poefox

My smallest corydoras catfish has died in spite of treatement. To my horror and disgust I saw my snail feeding on him just a little while ago; I disposed of him and am planning to do a water change. He possibly had finrot; I'm not sure entirely but I did remove my filter before and medicate the tank. Because it was his lower caudal fin I think he had gotten really tired easilyl.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to do now. I've heard that corys get finrot easily but I did raise the temperature and provide medication. The others seem fine. Any advice?

Gunnie

I've never had a cory with fin rot. Just make sure your water conditions stay perfect, your nitrates don't get above 20, and your tankmates don't cause stress to your corys. Also, corys tend to prefer cooler temps. so I don't think the higher temps all the time would be a good thing for cory cats.

poefox

Well my water is perfect. The only thing I can think of is that Rusty, the betta, was chasing him and maybe managed to bite off the fin. I didn't see further evidence of rot or anything. Maybe it was a wound and got infected?

Gunnie

That was probably it then. Stress can cause illness and fin problems also.

chickadee

Oh NO! I am so Sorry. I thought he was doing a little better and was so hopeful. I am so sorry. I know how you care for your fish and know that it was nothing you did. You must not blame yourself for any of it.

Yes, it is true that Corys do seem to be very prone to finrot, as are Otos and some of the other Catfish species. I do not know if it has to do with their lifestyle of constantly being down on the substrate and taking the chance of hurting themselves on the surface of the tank.

I would just watch them closely to make sure it is not bacterial and if they start to show signs of the problem then start the treatment immediately. If you are not having confidence in the Tank Buddies then the next step up would be Sulfa in some form, but as long as they are acting fine and not showing behavior changes chances are they are fine.

Again you do have my deepest sympathies and if there is anything I can do please contact me.

Rose

Isabella

I'm sorry about your cory

poefox

Thanks everyone. Arriving tonight I found them all doing okay. No sign of rot in anyone else. I'm not convinced it was rot. Unfortunately that little guy was so hard to see sometimes if he was down in the shadows of a plant or something. More than once I thought I had a jumper just because I couldn't see him. I'm just going to try to watch the others for sign of fin damage and keep ready to give some more meds.

Gunnie

Very good! I'm so sorry you lost your baby!