Problem With Leopard Corydoras

[wko70]

Hi All

I recently (in the last 3 months) set up a new tank.

Tank is Juwel Trigon 190L

I got 5 of the above Corys but one by one they have died off and now only 1 remains. I have cycled the tank (fishless).

Ammonia, Nitites always 0. Nitrates usually less than 40.

pH is 8.2 and our water is hard. Platys and Molly's in tank seem to be ok.

Is the pH just too high for Corys or should I persevere? The poor things don't compete well for food either the platys are very greedy and not only eat the flake food but also the granules for the Corys too!

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Besty42]

The underneath link tells you about the water conditions and parameters you need. It seems your ph is too high and water should be low to medium not hard. The Mollys and platys would enjoy lower too, even though they are both fine with what you have already.

http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/corydoras/leopardcory.php

Try buying large algae wafers and putting these in instead of the granules, I have wafers for all bottom feeders. Add the flakes, then quickly put your hand in tank and drop them in from midway, meaning the corys can get to the food before those greedy platys get there first. Also feed the corys frozen blood worms, they love them. This seems to be working for me, as long as they get a bit they'll be ok.

Hope this helps and your remaining leopard cory survives.

 

[wko70]

Hi thanks for your reply. Sadly my last cory died a few weeks ago. He lasted much longer than the rest but in the end went the same way with some sort of swim bladder problem.
I don't think I will go for any more just yet but so far the platys and Molly's seem to be thriving.

I have added a bristlenose plec who also (fingers crossed) seems to be ok.

Thanks again

 

[IcQb]

If you have access to clean fresh rainwater, you can mix that with your tapwater to get soft water!
Adding blackwater extract might lower the ph slightly. Adding bogwood, moorwood, etc (if not already there) will also help!

Also molly's and platy's can eat quite a lot. It might be that your cory's didn't find enough food.

regards

 

[Scates11]

Bummer to hear this, I am getting to the end of cycling my tank and was really planning on having a group of 5-6 cory's in my 36 gallon but I too have hard water with a ph of 8.0-8.2. Is their any other kind of bottom dwelling catfish that would be ok in these conditions, I am trying to stay away from the traditional plec but I will get one if thats all that will work. I do have a gravel substrate so most loaches are out of the question but cory's and other cats should be fine with gravel correct?

 

[snazy]

Bummer to hear this, I am getting to the end of cycling my tank and was really planning on having a group of 5-6 cory's in my 36 gallon but I too have hard water with a ph of 8.0-8.2. Is their any other kind of bottom dwelling catfish that would be ok in these conditions, I am trying to stay away from the traditional plec but I will get one if thats all that will work. I do have a gravel substrate so most loaches are out of the question but cory's and other cats should be fine with gravel correct?

There was a member here that actually bred corys in such a Ph for years with no problem. The OP's corys may have been sick or not acclimated well to the extreme water conditions. Use drip acclimation when adding fish and take your time doing it.

 

[IcQb]

There was a member here that actually bred corys in such a Ph for years with no problem. The OP's corys may have been sick or not acclimated well to the extreme water conditions. Use drip acclimation when adding fish and take your time doing it.

I agree!
Also, when transporting, add some active carbon to the bag with cory's! It will absorb any toxins they release due to stress.
Also2, you could ask for another bag of water from the LFS and flip the cory's from their bag to the new bag when you get home (and also add some carbon!)

clean water all the way

 

[greenmumma141]

I have kept cories for over a year in ph of 8.0 and they are doing just great This might have been an issue that they all seemed to have and it just took a while for them to die ... do you have enough hiding places in your tank? If it was a swim bladder issue, I dont think high ph would cause that.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

"Harlequins" sucessfully bred all sorts of Corydoras on here in recent years in water of pH ~8. I cannot recall the hardness of the tank water, hard water will make the egg membrane much tougher for the fry to emerge from, because the calcium deposits layer the eggs in a miniture version of what we see on hens' eggs.