Monkey

hi all
this is my story.
i bought a black cory from my LFS about 2 weeks ago he seemed fine with no obvious problems and introduced him to the tank after a few hrs of acclimatizing and he was happy enuf. about 2 days later i noticed he was a bit sick with a spot on his flank so i kept an eye on him but unfortunately he died a bit later. about a day or so after i noticed my six prized clown loach were all acting a bit strange. just lying up and not eating. so after water tests and trying everything under the sun to cure them. (thats how i found this site)
i lost all 6 of my clowns in about 4 days and was gutted (they were all about 6 years old and the biggest was about 7 inches) i can only assume that the cory had a disease but after talking to my lfs they said they had no probs with their tanks.. (hmmmm ) i tried to tell them that my clowns had been in the tank for 6 yrs and the problem only arose after i put their fish in but they wouldnt have it.. needless to say i wont use them anymore.. but the thing is i wasnt looking to blame some 1 ( the clowns were irreplaceable as far as i was concerned)
i was just trying to make them aware they might have a problem.. (not that they would admit it)
i just thought i would post this to warn people that even tho they go to a reputeable fish shop.. sometimes they arent all they are cracked up to be
and i hope that this story prevents any one of you going thru what i just have

Shawnie

very sorry for the loss of your clowns...LFS are out to make the and it is awful when you loose something so dear ....I dont buy anything, food, medicine, fish , etc anymore without checking here first

capekate

So very sorry to hear about your loss. Six years with clown loaches.. and they are so cool btw is a hard pill to swallow.
This is another reason why its so important to quarantine fish when you buy them before introducing them to a community tank. Never can tell if they are carrying disease or not. Im guilty of this practice myself and have lost fish as well.
Was it a true 'black' cory? I have not seen them before. I know that fish when sick or stressed can turn very dark. Is it possible this fish was sick when you bought it?

~ kate

Monkey

as far as i am aware it was a venezuelan black cory (at least that was what was marked on the tank)
i had never seen one before that was the only reason i bought it
i always keep an eye out for unusual catfish

Lucy

Wow, that's terrible. I'm so sorry for your losses.

susitna-flower

Sorry about your loaches....that must have devastating...

We all do things like that now and again. I bet you just wish you could take back the decision to buy the black cory!

Do you have room for a hospital tank? It would be a good idea!

It sounds like you know all about water testing, and must do it a lot to keep nitrates down to 10, that is the only other thing I can think of....sounds like you have a full tank, and that may have stressed the loaches a bit...