sgp

one of my albino corys lost his whiskers and has trouble swimming into things. Is there something I can do to help him or his he done for? will isolating him help grow it back? he also looks like his top fin got nipped, its short and jagged.

aquarist48

hmmmm sounds like you definitely have some nipping going on. I honestly don't know if they will grow back like fins do or not. I'd recommend some type of stress reliever like Nova Aqua +. Separating him might help him to recover but it won't solve your problem of the nipping. It is probably the barbs doing it. I hope he recovers soon!

mathas

Barbel erosion has been attributed to many things, including rough/jagged substrate, bacterial infection, poor diet, and a variety of other reasons. So it either has multiple causes, or no one really knows what the cause is. See the 'Barbel Erosion' section under Callichthyidae in this article for more information, or do a search for 'barbel and erosion' at the PlanetCatfish forums for more information.

One thread I found particularly interesting was this one. In it, a poster at PlanetCatfish purchased a lone cory with a barbel erosion problem, and nursed it back to health so that the barbels grew back. A year later, he added five additional corys with barbel erosion problems, and suddenly the previously-healthy corys in the tank began losing their barbels... indicating that whatever the cause is could be contagious rather than being substrate-induced.

What the treatment would be, I have no clue, but pristine water and a good diet would likely help.

aquarist48

Barbel!!! That's it. I couldn't think of the name of it to save my life. LOL Thanks Mathas, interesting link

sgp

I checked, and looks like 2 of my albinos are missing their barbels. the other one and my peppered corys are fine. (hard to check, the peppered guys are really skittish) I've read a couple different things, some people think its the gravel wearing them down, some say its some infection. Do I change to sand? I hear thats a lot harder to maintain than gravel. Or should I isolate these guys and give them some medication, or can I medicate them in the tank?

ABCDemily

I read that an excess of nitrates do not bode too well with our little cory friends, and can attribute to barbel loss.

Also, jagged/rough gravel isn't best for bottom feeders, sand or large, rounded pebbles.

As for the fin nipping, barbs are notorious for their nipping. I'd keep a very close eye on them with the cories.

grimly024

Yes - watch the barbs! I just removed my 6 gold barbs as they were nippy to my corys and ate all their food (even at night!) I have 10 corys in my 55 gallon and they are much happier with the barbs gone and hang out in the open much more. My gold barbs were ALWAYS hounding the bottom of the tank and constantly bullied the corys - and gold barbs are supposed to be much calmer then other types barbs.

sgp

when I've put algae wafers down the barbs do eat it too, but I've never caught them nipping or bullying anyone. They usually just chase each other around, usually staying higher in the tank, but I do see them down low eating food/algae on the bottom

sgp

well looks like they might be slowly growing back, hard to tell.

I have another question, I know catfish sometimes go to the surface and get a gulp of air, but I've only seen my albinos doing it, (maybe just one, hard to tell) never the peppered. but lately it seems that, again not sure if its just one or all of them, is breaking the surface and possibly hitting the cover and splashing back down. they didn't used to make such a big splash, anything to worry about?

aquarist48

Good morning. I don't think you have anything to worry about at this point. Sounds like pretty normal behavior. Are all of your readings ok for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Mine go to the top and back down just as you described from time to time.
Have a good day!

sgp

yes, everythings been fine. they've always done it before, its just been noisier, maybe theyre trying to escape, lol

aquarist48

lol could be but I'm sure you've given them a loving home so maybe they're just having fun.

sgp

maybe. too bad i just woke all the fish up with all that heater trouble, it is cool to see them at night with no color though, kinda freaky. my male barbs and all the tetras were basically see-through.