Skunk Cory Turning White

[PorkWellington]

Hi there fish folks....
 
I installed 4 skunk corys in my 125l fish tank 2 weeks ago....
 
The tank has now been running for about a month with a few guppies and a plec.
 
One of the skunks appears to be losing its colour and not as active as the other 3 - please see pic.....
 
The ammonia in the tank is running at 1-2 ppm so I have introduced some ammo lock and did a partial water change.
 
Nitrites and nitrates are negligible.
 
What does the team think?
 

 

[Munroco]

You need to get ammonia and nitrirites to zero

 

[PorkWellington]

Thankyou Munroco and I appreciate that - I'm fed up with the ammonia - the tank appears to be cycling twice.....
 
So the fish is changing colour due to stress/ammonia poisoning... poor guy - I have nowhere else for him to live while this tank settles....

.
 
I've not tried/needed ammo lock in my previous exposure to fishkeeping and had hoped that might to the trick in the short term 

 

[Munroco]

I have never tried it so I can't comment on how good it is., just keep the water changes going and hopefully he will be fine. Other people can advise you on the cycling thing.

 

[frapadoodle]

Never tried ammolock. Your tank may be going through a mini cycle with the new additions. While the Plec is a load, Guppies have a negligible bioload.
Do 40-50% waterchanges daily, once the ammonia drops, the nitrites will rise. Keep up the waterchanges til both hit zero.

Also how long were they at the shop before you purchased them?

 

[PorkWellington]

I haven't a clue how long they had been in the shop I'm afraid - I didn't think to ask....
 
Sadly the poor little chap gave up the ghost sometime during the night - the other 3 look very happy, up to their cory antics, so obviously haven't missed him!!
 
I introduced the plec to clean up but he appears to produce more waste than he scrapes off - impossible I know but he never seems to be without a long strand of poo following him about.... I blame him!
 
Will keep doing the water changes and get this cycle sorted out - your mini cycle theory sounds about right to me....
 
Thankyou for all your advice - very helpful - it can be quite a lonely place when one of your corys starts turning white and there's no one to talk to (sensibly) about it....

 

[nic1]

Hi, can I just add also that the cories will be much happier with a sand substrate as they love to dig, bury and play in the sand, with the gravel you have they may hurt themselves.

 

[NickAu]

 
I introduced the plec to clean up but he appears to produce more waste than he scrapes off - impossible I know but he never seems to be without a long strand of poo following him about.... I blame him!

Never noticed the poo thing with my Pleco's, Also I feed my plecos and Apple snails. And cleaning up is my job not a fishes.

 

[frapadoodle]

No need to fret over not knowing how long the Corys had been at the shop. Just something to look into in the future. Transport from suppler to shop, introduction to new tank at shop is a big stresser for fish. Add to that Skunks can be a bit delicate. Could have just been stress that did the poor thing in.
I agree with nic1 sand would be preferable for Corys as gravel can wear down thier barbels and lead to infection.
Don't blame the Plec, seems to be pooing normally. Two questions about that guy. Do you have driftwood in the tank? Many breeds of Pleco need to rasp on wood for proper digestion. What variety of Plec is he/she, as many grow too large for a tank your size.
Anyway, yes do keep up the waterchanges until ammonia and nitrites are zero.

 

[PorkWellington]

Yep - the little chap never seemed to be particularly "at ease"; would swim around with his 3 mates but would more often prefer his own company.
 
The plec is an orange seam variety about 2" long at the most; which I believe should grow to be about 6".... by which time - if all goes to plan and the fishkeeping becomes as enjoyable as I found it a few years ago - I'll be investing in something a lot larger than the 125l.... I didn't get it to clean up after the other fish by the way - more for the entertainment value.
 
Will get some driftwood - and on the subject of strata - I'm planning to get a few clown loaches (not until the water clears up and stabalises!).  Do you think they would benefit from sand as well?  The gravel in there at the mo is some sort of poly coated silica which hopefully won't be damaging my corys....

 

[frapadoodle]

I would steer away from the clowns, they get massive. Check on some of ShinySideUp's threads he has clowns in a 6 footer and may not have enough room. They are nice fish though.
Good on not getting the Plec for clean up. That is never a good idea. Plecos are lovely fish, I went the other route and did Otos.
Just watch for rough edges on gravel. And just a personal opinion, there is nothing like watching Corys face deep in sand.

Love Skunks, want to get some more, but they are rare as hen's teeth around here. Had two, got two more, must have been poorly, lost them, then the other two disapeared. Never found the bodies.

As to one being off by itself, not always a big worry. I have three Pandas,(was 5, got them from a shop I normally don't purchase fish from, and 2 didn't last a week.). Two I call the twins, inseparable. The third is happy as a lark doing his own thing. Keep looking for more, but again, rare as hen's teeth.

As for fishkeeping being enjoyable, Mrs. doodle doesn't understand that for me, lugging buckets for waterchanges, scrubbing the glass, trimming plants, et cetera is just as relaxing as sitting and watching the fish.

 

[PorkWellington]

Yes indeed - and the new Mrs Wellington keeps asking and I keep telling her about nitrogen cycles - and she still keeps asking me why I'm changing the water..... Oh well - showing an interest I suppose - shame she never listens!

 

[frapadoodle]

Yes indeed - and the new Mrs Wellington keeps asking and I keep telling her about nitrogen cycles - and she still keeps asking me why I'm changing the water..... Oh well - showing an interest I suppose - shame she never listens!

Never listening, it's in the wives handbook.