qwertypoii

My tank is fully cycled...

ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 40
pH 7.8

A friend 'blessed' our tank by giving us a large cory last Friday that he said he's have for 4-5 years. The first night he was very active. The second night he seems really bummed out. I read about how they are schooling fish so we bought 3 small ones from the pet store on Monday to add to the tank (20 gallon long). At first he seems super happy, they would all swim and follow each other. But now... he seems out of it or something. The three small ones are very very active but the big one, he just sits there now...all day and all night. If he does move, it's just to another place where he sits and sits.

He doesn't even get excited when we put food in there.

Then last night was VERY strange... I walked up to the tank, I'm not sure if I startled him or something but he started spazzing out and swimming all over the tank in a chaotic patter, swam to the bottom and thrashed around in the gravel for a second then leaned over toward his side, the side fin in the air was moving frantically but his body was still, finally he fell almost completely over on his side, freaked out again and started thrashing around in the gravel and just sat there.. I really though he like died or something, I looked closer and he was breathing...

I know this is probably a shot in the dark here but does anyone have any idea what might be up with him? I know he's kind of getting old, but I just wanted to know if there is anything I can do or maybe get some opinions on what is going on??

Thanks!!

Jonah

Nitrates at 40 are on the high side so a large (25-50%) pwc will help.

Also add some garlicguard to the tank, or crush a small clove of garlic and chop it really fine and feed that to the tank and the fish.

Also he is possibly still feeling stressed from his new surroundings.

qwertypoii

My tap water has a nitrate level of 10... is this going to be bad when doing the water change? I have Prime conditioner that I will be adding, it claims to detoxify ammonia/nitrites/nitrates....

What do you think?

AlyeskaGirl

Yes, Prime does what it says.

I also agree that it is too high of NitrAtes.

Corys can be sensitive to water conditions....maybe not all but some IMO. Good luck!


http://www.fishyportal.com/cgi-bin/p...=57&did=237310

TedsTank

I had a cory that i was sure would die....I even considered putting him out of his misery...he recovered suddenly over nite and is playing with the other 3 now. Don't know what ever caused that!! He was upside down...if startled he would spin in fast circles going nowhere.....and just as suddenly as it happened all was ok? Just keep him comfortable and don't do anything that might startle him....get your tank parameters good and wait.....it is hard not to panic and change too many things at once.

catfishlover123

I hope he will get better soon.

fishkeeper1234

he will probobly soon dye my's laid sideways and upside down next day was dead

MeGustaUnaPez926

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this. The same thing happened to one of my cories... it looked to me like a seizure. I wish I couldn't say this, but mine did die. The first 'seizure' she had she landed on her side just as you described. But the next morning I found her swimming around! She was fine for another few days, but then it happened again, and she didn't make it through that one.
I do have a little advice, though! Looking back, I think she might have had internal parasites. Is your cories mouth all red? I think I've heard that that is a symptom of parasites. I would quarantine the cory if you can.
Good luck, I sure hope he pulls through!

MrEMeat

I have 3 cories in a 10g planted tank. They are almost always hiding and only one of them does not bolt for their hiding spots when I get close to the tank. They have been that way for quite a while but they seem healthy..,

aquarist48

Hello. I hope he is going to be alright. I agree with the above post mentioning a 50% water change and add your Prime like you mentioned. Nitrates a bit high. I think your tap Nitrates should be fine at 10. Best Wishes!

eepruls

Just reading this post now. Did he ever recover? What happened after you posted here?