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FAQs on Callichthyid Catfish Behavior Related Articles: Callichthyid Catfishes, Summer
loving: cats in the garden, kittens in the kitchen by Neale Monks,
Related Catfish FAQs: Callichthyids
1, Callichthyids
2, Callichthyid Identification,
Callichthyid Compatibility,
Callichthyid Selection,
Callichthyid Systems,
Callichthyid Feeding,
Callichthyid Disease,
Callichthyid Reproduction, Catfish: Identification,
Behavior, Compatibility,
Selection, Systems,
Feeding, Disease,
Reproduction, |
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Odd panda Cory behaviour 5/21/08
Hi there, WWM's seen me through some tough times, and some pretty good ones too.
So, thanks.
<You are welcome.>
I've been looking for info on panda Cory behaviour but I haven't had much luck.
<Shouldn't be much different to any other Corydoras spp.>
Here's my inquiry (w. specs below): I just picked up two panda Corys to join two
I already had in my tank.
<Four specimens does not a school of catfish make! Try keeping six or more.
Trust me, the bigger the group, the happier your Corydoras will be.>
They seemed to adjust rather quickly, schooling and what not. But for the last
two hours or so, one of the Corys, a new guy I'm pretty sure, has been hanging
onto the side of the glass at the water line occasionally moving to keep in one
spot.
<Can be one of two things. Corydoras will "gasp" at the surface when stressed in
some way. Corydoras are obligate air breathers, meaning they *must* come to the
surface and gulp air every couple of minutes, which is why they have to be kept
in shallow water. But if the water is bad somehow, or the catfish are sick, they
will come to the surface a lot more often. The second possibility is spawning
behaviour. Corydoras will often form small groups (typically trios) consisting
of a ripe female plus attendant males. These groups (in my tank anyway) flutter
up the glass, laying eggs a few at a time.>
when I look into to check on him he darts away. however, in the last few check
ups he more listlessly tried to move away.
<Not a good sign.>
He was swimming normally, hanging around the bottom and scavenging when he first
moved in, so I'm doubting swim bladder issues.
<'Swim bladder disease' is pretty uncommon, and usually the name is applied to
symptoms caused by other problems, such as constipation and bacterial
infections.>
Otherwise he appears healthy. no discolouration, spots, growths, and he's not
gasping for air. The other Cory's are all fine and content along the bottom
without him. Is he just being quirky? Or should I be worried. I'm worried.
<I'd certainly observe. Routine water quality checks would be useful too: make
sure the pH is stable for example. Corydoras are fine between pH 6 and 8, but
what they don't like is the pH to be moving about all the time.>
Specs: 20g
Filter: Fluval 3+ submerged 700 l/hr
78 degrees F
NH3 0.1 ppm
<If you have this much ammonia, you have a problem. Ammonia at any level other
than zero is a potential stress factor. Do check you are not overfeeding, that
the tank isn't overstocked, and the filter is correctly maintained. This would
be the first thing I'd suggest as the reason the Corydoras are unhappy.>
pH 7.0
Weekly water changes at 20% with a few more recently to bring my pH back to
normal (>5.0 several weeks ago) and ammonia down after a period of lax care I
won't soon repeat.
<Indeed, you do want to ensure stable conditions.>
tank mates: a couple ferns, 2 swordtails, 4 Corys, 3 platys, 3 guppies, 1 dwarf
frog, and 3 baby clown loaches which are leaving ASAP since the tank's too
small.
<Nothing seems terribly likely to harm your Corydoras in there. Though I will
make the point Swordtails are far too big and active for a 20 gallon tank, so
I'd move them with the loaches.>
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers and thanks, Adam
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Odd panda Cory behaviour 05/21/2008
Thanks for the great reply.
<Happy to help.>
FYI He's seemed to have cleared himself up.
<Great!>
As the night progressed he had more and more difficulty swimming and would list,
be unable to swim horizontally, and was constantly floating upwards. I was
convinced he had swim bladder disease since he was having such difficulty
swimming and staying upright. Either way, this morning he was on the bottom of
the tank scavenging with the others, as panda as could be.
<Could easily be constipation. Constipation somehow makes it difficult for fish
to swim properly. Not sure whether the blockage distorts the swim bladder,
changes the centre of gravity, or what. But constipation and poor swimming
ability often go together. In any case, once the blockage is cleared, normal
swimming ability returns.>
A 25% water change helped to bring down the ammonia as well to >0.1ppm. I'll
continue to monitor him and my water conditions.
<Very good. Low levels of ammonia are the "silent killer" in aquaria, nibbling
away at the immune system of the fish, allowing opportunistic infections to get
established. So while not fatal in the short term, in the long term it's a
headache you don't want to deal with.>
Thanks again,
Adam
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Odd panda Cory behaviour 05/22/08
Hi again Neale,
I'd really love to give back to the community that's helped me so much. I'm not
much in the way of an aquaria expert but I am an accomplished copy editor and
journalist. It'd be great to lend a hand polishing up articles and what not. Who
might I contact to express such an interest?
Cheers,
Adam
<Hello Adam. Kind of you to offer to help. I'm sure Bob Fenner, the Obermeister
of this site, would be happy to hear from you. Quite possibly you'll be
able to help out with our "e-zine" or similar.
Cheers, Neale.>
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Discoloured panda Cory
3/23/08
Dear WWM,
<Melissa>
I have a 15 gallon freshwater tank that's been running for about six months.
It contains: live plants; some snails (unplanned, but nothing near an
infestation); 1 platy; 3 guppies; 4 albino Corys; 1 panda Cory (I realise I
need more of these, but my LFS has not had them shipped in for awhile) and about
8 or 9 platy fry which I am not making any particular efforts to keep alive. The
substrate is sand. Water changes are done 25% weekly.
<Good>
About two days ago I noticed that the panda Cory has lost all its colour. It is
pretty small, about 1.5 inches long. It is almost completely white - the
black markings around its eyes and near its tail are barely visible anymore.
<Unusual>
What do you think this could be? Other than appearance, it is acting fine; no
changes in activity level or appetite. There are also no physical growths or
lesions on him that I can see.
<Stress... from something...>
I have a cycled 5 gallon quarantine tank with sand substrate; should I put the
Cory in there just to be safe?
Thanks.
-Melissa
<I would not... likely more stressful... Perhaps this one fish is changing color
to "match" the albino congeners... Bob Fenner>
Re: Discoloured panda Cory
3/23/08
Hi Bob,
Should I just leave the Cory be, then?
-Melissa
<Yes, I would. B>
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My Corys... repro. beh.
11/3/07
Hi WWM crew nice work you guys are doing.
Hi my Corys are acting strange, I have two albinos and 2 peppered. The peppered
seem normal but the two albinos are just weird. One day I looked into their tank
and found some eggs tried hatching them they just molded over. a few weeks later
I look at my smaller of the two Corys and she's laying eggs.
I was like wow because the other albino Cory is twice as big as her and has the
characteristics of a female. (Big rounded belly, rounded fins, etc.) every time
I take the eggs out they don't hatch every time I leave them in they eat every
single egg, what's going on and what should I do?
<Breeding Corydoras isn't too difficult. The usual problems are dirty water
(which causes the eggs to fungus); snails (which eat the eggs); immature catfish
(which don't seem to produce healthy batches of eggs and milt); and the wrong
water conditions (lack of the correct spawning triggers). Sexing Corydoras has
nothing really to do with size, though fully grown females do tend to be bigger
than fully grown males. The shape of the dorsal fin is usually the best clue.
Regardless, once they start spawning, you'll know which are the males and which
are the females. In any event, I've written a long article on breeding these
fish for WWM, so have a read through that and it should answer your questions:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/coryreproart.htm
. Hope that helps, Neale>
Cory cat behavior or disease - 05/01/07
Dear crew,
Tank specs: 10 gallon, heated to 79 degrees (with a heater that won’t
stay attached to the side of the aquarium, driving me crazy and always
having the tip touching the gravel*. is this a problem?),
<No>
filtered with a hang-on filter rated for 5-15 gallons, ammonia 0,
nitrite 0, nitrate 5 30 minutes before weekly maintenance which consists
of a 20% water change, quite often twice a week, a swish of the filter
in aquarium water or a change if needed, hand picking of algae
<Shouldn't have much of this...>
and an occasional swish of the sponge media when there’s too much
algae. Eco-complete substrate, java moss, a planted plant I can’t
remember the name of and a floating Anacharis that tends to tip more
then it floats. One small lace rock.
<I'd pull this... soak in some warm/boiled water... test the water for
phosphate... may be a principal contributor to your algae growth...>
Plant light florescent for the lighting, on about 12 hours a day. Two
panda Cory cats, two albino Cory cats, a male Betta and lots of pond
snails (that I purposefully introduced*. I like them). Feeding twice a
day with tropical flakes for the Betta, shrimp pellets for the Corys,
frozen white worm larvae, frozen daphnia and Brine Shrimp Direct’s Beef
heart Plus flakes for all. (My Cory’s LOVE the beef heart
flakes.) Feeding is switched up every day, one thing at a time, so no,
I’m not feeding everything all at once. They fast one day a week as
well as fasting my plants one day every two weeks or so (which has done
wonders for algae control).
<Mmm...>
The tanks been set up for a couple of months with fish just being
added in the last month or two. No quarantine as the place we bought
the Corys quarantines and the Betta was added first. Whew! I hope
that’s all the information you need.
My problem resides with my Corys. First, I was told they would school
together, which they don’t. The pandas live under the heater and the
albinos swim around. I would like to get more of each to complete the
school.
How many Corys could I comfortably fit in the 10 gallon?
<Well... I'd rather that you had just five or so of one species...>
We have two other larger tanks that I could move either school of Corys
in if there’s not enough room to complete the schools in the 10
gallon.
<Oh! Good... small, odd numbers of this genus are best in most hobbyist
settings... One species if the systems are small...>
Second problem. I used to have a fifth Cory cat, albino. Two weeks ago
he became paler then the other albinos, no pink cast to his body. He
would still scrounge around for food when I fed them. (I feed them at
the same time in the same place every time. Even the Panda cats know
when to come out.) But other then that, he appeared rather
listless. He would even “waft” in the current and tip a bit. But when I
bumped him or another fish bumped him, he would move a little. However,
I happened to be leaving that day for a five day vacation and worried
that he would die while I was gone and rot in my tank, causing havoc to
everything else, I froze him. Now one of my other Cory cats, who used
to be active and pinkish, is acting the same way. He acts more active
when he’s scared into moving, but other then that, he just sits around,
blinking, with not much gill movement (though I know they’re labyrinth
breathers,
<Yes... of a sort... facultative...>
so I don’t know whether this has much to do with it). I watched him eat
last night, so I know he’s still doing that. This has been going on for
3-4 days now with no further deterioration of his condition. So now I
wonder, is he sick or did I freeze my last Cory cat unnecessarily?
<Maybe>
There are no other physical signs of illness that I have noticed besides
what is described above.
I sincerely hope that I haven’t just missed the answer in the FAQ
section. I have read through the catfish behavior and disease three
times and Googled different terms related. I hope I haven’t wasted your
time. Thank you again for your help.
Celeste
<Thank you for your thoughtful, well-worded questions, comments... I
would move the non-Panda species here... and keep it/them in a bit
cooler water temp. wise... Do please see WWM, Fishbase.org re the water
quality of these species in the wild... Is your water particularly hard,
alkaline? Lastly, a cursory note re nitrogenous et al. waste
accumulation and these (and most Amazonian) fishes... They do appear
ataxic (disoriented) as you note, under such influences... better to
have larger volumes, well filtered, maintained to avoid such poisoning.
Bob Fenner>
Re: Cory cat behavior or disease 5/2/07
Bob,
<Celeste>
Thank you for your prompt reply. I must admit in my Wet Web Media
addiction I was rather worried when daily FAQ's weren't updated at all
this weekend.
<Heeee! Glad you noticed>
I'm glad to see you alive and well. I hope that going from Hawaii to
Canada wasn't too much of a shock.
<A bit sleepy... well, sleepier... but many nice folks about, good
things to do... Fab meals and drinkies>
I can only imagine how much (volunteer) time you spend on this website
daily.
<A few to quite a few hours... are you able, ready, willing to join
us... Yet?>
I really appreciate the value you, as well as the other volunteers,
bring to this hobby.
<Thank you my/our friend>
The Albino Cory Cat wasn't doing as well this morning. He was sideways
under a plant and didn't come when I fed them. It wasn't until a few
minutes later when I swished the plant a bit that he righted himself and
started swimming around. After receiving your email, I called my
husband and had him move the two Albinos into our Tetra tank. That tank
is a degree or two cooler and softer then the water in my tank, has been
set up for over 6 months and is 37 gallons.
<Good>
I've never tested the 10 gallon tank hardness, honestly. I use half
filtered tap water that has the chlorine, etc. removed but leaves the
minerals in and half RO water. The tap has a hardness of 11 or 12 while
the RO has a hardness of between 0-1. I estimate that it is about 6 or
7. I will check tonight.
<Also good... often there are other sources (gravel, decor...) that
can/do add to hardness...>
But I know that the Tetra tank is between 4-5 with a Ph below 7.0. (My
husband is in charge of testing the other tanks so I don't know the
exact numbers. I just know that we've reached our target numbers for
that tank.) Next time we're at the good LFS, we'll pick up more of both
types of Corys.
<Sounds good>
In the 37 gallon, we have 2 ADFs, 10 Neon Tetras, 5 Flame Rios Tetras
and 6 Red Eye Tetras. (Now I'm all paranoid and confused about my
capitalization after today's daily FAQs.)
<Heeee! No worries... missals w/ only a scattering of errors I pick up,
mostly through the software...>
Someone at the LFS (not the good one, the one that advised me to put
2-3 goldfish in the 10 gallon with my Betta.... obviously, I didn't)
told me that bottom dwellers don't factor into the inch per gallon rule,
that's it's more a psychological thing.
<Mmm, not so>
I could therefore leave the ADFs (and at the time, 3 Loaches) out of the
equation when stocking my tank. But I have not been able to find
anything to substantiate that claim.
<There is naught>
I can't imagine that I could have 37 inches in the water and 37 inches
on the bottom, especially since Cory Cats are probably messier then,
say, the ADFs. How many Cory's could I have in this tank?
<Mmm... depending on species, perhaps 15...>
I have to admit I fell in love with the school of Panda Cat's at the LFS
with about 50 of them. There's just something about seeing them swim
together that makes them that much cuter.
<Yes>
Last thing, I promise. I thought we had done our research on lace rock
before we bought them but apparently not after Googling it on WWM this
morning. There's some in all three tanks. We have algae in all of our
tanks, though it's not the slimy type (BGA) but the course, thick
stringy kind that comes out fairly easy. The tetra tank is the worst
and that's had the lace rock the longest. My husband pulled the rock
out this morning. Phosphate testing kits are not easily found here and
we may have to order one. We thought the algae was an over-feeding
problem and would straighten out once we separated the live bearers into
their own tanks (which we did two months ago). I am slightly confused
about your instructions to place them in warm/boiling water. Will this
remove the phosphates in the rock?
<Mmm, only to an extent... removing the more easily soluble source near
the surface... in time, the deeper, more concentrated layers become
exposed...>
We boiled all the rock before placing them in the tank, but would
further boiling help with the phosphates if there are any?
<Only temporarily>
Or should we just leave them out and find something else to decorate?
<Is one approach... Using more (i.e. purposeful photosynthetic growth),
utilizing chemical filtrants, limiting other essential nutrients... are
others>
Thank you again,
Celeste
<Welcome my friend. Thank you for writing so well, clearly. Bob Fenner>
Re: Cory cat behavior or disease – 5/4/07
Bob,
<Celeste>
We unfortunately lost the Cory Cat last night. Water hardness tested at
8 with Ph at 7.4, which is higher on both accounts then I thought. (Ah,
the importance of frequent testing.) According to fishbase.org, that's
within acceptable range, but I would like to see it lower then that.
<Mmm, yes>
I did a 20% water change last night using only RO, and will continue to
do so until dH is 6 and Ph below 7.0.
<Good>
(The Tetra tank where I moved the Albinos is dH - 5, Ph - 6.4.) We plan
on buying 10 more Albino Corys and 3 more Panda Corys this
weekend. (Well, probably just 4 Albinos this weekend and 6 next
weekend....keeping them odd and letting the bacteria catch up.)
Well, thank you for asking about joining the crew! I do have the time
and I am very willing, however, I've only technically been part of the
hobby for 6 months. (Though I grew up with a freshwater tank in my
house, I only did water changes and the like when it was my chore.) As
a self-proclaimed researchaholic, I know quite a bit about the things
I've dealt with (plants, DIY CO2, setup, cycling, Ick, Guppies, Tetras,
Loaches, Bettas and Cory Cats, those kind of things), but only general
things about other aspects of freshwater and next to nothing about
marine. You guys have done enough for me, if I can return the favor in
anyway, I would happily do so.
Celeste
<Your writing displays a keen intellect, capacity for communication,
deep involvement and awareness in life. I look forward to when you will
feel more comfortable responding to folks here... Even "just" with
freshwater queries. Bob Fenner>
Cory stuck in net - 8/10/2006
Bob,
<<Hey Steve, this is Lisa.>>
I had to remove all my fish from my tank a week ago to remove the under gravel
filter and filter out the sludge trapped beneath it. During the process, one of
my Cory’s fins got stuck in the net because of that little spike that he shot
out.
<<Best to remove in a scoop of some kind.>>
I gave him half an hour to free himself and he could not do so. I was also
unable to free him. As a result, I cut the net away, leaving a very small piece
still attached to his fin (it is one of the front side fins, I do not know the
correct anatomical term for it). The piece of net is maybe 1/8" by 1/8". He is
eating and swimming around like he is fine and there are no signs of infection
or fungus, but the net is still there. Is this an immanent health danger?
<<Imminent, no. He will likely shed it in time. If this should happen gain,
gently pull him in the opposite way of the caught net.>>
It looks like the net might be twisted in there. What is going to happen?
<<Watch him, and if it becomes an issue, you may need to remove with tweezers.
Right now, just watch and see. Lisa.>>
Worried,
Steve
Swordtail & Corydoras behavior - 05/13/2006
Hello again,
All my swords are now active and schooling. I've figured out the problem with
the last female I bought. While at the pet store the other day I
noticed they had a new tank marked "high finned platy". Apparently they had the
red swag high finned platys and red swag swords in together,
<Yikes... not smart. Can/do inter-breed>
on top of that this platy is a male because he has the single pectoral fin.
<Mmm, not this>
My criteria for determining whether I was buying male or female swords didn't
work on a platy :P I'm going to get a couple female high finned platys so
hopefully the male sword will stop picking on the male platy.
<A good plan>
Looking at him you'd never know he wasn't a sword (other than the large top
fin), he even schools with the swords but the male chases him around every once
in a while and at feeding the male sword gets very aggressive toward the platy.
<Yes, natural>
Anyway, enough of my rambling, I've got another question for you.
I originally bought 3 Corys, 1 bronze and 2 albino, I thought because they were
the same species they would school.
<Maybe>
Well one albino died the first night, and the remaining albino and bronze would
just sit by themselves all the time in the corner or under a rock. I waited a
couple days to make sure no other fish were having problems in the tank and
added 2 more bronze and all 3 schooled up right away but the albino still just
sat there, he'd come out to eat and then go right back to his hiding spot. I had
already setup a larger tank for my Betta and decided I'd do a school of albino
Corys in it so I bought 2 and moved the one from my other tank to the new one,
and
again, he found a hiding spot and just sits there, the other 2 schooled right
up. I added 3 more a couple days ago and all 5 school and ferret
around the bottom looking for food but the original one just sits there.
<Give it time...>
If another Cory or I bother him he'll get up and start looking for food for a
few sec.s and then he swims back to his spot. He'll also swim out to eat when I
drop shrimp or algae pellets in. I guess I'm trying to figure out why he won't
school or at least do something besides just sit there. Thanks in advance.
<Takes some individuals a bit of time... Patience here. Bob Fenner>
Re: FW Q's... - 5/5/2006
<<Hi, Marc. Tom with you this time.>>
1. That is a good idea, about the pellets. Because they eat... just not fast
enough. I have algae thins for my Corys in my other tank and I suppose they will
work until I run out. I just hope they will find them on the bottom because they
stay in the middle to top levels of the tank.
<<Marc, if your Corys are staying at the middle, or the top, of the tank, you've
got a water quality problem. These fish are "bottom dwellers" and, only
occasionally, venture up. Usually, it's to gulp some air (labyrinth fish) and
check out what may be lying around on plants/decorations but, they don't "hang
out" in the middle or, the top. That's an indication of a problem.>>
2. I just had this idea but I don't know if it will work. My mom has a pond with
some nice - I actually like it... its funny - algae. Now, if I put some of my
decorative rocks in her pond for awhile and then move them back into my aquarium
for decoration... would that be OK?
<<No, it wouldn't. Pond systems are different than aquarium systems. They're
subject to different "environmental" influences and you might/probably would,
introduce something into an enclosed system that would prove detrimental.>>
It is green hair algae and I was wondering if it would smother my plants and get
all over the glass if I move it into my tank. Will it? My Neons, Danios or rams
probably wont eat it, right, because it would grow back if they do and that's
fine with me.
<<Let me get this right, Marc. You're looking to introduce algae, into your
aquarium, that everyone else on the planet is looking to get rid of from their
tanks, simply because it's "funny"? I fail to see the "humor", here, Marc. No
disrespect and, admittedly, I tend to err on the side of caution with my fish
and tanks but, I don't understand why someone would "toy around" with life of
any kind.>>
3. One more. I have a plant that looks a lot like a Helzine (Micranthemum
umbrosum). I am just not sure if it is that type of plant.
<<Research this plant, Marc, and come back when you're sure. Takes less
time...>>
The point is that every day I come home from school and I have to yank off a ton
of browning or brown, dead leaves from the base of the plant. Is this normal,
because I have it in a pot of soil and it has roots. Is it dying?
<<Some "preening" is not unusual though not on the level that you're doing, i.e.
every day. Some plants are sold for aquariums that aren't really meant to be
used for this purpose. Sometimes the aquarist just isn't sure. Might be
"normal", however. Hard to know for sure.>>
Sorry for all the questions.
<<We ask that you do it from an informed standpoint, Marc. We don't like to
"guess". (Not how we like to spend our "volunteer" time.) ;)>>
Marc
<<Tom>>
Non-Stop Catfish - 02/16/2006
HELP! I have 2 Synodontis multipuntatus and 1 of them keeps swimming round
and round the perimeter of the tank only stopping to rest awhile and to feed, is
this normal behaviour?
< This species is found only in Lake Tanganyika. They are a very active species
and this behaviour sounds normal for this fish.>
I have a 4 foot tank that holds approx 140 litres of water, I do a 20% water
change every week and regularly test the water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
all are reading fine. I have 2 filters 1 is an under gravel filter and the other
a Fluval canister filter and I syphon out the water with a gravel cleaner. I can
see no signs of disease i.e.- white spot or reddened gills no ulcers or fluffy
growths my ph is 7 and the temp is 26 degrees. I am worried that my Synodontis
is going to die from exhaustion or am I being overall worried
Ann
< They actually like the pH a little higher but everything else sounds
good.-Chuck>
Spooked Corydoras
Hello,
<Hi there>
It seems as if all sources I go to between the Pet Shops, the Internet and even
Books and Articles are inevitably contradicting each other. After
going the rite of novice passage of purchasing too many ornamentation and
aquarium chemicals, and other, non-essential items, I've decided to go au
natural (which a friend of mine who used to work in a fish store told me to do
from the beginning) and leave things be for while.
<I have to agree with your friend here. The less chemical products we add to
our tanks the better off our tanks are.>
I started my 36 gallon bow front tank four weeks ago with two albino clawed
water frogs and 6 neon tetras. They are healthy to this day. Two
weeks ago I added three Corys. After water checks my ammonia level is
between 0 - 2ppm, PH is 7.4, my water is on the hard side (200 to 250 ppm) and I
keep the temp between 75 and 80 F. I've been told that while the PH
is not optimal, it will be a problem long term and I should get it down.
Otherwise, the tank is going through its cycling process just fine. I
used Stress Coat after each addition and handling of the fish. I also
have been using the Stress Zyme for the bacteria colonies.
<OK, your main concern here is the ammonia (and probably nitrites too
although they aren’t mentioned). This is still a relatively new tank so it’s
not going to be fully cycled yet but your goal is to get the ammonia (and
nitrites) to a consistent 0ppm. The pH is not really something I’d be too
concerned with. Yes, it’s a bit high but not enough that you need to worry
about and it’s not going to cause any long term problems. My pH in my own
community tank is kept at a pH of 7.8 and my tetras and Corys are all doing fine
in it.>
This past Sat, at the recommendation of a pet store owner, I added 1 tsp of PH
Down to my tank each hour for three hours. He said to do it once an
hour for four hours, but I was going out and figured this could only help and
the less additions to the tank, the less osmotic stress. I returned home about 6
hrs after the last PH Down tsp was added. I turned on the light and
looked in the tank to see that all 6 of my tetras lost their blue and red
coloring and where a milky white and seemed kind of bloated. The
Cory's seemed to be doing fine, hanging out w/each other behind a plastic plant. I
could only locate two of the three Corys but figured he was hiding elsewhere.
<The problem with products like pH down is that they do lower the ph but then
within a few hours to a day it will go right back up to almost what it was
before. It takes a long time to get your ph to stay down and it’s very
stressful on your fish while it’s happening. This fluctuation is probably what
caused the color fade of your tetras.>
After seeing the tetras I did a 50% water change. That seemed to do
the trick as their colors came back within 20 min. of completing the water
change. The Corys looked good too.
<Very good. Now just leave your ph alone and toss the ph down in the
trash>
The next day, I still could not find the third Cory. The other two
Corys however were exhibiting completely opposite behavior than they were for
the past two weeks. Originally they all hung together, swam
vertically up and down quickly, in both plain water and the air bubble currents. They
were sociable and fun to watch. They never bothered or were bothered
by any of the other fish. Now they seemed spooked. These
two Corys were hiding in either corner of the tank, sometimes alone, sometimes
on top of each other. Each time I approached the tank and they saw me or other
movement outside the front, they darted around as if in a panic (almost as if a
predator was after them).
<Probably a residual effect of the fluctuation. Make sure your ammonia and
nitrites are at 0ppm and then give them a few days and they should calm down. If
necessary, leaving the lights out for a day or two will help relieve some of
their stress.>
I figured they were behaving this way because they do good in schools and the
other Cory was missing. I decided to do an all out search (thinking I
may have mistakenly thrown him out in the garden with the bucket I used for the
change - never do water changes after you've had a few is the moral there...
<ROTFL! I’ll definitely remember that.>
However, after checking the floor around the tank and futilely the garden I went
back to the tank. I took out the two plastic rock formations I had and found the
third Cory was stuck in the bottom of one which had a hollow back. He
wedged himself in such a way that he could not move up or back: the
only ways out. He was like this for what must be approx 12 to 16 hrs. I
freed him from this by slowly swaying the ornament in the water. He
popped out and immediately went to his friends. Figuring he was
stuck, I put the decoration back. Within seconds he wedged himself in
there again. I took him out again and removed the ornament.
<Some fish do this and removing the decoration is the only solution. Even
then, they’ll often find something else to hide in.>
But instead of solving the problem, I got three paranoid, skittish, darting and
panicky Corys on my hands now. The behavior has been consistent for
the last three days. I see no signs of disease on their bodies, their
whiskers are only getting longer, eyes are okay, gills and fins are functioning
and full - if not puffed out as if in a defense mode. These are among
the hardier species, so I'm not sure what's going on. The tank is
still cycling, and when the ammonia level passed the 0-1 ppm on the chart, I
added the Ammo Lock (but that was three days ago - before the Cory got stuck
even).
<The darting may actually be caused by the ammonia/nitrites. If these have
risen again it’s causing your fish some discomfort, even at the small amount
mentioned. Ammo-lock helps but the best way to get your tank cycled and get the
ammonia/nitrites down is water changes.>
I thought perhaps one of the water frogs may have gone after the Cory (as
everyone is telling me they will eat one of the tetra's any day now, but I see
no sign of aggression from the frogs to them - actually, the other way around,
they will poke at the frog's back, distract him, while others run in to nip at
the wafer he's guarding. If anything, the Cory's chase the frogs
around in their bottom feeding ventures. There are no signs of
any aggression in my tank.
<Well, the frog may eventually eat any of the fish he can catch. But the
Corys should be a bit safer than the tetras because of their barbs. That’s not
saying it WILL happen, just that it MIGHT. Sometimes these frogs (and other
species) live peacefully with fish for ages, other times they’ll eat every
fish in the tank.>
I did make another change: I added twelve more neon tetras. I
figure cycling for an appropriate volume of fish, given my other parameters,
should be the priority, ph being second as it's not at such a highly noxious
level. I've got the ammo lock on hand in case of anything and am checking the
ammonia and ph daily.
<That’s a lot to add at one time so keep up with your testing and water
changes. Rely on the water changes the most and only use the Ammo-lock if it’s
an emergency.>
Thanks for reading all that but I wanted to be sure to convey all the detail.
Here are my questions:
<Thank you for being thorough>
What is going on with my Cory's? I was thinking that I should add 2
or 3 more as all info says they do better in schools of 5+. But I
don't want to add if there's any diseases, yet there are no signs of any. Could
this behavior have developed because they are "under - schooled" (no
pun intended)? Or could they be traumatized by the removal and
replacement of the ornaments and the large water change? But the
others seem fine.
<I don’t think there are any diseases but don’t add anything else until
the tank is fully cycled. Then you should be able to safely add another 2 or 3
Corys.>
Am I right in my priorities: cycling first and ph second? (given my
PH is on the low side of high)
<Definitely. Like I said above, don’t even worry about the ph at this
level.>
I was thinking of adding the PH Down 1 teaspoon per day until I've achieve
6.8-7.0, but am not sure it that's what caused all the stress to begin with.
<Nope, toss that stuff in the trash. Your fish are better off in a high but
stable ph than in a lower fluctuating one.>
I added 12 more tetras yesterday and everything seems fine. The frogs
seem to be a little annoyed at the increase no.'s of tetra's which swarm around
them and their wafers, but are otherwise fine. The Cory's are still
darting, spooked and skittish, but this morning they came out to feed -
tentatively and cautiously (as if watching for something) in the center of the
tank. My wife just called me now to say that they are still
"going absolutely crazy".
<You may notice your frogs going after the fish a bit more now that there are
more of them in there. And just give the Corys a bit of time, they should calm
down.>
so...what's happening with these Corys? Also - in order for them to
school, am I obligated to get the same species of Cory or can I get three of a
different species and still have a school of six?
<They will probably school with other types, most of them will.>
Also - what additional fish (colorful - as per the wife) would you recommend
adding (down the road, of course) to this hopefully successful community tank?
<Some options would be: Platies (these are livebearers so get 2 males unless
you want tons of babies that will get eaten by the other fish and frogs), some
of the less aggressive Barbs. I like the Cherry Barbs and the Rosy Barbs
although the Cherries turn more brown as they get older where the Rosies turn a
gorgeous red and green, or some of the other Tetra species like the Cardinals
(basically larger versions of the Neons), head & tail lights, Penguins
(these can be a bit ornery but not too bad), etc. Stay away from any fish that
gets more than about 2”-3” long because your Neons will become food for
them. A great place to look at pictures of different fish species is at http://www.wetwebmedia.com in
the photos section and also http://www.fishbase.org >
Thanks in advance for your help CJ
<You're welcome! Ronni>
Three Line Cory Catfish question
Thank you so much you have helped me in the past, I hope you can again. This
Cory catfish started acting funny, he is constantly going up and down, but
not for the usual gulps of air, just blindly bumping into everyone else up
around and down.
<Mmm, may well be interacting with its reflection... in your aquarium walls.
Corydoras Catfishes are extremely social... do best in groupings>
All the water parameters are ok and all the other fish are
ok too, so is one other Cory catfish. Do you have any idea what this might
be, I figured if it's a parasite or something the other fish will be
affected. Thanks again for your time and your insight.
<If you have room, I would add another two or more of this species. Bob Fenner>
Re: Three Line Cory Catfish question
Thanks for the speedy reply. I wanted to add that this Cory bumps into other
fish swimming while he flutters/scutters like on a roller coaster along the
glass.
<Not atypical>
Zooms up and down however he slows down enough to not hurt his
barbels when close to surface, but when in water he bumps into other fish,
did I say that twice.
<Yes, yes>
He has 1 buddy and he completely ignores him, the
other just works all the time, rarely I see him tries to follow other but
there' no pattern and goes back to working. I do have reflection on the
glass but do you think that might be the cause with him bumping around?
Thanks for your patience. By the way Happy New Year!
<Yes, and thanks much. All will likely be fine in time. Bob Fenner>
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