild type swordtails in that same tank.

the other one died and i dont think ima gonna go through this againz cuz i have a heater now. 78 degrees